The 1725-square-metre site at 4 Neilson Place is in the key Hopkins Road redevelopment precinct which is located between the railway line and the Maribyrnong River.

The area was earmarked for high-rise development with more than a dozen towers reaching as high as 25 levels by the former planning minister Matthew Guy. More than 4000 apartments have been proposed for the riverside precinct but work has barely begun.

The 4 Neilson Place site was recently issued a permit for 135 apartments – 55 one-bedroom units and 80 two-bedders.

The site sold shortly after the permit was awarded to an Australian developer understood to have financial backing from overseas interests.

Title documents show the property was sold by a group called Adelaide Banner, who purchased the site in 2002 for $715,000.

Adelaide Banner is controlled by James Birdseye, Peter Van Camp and Edward Khoury.

The private sale was negotiated by Icon Property's Robert Mitchelson, who declined to comment on the parties involved in the deal.

Some of the original developers involved in the precinct are cashing in on interest from overseas developers. Devcorp and Austpac put significant sites on the market in 2014 while government agency Places Victoria sold the Le Mans Toyota dealership at 7 Hopkins Street for $18.7 million.