The Block will head to Jacksons Hill in Sunbury for 2027, with longtime host Scott Cam returning for the show’s ambitious heritage restoration. Picture: Nine

The Block will turn three heritage buildings at Sunbury’s former psychiatric hospital into five family homes for its most ambitious season yet.

Channel 9 has acquired the buildings at Jacksons Hill from the Victorian government for the renovation reality TV juggernaut’s 23rd season in 2027.

The Herald Sun understands contestants will work across Buildings 1, 2 and 3 on the eastern side of the former Victoria University campus.

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A Victorian Planning Authority study identifies them as the former Female Infirmary Ward, Female Admission and Special Wards building, and former hospital.

But one of the biggest questions remains under wraps: exactly how three former institutional buildings will become homes for five separate teams.

Nine has described plans to produce “high-quality and aspirational family homes”, with the series returning to major heritage restorations after two years of new builds.

The Sunbury move will send contestants into buildings a world away from the purpose-built luxury homes that have become synonymous with The Block.

Sunbury Generic Pics for online/Facebook

The historic Jacksons Hill precinct in Sunbury will become the new home of The Block after Channel 9 acquired three heritage buildings from the Victorian Government.

Contestants will face a very different renovation challenge inside the heritage buildings, with five teams ultimately creating five family homes. Picture: Nine

A 2017 adaptive reuse study gives an insight into the scale of the challenge.

Building 1, the former Female Infirmary Ward, contained large rooms of about 70-130sq m across one level and was assessed at the time as being in reasonable condition.

Building 2, the former Female Admission and Special Wards, had smaller rooms around a central spine across two levels and was considered difficult to adapt and in poor condition.

Building 3, the former hospital, had larger rooms across a single level and was considered more flexible and in reasonable condition.

Those assessments were made almost a decade ago and do not establish the buildings’ condition today.

Scott Cam will return alongside Shelley Craft as The Block swaps purpose-built luxury homes for a major heritage restoration in 2027. Picture: Nine.

Prominent Melbourne buyers advocate and Property Investment Professionals of Australia chair Cate Bakos said Sunbury’s outer-fringe location made it an unusual test for the prestige property formula traditionally associated with the show.

“It’s got a tight town centre, but it’s not a high-income area in the town centre,” Ms Bakos said.

“It’s charming and it’s definitely got its own style, and I don’t dislike Sunbury at all.

“But in an outer-fringe area, it’s a most unusual move for The Block.”

Ms Bakos said Nine’s promise of “aspirational” homes meant the land and wider property offering could prove just as important as the renovations themselves.

“To bring an aspirational family to Sunbury, it would need to be on a larger allocation of land than a tight suburban outer-fringe block,” she said.

“It would need to be a special property, not just a special dwelling.”

PIPA chair Cate Bakos said the Sunbury homes would need to offer buyers more than just a high-end renovation to succeed.

Ms Bakos said substantial gardens and car accommodation could help broaden the finished homes’ appeal.

“To bring aspirational buyers, I think they’ll need to have more on offer than just the house,” she said.

“I’d like to see how big the parcels are going to be because I think they need to be more generous than anything The Block has seen previously.”

The reality television makeover will add another chapter to Jacksons Hill’s long institutional history.

Jacksons Hill began as the Sunbury Industrial School in the 1860s before later becoming an asylum, psychiatric hospital and university campus. Picture: State Library of Victoria

The site began as the Sunbury Industrial School in the 1860s before being redeveloped as an asylum in 1879 and substantially expanded through the following decades.

Heritage records say the site remained in use as a psychiatric hospital before becoming the Caloola Training Centre between 1968 and 1992.

Victoria University later occupied part of Jacksons Hill before the Victorian Government purchased the former university site in 2018.

The government-backed master plan divided the 33ha former university property into nine precincts and provided for housing alongside the preservation and reuse of heritage buildings.

M R Advocacy director Madeleine Roberts questioned who the eventual buyers would be for The Block’s unusual Sunbury homes.

M R Advocacy buyers advocate Madeleine Roberts also questioned the depth of demand for high-end converted homes at Jacksons Hill.

“Maybe they’re going to move away from that high-end, trendy vibe, but is there a market there? I wouldn’t think so,” Ms Roberts said.

“Who’s gonna buy those? What are they doing?”

Nine has not revealed what it paid the Victorian Government for the three buildings or how they will ultimately be divided into five separately marketable homes.

Longtime hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft have been confirmed to return.

However, the Herald Sun understands none of the 2026 judging panel has yet been confirmed for next year.

Shaynna Blaze, Darren Palmer and real estate agent Marty Fox make up the current Mt Eliza judging trio.

And the five new teams will not be the only Blockheads picking up the tools at Jacksons Hill.

Returning all-stars will tackle a sixth renovation “over the fence” for The Block: The House Next Door, a new spin-off premiering on Stan in 2027.

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