With favourable Commercial 1 zoning, the 439sqm site has a 13.7m frontage to High Street and 13.7m to the right of way, and 32 metres fronting Gooch Street. It was offered with short-term income.

The purchaser, a local developer, has preliminary plans to build a mixed-use development with apartments and ground-floor retail.

Niyaz said interest came from some well-reputed developers and local owners who the area and location very well.

“As Melbourne’s inner-north gentrifies, focus is growing on Thornbury, next up the line from Northcote, and the incredibly popular High Street which has become one of Melbourne’s most popular lifestyle and hospitality destinations,” he said.

“High Street, Thornbury now boasts its own growing and diverse hospitality offering, home to bars and eateries including Welcome to Thornbury, the Thornbury Theatre, Barton Fink, Kitty Somerset and quality cafés such as Short Round, Brother Alec and Little Henri.”

Kombi said the owners had held onto the site for four decades and recognised the strong demand for sites with development potential in the area.

“This was an ideal time in this area’s history to bring a site like this to the market, with a number of young professionals seeking accessible locations with strong road and public transport links and quality hospitality and amenity offerings close by,” he said. The site is on the 86 tram route and close to the Thornbury railway station.

He added there had also been few quality offerings put to the market over the past 12 to 18 months.

“The site ticked all sorts of boxes, from its versatility, Commercial 1 zoning, and rare triple-fronted corner positioning within one of Melbourne’s best hospitality and lifestyle precincts, through to its north-facing aspect. Developers didn’t need to look far for the potential of the site, with multi-level residential towers of up to eight levels in the immediate proximity.”