Time & Place Starts Build on ‘Unicorn’ Hotel Lindrum Tower

Time &amp; Place has officially commenced construction on its landmark $200-million redevelopment of Melbourne’s historic Hotel Lindrum, with builder Kapitol beginning works at the Flinders Street site this week. Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece attended an official ground-breaking ceremony, alongside senior representatives from the development team, to begin the transformation of an iconic Melbourne landmark. The commercial development at 26-30 Flinders Street would reimagine the historic Hotel Lindrum into a 27-storey office tower, delivering exclusive full-floor premium-grade office suites with views across the Yarra River, botanical gardens and the MCG sporting precinct. The redevelopment would preserve the building’s iconic heritage facade while integrating a ground-floor event space, clubhouse-style end-of-trip facilities and introducing laneway connection into the Flinders Lane dining precinct. Time &amp; Place founder and director Tim Price said the “eastern pocket of the Melbourne CBD stands head and shoulders above the balance of Melbourne’s office market”. “It is characterised by the best breed of new and historical buildings, Melbourne’s elite office tenants, and is surrounded by exceptional food, dining and hospitality venues nearby,” Price said. Price sees this newly developed Lindrum building as somewhat of a ‘unicorn’ in the offerings of the Melbourne office market. “It will give high-net-worth occupiers and investors the opportunity to forever own an exclusive piece of Melbourne’s most premium office real estate, featuring uncompromised views from every level—from the mountain ranges in the east, all the way across to South Yarra, the MCG, the Yarra River and beautiful botanical gardens, Southbank, and the bay.” ▲ Time &amp; Place director Tim Price, Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece and Kapitol director Andrew Deveson breaking ground at the Hotel Lindrum site. Construction on a substantial portion of the building would begin before sales, Price said, “because the built-form reality of this truly remarkable location is much more attractive than the dream”. Time &amp; Place has already committed about one-third of floors through family offices and businesses through its own network. Kapitol was appointed as construction partner in July 2024 , following a rigorous tender process, with the builder’s expertise in complex commercial buildings and use of cutting-edge technology including 3D Building Information Modelling influencing the selection. Kapitol co-founder and director Andrew Deveson said the company’s digital approach would deliver cost efficiencies. “We’ve invested heavily in early-stage coordination and digital engineering, enabling us to plan more effectively, and in doing so anticipate and mitigate challenges before they reach the site,” Deveson said. “This process reduces rework, which in itself can cost up to 10 per cent of a project’s total cost through additional labour and materials.” ▲ The $200-million Lindrum redevelopment would retain the heritage facade while adding 27 storeys of premium office space to the historic Flinders Street building. Deveson said detailed digital mapping had been completed ahead of construction, with “every detail of Lindrum’s build digitally mapped out to identify challenges, ahead of any construction starting on site”. “Intricate details such as neighbouring trams, power lines and crane movements have been mapped, allowing us to plan for any single scenario that could impact construction quality or increase build time,” Deveson said. The building, originally built in 1900 as headquarters for Griffiths Bros Tea Company, became a billiards centre in the 1970s named after world champion Walter Lindrum before converting to a hotel in 1999. Cbus Property sold the building to Robert Magid for $35 million in 2008, with Magid undertaking renovations before Time &amp; Place acquired the property for $50 million in March 2022, initially with planning permission for a 30-storey mixed-use project before amending plans for office use . Construction completion is anticipated by the second quarter of 2027, with an exclusive expression-of-interest process launching in late 2025.

Time & Place Starts Build on ‘Unicorn’ Hotel Lindrum Tower

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