A heritage-listed igloo-style warehouse that forms part of the former RAAF Stores depot, a complex of 1940s military storage buildings in regional New South Wales, has hit the market with a $3.5 million to $4 million price guide.

Established during World War II as a major logistics and supply hub for the Royal Australian Air Force, 26 High Street, Dubbo is a 6850sqm warehouse that belongs to the former RAAF No. 7 Stores Depot.

The depot played a significant role in the war effort, serving as a storage and distribution centre for military supplies across the region, and its distinctive parabolic-arch “igloo” buildings constructed on the site are a hallmark of wartime military architecture.

Raine & Horne Commercial Dubbo director Joe Burgun said the listing was a genuinely rare offering.

“The former RAAF Stores Depot igloos are iconic wartime structures, and the opportunity to acquire one as a standalone allotment does not come along often,” he said.

“There are very few comparable buildings in regional NSW, and even fewer that are available for private purchase.”

The property is being sold by Maas Group Properties, which has been undertaking the progressive development and subdivision of the wider former RAAF Stores Depot estate.

The large-span timber-framed parabolic arch structure with corrugated metal cladding and concrete floor has a ridge height of about 15m and is currently utilised by the vendor for industrial storage but is being offered with vacant possession.

An example of an ‘Igloo’ in Woomera, SA, circa 1950. Picture: National Archives of Australia

Steeped in history

The former RAAF Stores Depot comprised of 30 buildings, including five huge Igloo stores buildings, three Bellman hangars, a Rabaul hangar, a Sidney Williams Hut and a large semi-underground PBX bunker, as well as a road system, railway spur lines and remnant state forest.

According to the NSW State Heritage Inventory, the complex of substantial military structures in their original configuration and landscaping is the only extant, relatively intact example of its kind in Australia.

“It is unusual and probably unique in Australia to find five different types of 1940s prefabricated buildings remaining on the one site,” it states.

“The Igloo stores, still in pristine condition, were adapted from an American design but using Australian hardwood and corrugated iron, and are five of the only six examples of this building type left standing in Australia.”

The RAAF used the Igloos up until 1992. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

The inventory also notes the igloo buildings were “an unusual, functional and attractive form of industrial structure that is evocative of war time design and construction practices.”

“The buildings were carefully oriented to minimise shadowing in order to resemble hills from an aerial perspective,” it stated.

“On completion the profiles of the openings and gables were also modified by the use of galvanised iron sheeting cut to resemble tree shapes.”

At the end of World War II the Dubbo Stores Depot was the largest stores depot of its kind in Australia in both size and stock.

NSW’s west served an important role during aviation’s golden era. Picture: National Archives of Australia

Keen buyer interest

Mr Burgun said the property has attracted strong enquiry from a diverse range of buyers, including local and regional investors, developers, and owner-occupiers looking at adaptive re-use opportunities.

“Interest has been both local and from outside the region, which reflects the unique nature of the offering,” he said.

The building’s large-format industrial structure, scale, clear-span layout and heritage character have attracted interest from a diverse range of buyers.

“That includes investors, owner-occupiers looking at storage, warehousing, or other large-format uses, and parties exploring adaptive re-use concepts that take advantage of the igloo’s distinctive architecture.”

The site is zoned R1 General Residential under the Dubbo Regional Local Environmental Plan 2022, which reflects the broader residential master-planning of the former RAAF estate.

“However, the building has a long-established history of industrial storage and warehousing use,” Mr Burgun said.

“By way of precedent, the neighbouring igloo on High Street, which carries the same R1 zoning, was granted development approval for conversion to self-storage units and is now occupied by National Storage.”

Future plans for the wider site part of a $74.4 million proposal

Maas Group has lodged a $74.4 million State Significant Development application for a master-planned residential community on a 9.29ha site, within the wider former RAAF Stores Depot estate.

Ahead of the application’s assessment, submissions from the public are now being answered.

Maas Group is seeking to develop this landholding next to the Igloos, dubbed Cypress Park. Picture: Maas Group

The proposal includes 211 manufactured home sites delivered in two, three and four-bedroom configurations, in addition to a community centre featuring a function room, gym, library, games room, outdoor terraces and meeting room.

The development also proposes an outdoor pool, BBQ area, children’s playground, pickleball court, tennis court, bowling green, 54 visitor parking spaces, and several landscaped park areas for community use.

