Verity Lane Market owner Phillip Keir purchases 106 Alinga Street in the Sydney Building for $1.125 million

The property at 106 Alinga Street, City is currently tenanted on the first floor by the Church of Scientology, while the ground floor is vacant.

Phillip Keir, who owns and operates Verity Lane Market next door, purchased the property at an auction on December 7.

Mr Keir said he was excited to enhance and expand the food hall into the new space.

"I definitely have plans to upgrade it, it's one of the entrance ways into Verity Lane," he said.

While there were no formal plans yet, his early thoughts were for a full-service restaurant.

"We'll be taking it to a different level and it will probably be full-service and separated from Verity Lane itself, which is more casual.

"So we're just wanting to enhance the offerings in the whole precinct."

Across the two floors, the property spans 269 square metres of net lettable area.

According to the real estate listing, the Church Of Scientology is leasing the first floor space on a monthly ongoing basis at $2773 per month.

Mr Keir said no decision had been made on the how long the tenancy would continue.

Verity Lane Market opened in the Sydney Building in late 2020 and comprises a mix of food outlets and bars, including Dear Prudence and Brew Nation.

The precinct was named after Verity Hewitt who opened one of Canberra's first bookstores in the Sydney Building in 1938.

Mr Keir said he hoped to incorporate the history of 106 Alinga Street in the future venture.

"It was built as a separate piece, it was built in 1927, so it's quite independent to the rest," he said.

"I've yet to find out what the first use of that building was, which is obviously going to be part of my research, but they were usually built for bank offices downstairs and upstairs was usually for the bank manager.

"We're just really keen to open up the windows and get things looking like they're part of the broader precinct."

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The property was a deceased estate sale, led by Ray White Commercial Canberra agent Steven Shang.

Mr Shang said the property attracted about 20 inquiries and two bidders on auction day.

"We had a good amount of inquiries during the market campaign," he said.

"We received a lot of feedback from those interested parties and I think the final result is reflective of the current market condition and it is a good price."

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