A Boundary St property, once home to Townsville’s Victoria Park Hotel, is now being sold as a development site.

Currently trading as a garden bar and takeaway cellar, the 264 Boundary St site is located on a 713sq m block – two addition lots of 713sq m each at 266 Boundary St are being sold as vacant lots.

“The current establishment [is] zoned commercial [and] has five gaming licences, a liquor licence with the ability to have three detached outlets and [it] is all positioned on four separate titles and on a corner allotment,” the property listing reads.

All offers of the land – with a total area of 2366sq m – will be presented by Northern Reality by 5pm on April 9.

Aerial view of the lot for sale

Designed by Townsville architects Tunbridge and Tunbridge, the iconic Victoria Park Hotel was constructed in 1895 by local builder Jeremiah Dempsey in just four months – a stipulation set by the licensing court, which was initially hesitant to approve another venue in the vicinity.

On the day the new hotel was to be handed over to the first licensee, tragedy struck and it burnt down.

A second building of similar design and construction was completed in January 1896.

The Victoria Park Hotel after being gutted by fire Twitter: Jacob Chicco

In 1982, the Queensland Licensing Commission told the owners the iconic hotel would have to be demolished and replaced. However, following a community outcry, the decision was reversed and only the exterior of the hotel was restored, according to the historical records.

The hotel passed through a series owners, including Carlton and United Breweries, with Robyn and Frank Sexton the current proprietors.

Tragedy struck a second time when fire once again ripped through the popular watering hole on June 7, 2018.

Eight fire crews battled the blaze, which took more than three hours to bring under control, with only the beer garden, deli and bottle shop surviving the inferno.