Prominent Melbourne hotel to become office tower

Plans to transform Melbourne's prominent Hotel Lindrum into a high-rise office tower have been submitted to the City of Melbourne for assessment.

Designed by FJC Studio (formerly FJMT Studio), the proposal revises a previous scheme by Bates Smart that would have added a slender tower above the existing turn-of-the-century building.

The original building was designed by Ward and Carleton in the early 1900s for Griffiths Brothers Tea Merchants. One of the first in Melbourne to be made with local red brick, the American Romanesque-style building later housed the Lindrum billiard centre. It was refurbished and turned into a hotel in 1999.

FJC Studio's design for the tower reflects the heritage features and materiality of the original building, drawing inspiration from existing bricks and adding horizontal frames to provide solar shading.

FJC Studio and Time and Place previously collaborated on a workplace development at 200 Victoria Parade in East Melbourne.

"We're thrilled to have the opportunity to inject new life into the Hotel Lindrum, and believe that the revised plans offer a dynamic and responsive design to honour the history of the site," said Time and Place director Tim Price.

"We're looking forward [to] working closely with FJMT again, extending our presence in Melbourne's East End as we transform this historic building into vibrant, contemporary offices, paying homage to the history of the address."

If approved, construction is expected to begin in late 2023, with completion anticipated for 2026.