- Will be located in Melbourne's legal precicnt
- Original scheme included a hotel
- Construction will commence next year
Melbourne developer V-Leader has announced amended permit approval for a $400 million-plus premium office development at 600 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.
This move signals strong confidence in the post-pandemic office leasing market of Melbourne, which has taken a hit during the past two years as Melbourne became one of the most locked-down cities in the world.
The asset was acquired in May 2018, with the original scheme consisting of 16,500sqm of premium office space alongside a 288-room hotel.
The amended permit the developer recently received now removes the provision for a hotel. In its place will be 30,000sqm of A-grade office space across 40 storeys, along with ground-floor retail.
The permit includes a 2,000 sqm multi-faceted wellness facility, a 1,2000sqm sky loby, gallery space and meeting facilities on levels 20 and 21.
There will be 600 sqm floorplates for whole floor tenants, while the podium entails floorplates up to 1,500 sqm.
600 Lonsdale will feature a biophilic design, with a ‘green column’ into the façade, alongside 24 terraced areas.
Noting recent office trends, the tower structure covers a wide scope of tenants, especially smaller sized ones due to the adoption of hybrid working structures.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) will lead the design along with local practice Fender Katsalidis.
Rejuvenation
Andy Zhang, V-Leader’s Managing Director, said the site’s location allows the development to play a key role in rejuvenating Melbourne’s legal precinct.
“600 Lonsdale marks the next step in premium office space, offering state-of-the-art amenities and innovative design to accommodate modern working practices,” he said.
“There’s been a huge shift in how people work and what tenants desire from an office space, as hybrid working is widely adopted tenants are now looking to empower and enhance their employee’s wellbeing through workplace experiences.
Andy Zhang, V-Leader
“The design of 600 Lonsdale is in direct response to this and is reflective of V-Leader’s desire to produce market leading developments that actively respond to the evolving work environment.”
“The new scheme signifies our confidence in a solely office development and is focused on delivering the benefits of a mixed-use scheme, through transformative commercial offices, ground floor retail amenity and a holistic wellness offering that has been designed to appeal to the next generation of CBD tenants.”
SOM Design added the solar-responsive designs highlight a new of working and “from extensive landscaped terraces to natural ventilation, this is a workplace that prioritises wellness and nature, and breathes with its city.”
The project is expected to launch in Q3 of 2022, with construction set to commence during Q1 2023.
