On most Saturday mornings Bevans Wollongong real estate agent Jason Ward conducts "open for inspections", but for the next couple of weeks at least, Mr Ward is providing trips down memory lane.
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More than 15 years after its doors closed, the Thirroul shop that was home to the Buck Hamblin Shoe Store for six decades is on the market.
The 136.5-square metre retail space and adjoining residence at 260 Lawrence Hargrave Drive, will be auctioned on April 18.
Know affectionately as "Buck's", Buck Hamblin's was a popular family business that serviced Thirroul and surrounds for 82 years.
Buck (Albert) Hamblin opened a shoe repair store in Thirroul in 1918, originally on the west side of town.
The business moved to the eastern side of Thirroul in 1940, where the shop diversified and combined shoe sales and repairs with a range of sports and outdoor equipment.
Successive generations operated the store until 2000.
The death last year of Letty Hamblin, who had worked in the shop from the age of 18 till the day it closed when she was 65 - with just one week's holiday in between - has triggered the current sale.
Mr Ward said the shop's physical appearance maintained "a distinct appeal of yesteryear nostalgia" adding many people had inspected the property just to reminisce.
He said the property itself had four distinct shop spaces and a large amount of storeroom space, lending itself to a co-operative of small businesses.
"In a prime location on the main drag, a refresh could see this space being the hottest retail space in Thirroul," Mr Ward said.
The original home at the rear has been broken up into two residences - a two-bedroom and one-bedroom unit.
Mr Ward said the site's B2 Local Centre zoning allowed development up to three storeys within a 12-metre height limit.
The plan for the Thirroul village centre means retail or commercial activities must be provided along Lawrence Hargrave Drive, with commercial and residential above the ground floor.
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