The 2430-square-metre site, which has two street frontages at  7 Poplar Street and 5-9 Wellington Road, is near the intersection of  Elgar and Whitehorse roads.

Savills agent Nick Peden, who ran the expressions of interest campaign, said the result represented a land value of $3296 a square metre.

"It was a fair bit beyond their expectations of around $7 million," Mr Peden said.

The campaign attracted 120 inquiries and 15 inspections – from offshore and local developers – before the shortlist was whittled down to four, he said.

The developer, also local to Box Hill, is planning a multi-storey residential development, he said.

"There are a lot of projects coming on and about to start in Box Hill," he said.

The Budget car-hire yard at 997-1003 Whitehorse Road, a 1241-square-metre site, recently fetched more than $6 million, selling before auction. That site is expected to become a mixed-use project.

About 14 kilometres east of the CBD, Box Hill is identified as one of Melbourne's busiest redevelopment zones.

A slew of apartment projects are under construction or in planning, along with the dominating new 19-level Australian Tax Office site, which Grocon is building.

Website, Urban Melbourne, which tracks the progress of new buildings in the city, estimates there are at least 12 multi-storey developments under way in Box Hill. Sovereign Square, a 33-storey residential tower on Station Street is the largest.