It could be worth as much as $4 million but with its elderly owner unable to maintain Melbourne's oldest shop-and-dwelling, the city council will step in to pay for repairs.

But the council says it will not set a precedent for public money being used to fund the restoration of privately-owned historic properties, because it is a matter of public safety.

The Old Corner Shop was built in 1850 on the corner of King and La Trobe streets, opposite Flagstaff Gardens. Credit:Eddie Jim

The building’s 95-year-old owner is unable to pay for the cost of repairing the building – which one city agent estimated would sell for $4 million or more.

Ad hoc timber supports have prevented Russell's Old Corner Shop – on the corner of King and La Trobe streets, opposite the Flagstaff Gardens – from collapse for the past year.