Former Hill of Content building for lease

David Bonaddio

First published 25 August 2025, 5:00pm

The Bourke Hill building that housed Hill of Content is now for lease, offering a new life for the century-old landmark.

The century-old Bourke Hill shell that housed Melbourne’s Hill of Content is up for lease, as the East End shifts again and the former bookshop settles into its new home a few doors up.

It follows a very Melbourne moment last month when hundreds formed a rain-soaked human chain on Bourke St to pass the store’s stock along to its new site.

Jones Real Estate is marketing 86 Bourke St with about 425sq m over three light-filled levels, a 5.64m frontage and dual rear access via Mornane Place, targeting flagship retail, hospitality, showroom or creative operators, subject to council approvals.

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Jones Real Estate senior property manager Benny Goh said 86 Bourke St is a landmark property with a legacy of more than a century as a cultural destination.

“It now provides an extraordinary platform for a new tenant to establish themselves in one of Melbourne’s most prestigious city precincts, with all the charm of its heritage character and the flexibility of a modern fit-out.” Mr Goh said.

Access is a drawcard with a tram stop sitting about 120 metres away and Parliament Station is roughly a four-minute walk, in a pocket lined with theatres, restaurants, boutique hotels and luxury retail.

The heritage interior of 86 Bourke Street, now a blank canvas for retail, hospitality or creative use in Melbourne’s East End.

Auctioneer Paul Tzalmis at 86 Bourke Street last year the historic property eventually sold for $5.3m after passing in weeks earlier.

The Hill of Content had traded from No. 86 for more than a century before relocating nearby, leaving the heritage shell to seek its next custodian in one of the CBD’s most recognisable strips.

The site sold in March last year for $5.3m after it passed in at auction two weeks prior.