Boorooma's first service station could be just months away, with a developer buying into the proposed shopping precinct with plans for a petrol station and convenience store.
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The Dunn Group, which owns service stations across NSW, signed the contract on Friday and is preparing plans for council approval at the site between Boorooma Street and Phar Lap Avenue.
The site is set to host a BP outlet and Balmain Coffee Company convenience store with coffee and fresh food options.
Fitzpatricks commercial consultant Greg Howick said the buyer was looking to start construction on the outlet by April 2021 if coronavirus does not derail progress.
"He wants to be operating certainly by around July through September next year," Mr Howick said.
He said Fitzpatricks was "really pleased" to attract the developer to the precinct.
"They're not a basic sort of a servo, they're a bit up-market, more of a convenience store, good quality coffee and fresh food," he said.
Mr Howick said more buyers and tenants would likely be announced in the coming months, with a sale currently in progress for another lot at the precinct.
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A development application has been lodged for eight specialty shops on the corner of Boorooma Street and Messenger Avenue and Mr Howick said interest from potential food tenants in particular had been strong.
Two lots at the site remain available, with one designed for a supermarket tenant or buyer.
Mr Howick said previous work to bring a supermarket onto the site had been derailed by coronavirus, with interest from predominantly Melbourne buyers drying up during lockdown.
With the announcement of shops going into the precinct, Mr Howick said it would now be easier to return to the search for the first supermarket across the Gobbagombalin bridge.
"It will certainly strengthen the supermarket inquiry, there's fuel there, there's other specialty shops, it's not a bare site they'll be going to," he said.
Mr Howick said the news would be welcome for the northern suburbs community, with locals expressing considerable interest in the progress of the site.
Estella Progress Association president Bruce Durham said community members he was speaking to were "very excited" by the progress over recent weeks.
"For thousands of people out this side of the bridge it'll be fantastic," he said.
"After such a lot of waiting, for something to start to move we just hope it's going to keep on going."
Mr Durham said he lived close by to the precinct, and looked forward to the day he could stroll over and have coffee at a local cafe.
"Everyone that I've talked to has said there's got to be a coffee shop!" he said.
For now, he said even small grocery offerings allowing residents to pick up milk and bread without crossing the bridge would be welcome and well patronised by the locals.
"If that's available here, we'll definitely support that," he said.
Mr Durham said the first shops to commit to the precinct would hopefully see a quicker uptake from others.
"Once you get one or two that have started, that's usually the best thing," he said.
