Morton House, which sits on Charles Street across from Princes Square, was built around 1830 and played an important role in the nation's medical history.

In 1847, Dr William Russ Pugh - who is now commemorated by a statue in Princes Square - conducted the first two recorded uses of ether for surgical purposes in Australia.

READ MORE: City Baptist volunteers dedicated to offering friendship and advocacy

At the time, Morton House was known as St John's Hospital and Self-Supporting Dispensary, which closed sometime around the middle of the 19th century.

In the preceding 150 years, the building has been used as a residence, school, boarding school, medical consulting room and commercial office.

READ MORE: Motorcyclist dies in crash amid 'concerning' string of vehicle collisions

Notably, for more than two decades the building was home to award-winning restaurant Fee and Me, which closed when owners Fiona Hoskin and Peter Crowe retired in 2012.

The site is currently owned through a trust directed by Launceston businessman Michael Larrisey.

The 746-square-metre allotment sold for just over $1 million in 2010 and then again for around $880,000 in 2015.

According to agent Dominic Romeo, however, the house is expected to sell for a price tag somewhere in the vicinity of $3.5 million this time around - a considerable jump in value over the last decade.

READ MORE: Hospital staff raise COVID concerns ahead of the Easter long weekend

"There's been a lot of work done to it since then, so that's one factor, but the market has also been incredibly strong in the last three to four years and that's changed how people view Tasmania for property investing," he said.

Mr Romeo also noted that in the four weeks since the property hit the market, he had seen a lot of interest from both interstate and international buyers.

"People are looking at it for various uses from hospitality to office space and even as a private house," he said.

READ MORE: Launceston developer waves goodbye to Good Guys in eight-figure sell-off

As for the desire to sell up, Mr Romeo noted that the current owner had no further use for the property and would like to see it utilised by someone else.

Expressions of interest on the property close on April 22 and Mr Romeo expects the sale to finalise shortly after.

What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: