The government this morning said that the 2.8ha Fisher Street site known as Highgate Park was one of inner Adelaide’s largest recent land releases and “provides an opportunity for a wide range of future uses”.

The Julia Farr Centre was built in the 1970s and housed people with disability, but stopped accepting new residents in 2014 and was permanently closed in 2020. All residents have since been moved into community accommodation or aged care.

Renewal SA in April last year completed a “market sounding process” for the site which houses the former Julia Farr Centre, Gosse International Student Residence, landscaped gardens and an adjacent car park.

“The property is expected to attract interest from a wide range of local and interstate developers for various potential outcomes that may include residential, seniors living, aged care, mixed use and high-end hotels,” a Renewal SA spokesman said.

The government said today that the the nine-storey main building offered “views to the sea, Adelaide CBD and to the Adelaide Hills”.

“In its current form, it offers a major opportunity for re-use,” a release said.

The property was originally set up under a charitable Trust by Julia Farr in 1879, with Human Services Minister Nat Cook the current sole Trustee.

“While this site has played a significant role in the state’s history, we now know that the old institutional style of care does not reflect the inclusive support that people living with disability need to fulfil their potential,” Cook said.

“With support from the disability community, Highgate Park closed in April 2020. Consultation with beneficiaries of the Trust, their family members and supporters, the disability sector and the community that lives and works around the Highgate Park facility at Fisher Street occurred in 2020.

“Both the sale of the Fullarton site and the use of any proceeds to benefit people with disability were strongly supported through this consultation process.”

Julia Farr Association chair Trish Spargo said the site had served the disability community for more than 140 years and “there will be many people who feel they benefitted from the service”.

“But there are others with more difficult stories of their time at the site, which is why a campus service is no longer a sound option for supporting people living with disability,” she said.

“The proceeds of the Highgate Park sale can help the trust find better ways to ensure people living with disability are active valued members of their local communities.”

Expressions of interest close on May 5.