Lesseys Garage, East Sydney sells to Bondi restauratuer Brody Peterson, owner of The Flying Squirrel and The Stuffed Beaver

Lesseys Garage, a 400-square-metre two-level East Sydney warehouse, is set to become a inner-city eaterie.

It sold at weekend auction for $3.6 million, with development approval for a restaurant at the Riley Street, Busby Lane and McCarthy Place location.

The approval was secured after costly Land & Environment Court proceedings that followed its sale at $2,675,000 in October last year by the Lowy family of Westfield fame. 

The Lowy family offloaded two Riley Street ydney semi-industrial premises in the shadow of their longstanding William Street, Sydney, headquarters last year.

They'd held the vehicle repair station properties since the 1970s.

The approved plans are to rebirth the garage as a 190-seat eaterie.

Bidding at the weekend auction opened at $3 million with around five interested parties, but two that were particularly serious. It sold to Bondi restauratuer Brody Peterson, owner of two of Bondi Road's dining establishments, The Flying Squirrel tapas bar and The Stuffed Beaver diner.

After the weekend auction the auctioneer Damien Cooley tweeted: "On fire! Auctioneer @damiencooley sold 57 Riley St East Sydney for 3.6m Agents City Commercial, CBRE & BresicWhitney."

It was marketed as "an incredible" opportunity to acquire a true warehouse building on the doorstep of Sydney’s CBD directly opposite the new Woolworths development.

"Offered with a valuable approval for food and beverage," the marketing said. 

Its 1934 construction to a E B Wilshire & Hodges Architects-design was recorded in the SMH. 

It was sold by commercial property agent Warren Duncan, who bought it in partnership with eastern suburbs property speculator Adam Davis, who'd briefly considered finding their own tenant, with hotelier Fraser Short among the mooted occupants.

Brody Peterson was attracted by the fact that all the development approvals were in place, including the primary service authorisation, which allows licensed restaurants to serve alcohol without a meal.