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The Shawcross Building in Fitzroy is going to auction in March.

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A triple-storey building in the heart of Fitzroy that’s been turning heads for close to a century is going to auction with $4.6m price expectations.

The eye-catching Shawcross Building at 320-324 Brunswick St sits on the corner of Argyle St and is fully leased to Shawcross Pizza, Lost Boys Bar and Brunswick Street Gallery, which returns about $227,688 a year.

With an American Romanesque style and brick facade that is part of the Brunswick Street Heritage Overlay Area, the building comprises two ground-floor shops and two upper levels with on-site parking.

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It’s auction is set for 2pm on 14 March.

Another auction to watch is the potential sale of the Carlton Newsagency at 325 Lygon St, Carlton, scheduled for 12pm the same day with $1.7m price hopes.

Melbourne’s Durlacher family have owned the property for more than 30 years and have had it leased to the Carlton Newsagency for about 20 of those years.

It is currently returning $77,712 per annum.

The family also own a Bunnings warehouse in Victor Harbor, South Australia which they purchased back in 2019 for $21.3m.

The facade of Carlton Newsagency, which is currently up for sale.

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Fitzroys agency director Mark Talbot said the building was located in an “incredibly tightly held part of Melbourne” as Lygon St was arguably one of Australia’s most famous dining strips.

“(It) has come back from Covid in a big way, bringing huge confidence to owners and the market about the investment credentials and trade prospects of the strip,” Mr Talbot said.

A report by the commercial real estate agency showed vacancies on Lygon St have come down from 20 per cent in the middle of Covid to 6 per cent as of August 2023.

Similarly, the vacancy rate on Brunswick St is just 4.6 per cent today.

Shawcross Building in Fitzroy is also going under the hammer in March.

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Fitzroys director Chris Kombi said there was a lot of property on the market at the moment, but he expected a transaction.

“We’re finding investment stock is moving quite well; anything that’s well leased is moving,” Mr Kombi said.

“A lot of the properties on the market at the moment which we have are leased properties so we expect them all to sell and sell well.”

He added that both buildings had generated “good interest” from local and interstate buyers.

“To get an opportunity to buy in a particular section of a street which is very tightly held and the most in demand section of the street, you may get one or two chances a year,” he said.

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sarah.petty@news.com.au