The site on the corner of 73 Great King St and 93 St Andrew St, next to the Dunedin central bus hub, has been empty for months since Refined Rig left in November 2019.
The Scott & Wilson building — which includes Tony’s Tyre Service in the back — was bought by Jason La Hood about two months ago.
The developer said he was in talks with possible new tenants.
He said they were likely to be a specialist doctor who wanted proximity to the hospital, some kind of restaurant and possibly a retail shop.
Mr La Hood would not name the interested companies, pointing out negotiations were at a ‘‘delicate stage’’.
He was trying to work out a way to lease the site, possibly to all three parties.
An Otago Polytechnic hair salon had previously been in the upstairs part of the building and fashion store Refined Rig in the bottom.
Mr La Hood said he bought the building for its style.
‘‘I think it’s quite remarkable architecture that building and that’s what attracted me in the first place.’’
He wanted to bring it back to its original ‘‘look and feel’’.
‘‘Whatever tennant takes it, there’s going to be a refurbishment of the exterior.’’
He said it was no surprise another restaurant was considering moving into the area that already had a new Beam Me Up Bagels store as well as a Tokyo Ramen Takeichi store set to open at the old Branson’s Bar in September.
‘‘There seems to be a bit of a new food hub turning up there.’’
