Phillip and Shirley Mitchell settled the $650,000 purchase with local real estate agent Chris Wilson last week, and plan to use the site as a workshop for their diesel mechanic repair business, Phillip Mitchell Tractor Repairs.

The business currently operates out of a Government Road lot and other local rental properties, while a large chunk of their work comes from mobile repair jobs.

“We will finally have a decent-sized workshop to carry out our repairs,” Shirley said.

“We’re not going to be making any changes; it will be no different to when Phillip did his apprenticeship with FCNSW when he was just starting out.

“In a way he’s come full circle, coming back to the same building he started in.”

The property was first listed on the open market in December 2013, following FCNSW’s decision to cease its operations on the site and relocate depot facilities.

A FCNSW spokesperson said the sale ended almost 40 years of Forestry Corporation ownership of the site.

“The property was purchased in 1975 and used for many years for operations associated with the management of local forests,” the spokesperson said.

“In recent years the site was used as a workshop and depot by the Corporation.

“As a commercial business, Forestry Corporation made the decision to expose of excess assets like this site, leading to the property being offered for sale on the open market in December 2013.”