The vacant site at 388 William St, Melbourne, is ready for a new owner.
A prominent billionaire businessman is offloading a vacant Melbourne CBD corner site with price expectations at an eye-watering circa-$90m.
The property at the intersection of William and Franklin streets, opposite Flagstaff Gardens, has an approved planning permit for a 36-storey mixed-use development.
It has been listed by the Nepalese-Australian businessman and Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT) co-founder Shesh Ghale, who established the tertiary education institute alongside wife Jamuna Gurung.
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According to The Australian newspaper’s 2026 list of the nation’s richest people, the couple ranked at 150 and 151 respectively with a combined $1.21bn net worth.
Mr Ghale and Ms Gurung built their fortune after migrating from Nepal to Australia in the 1990s, founding MIT in 1996.
It’s since become one of the nation’s largest private tertiary institutions for international students, while the pair also have a commercial real estate portfolio and are developing hotels in Belgium and Nepal.
The 388 William St site was previously occupied by a Mazda dealership building that was mostly demolished in 2025.
Prior to that, it was home to an Art Deco industrial building where workers packed rations for World War II troops.
Mr Ghale previously planned to build a hotel and mixed-use development at the corner, but has since scrapped these plans.
Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT) co-founder Shesh Ghale. Picture: Stuart McEvoy/The Australian.
The site previously served as a car dealership and an industrial building where workers packed rations for World War II Allied troops.
Measuring 3915sq m, the address sits with the Queen Victoria Market precinct, bordered by Franklin, Queen and Peel streets, where the Victorian government has approved a $1.7bn revamp plan.
Marketing materials for the William St block describe it as “one of Melbourne’s last landmark CBD corner development sites”, offering uninterrupted views across Flagstaff Gardens.
The online listing states a residential, build-to-rent, student accommodation, hotel, office or retail hub could be built on the site, subject to approval.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Oliver Hay, Daniel Wolman and Leon Ma have the listing, with MP Burke’s Pat Burke acting as transaction adviser.
An artist’s render of what the approved 36-storey development for the property could look like, if built.
The block is close to Flagstaff train station, universities, the Parkville Biomedical precinct and tram routes.
Mr Hay said Melbourne CBD sites with approved development permits were becoming increasingly rare.
“We expect interest from some of Australia’s largest developers as well as international capital, with the site offering the scale and flexibility to pursue residential, build-to-rent, student accommodation, hotel or commercial outcomes,” Mr Hay added.
Mr Ma added that the site has more than 128m of frontage along William and Franklin streets.
Expressions of interest close at midday on October 1.
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