Diversified property developer Time & Place has acquired Melbourne’s iconic Hotel Lindrum which sits at 26-30 Flinders Street. The triple fronted property, which has one of the CBD’s most famous facades, was sold with a permit in place for a 30-level mixed-use hotel and residential project.
The developer intends to review these plans and has not ruled out the inclusion of an office component, leaning on experience at nearby Victoria Place and their office project in Sydney’s Alexandria. As Victoria Place tops out, the group will look to extend its impact in the Eastern end of the Melbourne CBD.
“The Lindrum is one of Melbourne CBD’s most recognised buildings. Sitting front row at the Eastern end of the city, and next to one of Sideler’s most cherished buildings and possibly in the most desirable CBD blocks,” said Time & Place director, Tim Price.
“We see real value in the Parliament Precinct, being the Eastern end of the CBD right into East Melbourne. The intersection of the sporting precinct, CBD and East Melbourne’s historical terrace homes makes it a quintessentially Melbourne location and we love being a part of the area’s next iteration,” he continued.
“Our development philosophy is centred around making places, not properties, so the opportunity to acquire and breathe new life into Hotel Lindrum, which has such a rich history, was one we couldn’t pass up,” Price concluded.
The building was designed by Ward & Carleton in the early 1900s for Griffiths Brothers Tea Merchants. In the 1920s, it was transformed into the headquarters for the Herald empire and later became Lindrum’s billiards centre. It was converted to a hotel in 1999.
The property forms part of a strategic acquisition phase for Time & Place, across Melbourne, Sydney and Queensland. In recent years the group has acquired sites in Glen Iris, Camberwell, Alphington and Alexandria.
Time & Place is currently preparing to bring The Queensbridge Building in Southbank to market, in conjunction with Hickory. The 62-level level building is designed by Elenberg Fraser with interiors by Flack Studio and includes a hotel whose operator is yet to be announced.
The international expressions of interest campaign for Hotel Lindrum was managed by JLL agents Josh Rutman, Peter Harper, Mingxuan Li and Nick Macfie.
“Hotel Lindrum will become one of the city’s first major revitalisation developments for 2022. The depth of interest in such a high-quality offering was not surprising, however we were taken aback by the number of new market entrants who flagged their intention to buy the property,” said JLL Victoria’s Head of Capital Markets, Josh Rutman.
“The sale is yet another demonstration the confidence in the resurgence of the Melbourne CBD market, particularly for well-located properties in the East End of the CBD which are poised to capitalise on the city’s growth story,” Rutman said.
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