The building had been home to card shop Beekers until it moved into a larger store on the Bridge in September, but has recently been empty.
The first floor was L’Oras restaurant up until the late 1990s.
The site includes the shop and the adjoining Commercial Hall and sold for £250,000 at the start of this month.
Wing Lai, a director from Watts & Co, who handled the sale, said that subject to planning permission, the new owner intended to develop the site to create a new restaurant premises together with multiple units of residential accommodation.
‘It is a really exciting project, which will rejuvenate an under-utilised property and unlock its full potential,' he said.
A spokesman for the company behind the project said that with the relevant planning permission they hoped the project could be completed within two to three years.
‘The building is in desperate need of attention and has been in decay for 25 years due to subsidence,’ he said.
‘We hope the new building and restaurant will be a focal point for the Bridge and help revitalise the area.’
He added that until work was ready to begin to regenerate the site, and the RNLI had been offered use of the retail unit free of charge.
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