“The sale of 26 High Street (Igloo 3) is a separate offering and is not part of the SSD application site,” Mr Burgun said.

Expressions of Interest to buy the site close 30 September.

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Cult discount giant Kmart is launching a stand-alone store format aimed at winning budget-conscious Australian households from Ikea, Amart and Freedom.

The Wesfarmers-owned powerhouse will open its first K Home showroom at Box Hill South in Melbourne’s east on June 18, with most products in the store not available from regular Kmart outlets.

The store will focus on furniture and homewares in a showroom-style format, with curated displays and room-based inspiration designed to help shoppers furnish their homes without paying premium prices.
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Kmart chief commercial officer Callum Smith said the trial would help the retailer bring more of its home range into stores.

“K Home at Box Hill South gives us the opportunity to bring more of our home range into store and better understand how customers want to shop it,” Mr Smith said.

“The space has been designed differently from a traditional Kmart store, with a more immersive home environment, curated displays and room-based inspiration to help customers explore the range in a more intuitive way.

“Customers have embraced Kmart’s home range for many years, and we’ve continued to grow our furniture offer as customer demand has grown.”

Kmart’s K Home concept will bring more furniture and larger homewares into a physical store, with many products not available from regular Kmart outlets. Picture: Kmart

Mr Smith said affordability was central to the new concept.

“At a time when value matters more than ever, this trial is about helping Australian families create a home they love at a price they can afford,” he said.

Colliers commercial agent Jake Beckwith said K Home was more likely to compete with Ikea, Amart and Freedom than Spotlight.

“I wouldn’t put Spotlight in there because they’re more homewares, linen and curtains,” Mr Beckwith said.

“I’d be saying more so the Amarts and Freedoms of the world, or Amart, Freedom and Ikea.

“Absolutely, Kmart’s got their own iconic brand that they work with, and Anko is a bit of a cult figure.

“Everyone looks for those Kmart hacks online, so I think they’ve definitely got a big target audience that they can capture.”

K Home has been designed with curated displays and room-based inspiration to help shoppers furnish their homes without paying premium furniture prices. Picture: Kmart

Mr Beckwith said Kmart’s ability to refresh products quickly and find the right locations would be critical if the concept expanded.

“They’re a really good retailer, a really powerful retailer,” he said.

“They’ve got a strong brand behind them with Anko and they’re able to refresh the product line continuously and keep up with trends pretty quickly and swiftly.

“They’re very well versed in the property sphere, so they know their target locations and making sure that they’re just in front of the right people and the right eyes.”

Mr Beckwith said the smaller K Home format could give Kmart more flexibility than its traditional department stores.

“Being able to be more nimble, these K Homes are able to go into a lot smaller spaces than a typical Kmart would,” he said.

“It allows them to plug the gaps in the network that they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to find.”

Vanta Advisory buyers agent Alex Groh said Kmart’s new K Home format would need to feel different from a regular store while keeping the pulling power of the Kmart brand. Picture: Supplied

Vanta Advisory buyers agent Alex Groh said the concept was a smart way to draw shoppers into a physical retail destination at a time when large-format retailers were battling for foot traffic.

“That’s often the biggest struggle that a lot of large-format retail businesses or bulky-goods businesses have. It is getting people there,” Mr Groh said.

“We know that once people are there, they do spend money.

“So it’s a great way to get them in, a great way to get them looking into bigger-ticket items and buying the ancillary items they generally sell as well.”

Mr Groh said K Home needed to feel different from a regular Kmart while still leaning on the parent brand’s pulling power.

“It can’t lose the Kmart brand entirely,” he said.

“But if it is going to be a unique store, then it has to differentiate itself from the others to attract people to actually go there and not just shop at a regular Kmart.”

The new K Home store at Box Hill South will trial a more immersive showroom-style layout as Kmart pushes further into furniture and homewares. Picture: Kmart

He said the concept would be tested in a competitive furniture market, with discretionary spending still under pressure.

“You’ve got brands that have been around for a long time, your Focus on Furniture, your Nick Scalis,” Mr Groh said.

“But where they may differentiate themselves is bringing the typical Kmart experience and adding that furniture as a layer on top to draw people in.”

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david.bonaddio@news.com.au

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