 In the late 1970s, the building was threatened with demolition for a planned car yard.Demolition had already commenced when the building was purchased by the state government on the advice of the Heritage Council of New South Wales, the first to be acquired under new heritage preservation powers.The work on 126 Windsor Street was intended to serve as an example of the way a building in poor condition which was threatened by demolition can be restored and given a new lease of life at a moderate cost.