The mystery of McCrossin: is this Sepia's new site?

A 'leased' sign has appeared over 54-62 Bourke Street. Now the hunt is on for who could have landed the great white whale of Melbourne real estate.

The McCrossin building was built in 1849 as a butcher, slaughterhouse and residence. But you would have known in its later iteration as Job Warehouse, the eccentric textile business run by the Zeimer brothers, Max and Jacob. Polish Jewish immigrants whose family was killed by the Nazis, they arrived in 1948, and started the business in 1952. The place was famed for ejecting tire kickers and hoarding fabrics, which were stacked from ceiling to floor and interspersed with the odd lost sandwich.

The property hit the rental market in 2012 when the Zeimer family closed the business after 60 years. Interested parties – lots in hospitality, but not all – have since looked and found the place prohibitive, either for the high rent or the cost of bringing the historically protected building up to code. (Rumour has it there will be a lot of de-pigeoning).

But this week Gross Waddell estate agent Benjamin Klein posted that the property has been leased: "to a well known private Melbourne family," and will be transformed into a "world class venue."

Who is it? Tongues are wagging. Nothing is confirmed, but we have some guesses.

The hot tip is Chris Lucas. The private family aspect doesn't fit, but we do know that Lucas has been seeking an iconic site for bringing three-hat Sydney restaurant Sepia to Melbourne. The size, location and recently announced 12-month delayed time frame would fit the brief too. Lucas, however, vehemently denies that it's him, saying he is looking at other properties in town.

Dynasty-wise, could it be Morry Schwartz? The property developer and publisher of The Saturday Paper who is always interested in the CBD? The Grossi-Rodriguez clan who now take up most of that same block with their restaurant empire? We've also been waiting with bated breath to hear what Morgan McGlone is planning in the CBD with as-yet unknown partners. It will the ex-Husk chef's return to serious cooking after launching the Belle's Hot Chicken empire.

The secret is safe for now. It mightn't even be food-oriented as the space is also zoned for retail, but Klein's sign off, saying it will be "one of the most popular and talked about venues in our great CBD," is promising.