IT has been more than five years in the making but the old Narrawong store has finally been put up for sale.

The store, which closed for business in January 2017, will be sold by auction on site next week.

The ANZ bank has been in possession of the property since it closed.

A spokeswoman confirmed the 5900 square metre property was ready for sale.

The auction will be conducted by A1 Real Estate Solutions, whose sales manager and auctioneer Boyd Falconer said there had been strong interest in the property both locally and further afield.

However, it was hard to gauge what the interest was in with regards to the site’s future.

“In reality we’ve got no real idea of what people are intending on using it for,” he said.

“Sometimes with a residential home maybe someone’s buying it for retirement, or an investment or as an owner-occupier, but I can’t really tell you what these inquiries are for.”

While the site’s history was well known, any purchaser would have to go through the Glenelg Shire Council planning approvals process.

“Obviously it’s a relatively large piece of land on the highway and we know what it’s been used for in the past but if someone wants to use it in a similar way there’s obviously planning and zoning requirements that they have to meet,” Mr Falconer said.

“We never make any guarantees.

“As everyone will appreciate the property is going to require a bit of work, no matter what the intended use is.”

The site originally housed the Farmers Inn hotel, owned by Thomas Donehue (whose descendants still live locally) and which opened its doors in September 1859.

It became the Narrawong Hotel in 1897 and later the general store.

Mr Falconer said there was a lot of interest in what might become of the site.

“There would have been a lot of people who read those articles in the Observer (in which locals have been pushing for the past year at least for the site to be sold) and even in just general conversation with a view.

“For the community of Narrawong the fact that it was operated as a general store and post office was a great asset to the town and also from a tourist point of view.

“It’s an asset for Narrawong and with such a prominent position some sort of small business would be (ideal).

“Personally I’d love to see it turned into something special, whether a general store or a boutique type business that caters for travellers, a café or tearooms, they’d all be ideal given the passing traffic.”

The auction is due to take place at 12.30pm on Friday, February 18.