Keady’s historic Old Mill building – which has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and suffered serious deterioration for over a decade – has gone on the market for sale.
It gives fresh hope that the property, a local landmark, built back in the mid-1700s, could be given a new lease of life.
Office and retail potential are keywords attached by the agents charged with finding a buyer.
The sale of the substantial property on Kinelowen Street also includes the car parking alongside.
A stone’s throw from the Tommy Makem Centre, the building has largely been allowed to go to rack and ruin for many years, with locals branding it an eyesore.
Rewind to the early 1990s and it was a very different story.
At a time when the former Armagh District Council had its foot firmly on the pedal of a tourism drive, many local attractions were designed, developed and opened to great fanfare.
Among these then was the Navan Centre, on the Killylea Road, and St Patrick’s Trian, home to the ‘Land of Lilliput’, and Palace Stables Heritage Centre, both in Armagh city.
The Old Mill in Keady also found a similar future when it too was developed as a heritage and resource centre.
Keady and District Community Initiative, supported by council, developed what was essentially an interpretative centre which shared the history of a proud town and its heritage. The local SDLP councillor, the late Tommy Kavanagh, who lived nearby, was among the very vocal supporters at the time who wanted to ensure the building was used to its maximum potential.
In conversation, he would often speak fondly and proudly of the fact that the property had included at its side a fully-restored and working water-wheel, a fantastic example of the industrial heritage of the age and a real attraction in itself.
During the 1950s, it had enjoyed a new direction under the ownership of an egg production company but ceased in the 1970s until restored in the early 1990s.
At that stage, the new centre provided visitors with a snapshot of the mill’s past, as well as office accommodation, a shop and the popular Old Mill Restaurant.
The development operated successfully and was popular with locals and visitors alike for more than two decades. Community groups also widely used the accommodation and facilities on offer.
But, sadly, it was to close for the last time around 2014.
Since then, it has suffered repeated incidents of vandalism and has attracted anti-social behaviour on a regular basis.
The property had been boarded up by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council to try and prevent such unwelcome elements and activities.
Now Belfast-based O’Connor, Kennedy and Turtle have been tasked with trying to find a new owner in the hope of bringing the prime location property back into productive use.
Advertised for sale by way of public tender, no price has been made public but is available to interested parties upon request.
Marketing the centre, the agent says: “The subject property comprises a former corn and flax mill built in the c.1750s. It was most recently operating as a local heritage centre and café.
“The building is arranged over basement, lower ground, ground and first floors and is currently in a poor state of repair internally. A range of internal photos showing the condition of the property are available on request.
“In addition to the former mill building, the adjoining car park is also included within the sale.”
Due the “poor internal condition”, viewings will be strictly held by a “single open viewing event at a date and time to be confirmed”, while completed tenders must be submitted by 12 noon on Monday, October 26.
ABC Council, meanwhile, will “reserve a right” over an area for public access.
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