In 2016 MAAS Group Family Properties purchased  216 Macquarie Street, previously occupied by the Daily Liberal. It has since acquired development consent from Dubbo Regional Council to demolish the buildings on the site, at a cost of $89,000.

MAAS Group Family Properties general manager Steve Guy reported on Thursday that the demolition process was “on time and schedule”. He also told of the company currently “working through a concept plan” for the redevelopment. “It’s our aim to redevelop the site for the betterment of the community,” Mr Guy said.

The general manager said the property’s previous owner “cleaned the site of all contaminants” before selling it and the demolition work began last week after asbestos was removed. “We had a clearance certificate done with that and the asbestos was disposed of in the right place at the tip,” Mr Guy said.

The former Daily Liberal office fronting Macquarie Street is still standing. It was built in the 1960s to accommodate the former Macquarie County Council.  But the printing press hall at the back of the site has been knocked down. Mr Guy said the office building and structures along the property’s boundaries “required careful demolition”. “Not only is street front safety paramount but also adjoining sites as well,” he said. The public will see protection hoarding erected on the footpath next week.

Meanwhile, vehicles are accessing the site from rear entry points and bricks from the printing press hall are being examined with a view to reusing some of them “in the redevelopment”. MAAS Constructions and contractors have assigned eight full-time workers to the task of “bringing the buildings down to ground level” within the next couple of weeks.