555 Collins Street

555 Collins Street
The Federal Coffee Palace originally stood on the site, but was controversially demolished in the early 1970s.[1]
General information
ClassificationCommercial
Location555 Collins Street, Melbourne, Australia
Australia
OwnerCharter Hall
Design and construction
DeveloperCharter Hall

555 Collins Street is a new Premium Grade Office building, located on the corner of Collins and King Street in the Melbourne CBD. Enterprise House, an office building that replaced the Second Empire Federal Coffee Palace, has been demolished by owners, Charter Hall to make way for an 85,000sqm NLA two stage office development.

In October 2018 Charter Hall, an Australian property investment group, bought the site;[2] they plan to build two office buildings[3] in conjunction with the adjoining 55 King Street property, which they already owned.[4][5] Demolition of Enterprise House began in May 2019,[6] and permission to build the two towers, the first to have 34 levels, was granted in April 2020.[7]

In December 2020, Charter Hall announced that it had secured Amazon as a major pre-commitment tenant and commenced construction of the new office tower. The new office tower was officially opened in April 2024.

Enterprise House, a 24-storey modernist concrete office building, replaced the Federal Coffee Palace on the site in 1973; the demolition galvanised preservationists in Melbourne.[8] By the second decade of the 21st century it had become dilapidated and was eventually vacated. Harry Stamoulis, a Melbourne developer, gained special planning permission from Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy for a replacement building which would cast shadow on the bank of the Yarra River.[9][10] In 2013 he proposed an office tower 82 storeys and more than 400 metres tall, which would have been one of the tallest buildings in the world,[11][12] but in 2014 he sold the property to Fragrance Group, a development company controlled by Singaporean Koh Wee Meng. Fragrance Group proposed a 302-metre, 82-floor mixed-use building containing apartments, offices, and a hotel,[13] which was rejected by the new Planning Minister, Richard Wynne.[10] After unsuccessfully offering the property for sale, in 2016 they gained planning permission for a 160-metre, 47-floor apartment tower sheathed in glass, designed by Bates Smart.[9][14]

  1. ^ "Historic photo of the Federal Coffee Palace in Melbourne". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  2. ^ Nick Lenaghan (29 October 2018) [26 October 2018]. "Charter Hall swoops as Singaporeans exit in $140m Collins St deal". The Australian Financial Review.
  3. ^ "Projects: 555 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000". Urban.com.au. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  4. ^ Laurence Dragomir (7 November 2018). "555 Collins Street continues the commercial theme for 2018". Urban.com.au.
  5. ^ Dinah Lewis Boucher (19 April 2019). "Charter Hall Lodges Plans for $1.5bn Collins Street Development". The Urban Developer.
  6. ^ Simon Johanson (21 May 2019). "Charter Hall demolishes office, buys industrial shed". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. ^ "Charter Hall receives development approval for $1.5 billion Collins Street project in Melbourne". Commo (press release). 24 April 2020.
  8. ^ James Lesh (11 April 2016). "555 Collins Street, Melbourne". History.City (blog).
  9. ^ a b Simon Johanson (9 June 2017) [7 June 2017]. "Enterprising Singaporean developer starts work on 555 Collins Street". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ a b Clay Lucas (10 April 2016). "Labor overturns decision by Matthew Guy, slashing millions off prime city site". The Age.
  11. ^ John Masanauskas (23 April 2013). "One of the world's tallest building proposed for Melbourne's CBD". Herald Sun.
  12. ^ John Masanauskas (24 April 2013). "Super tower would overwhelm Yarra River, Lord Mayor says". Herald Sun.
  13. ^ Simon Johanson (7 October 2014). "Multi-purpose super tower planned to rise to new heights above Melbourne's Collins Street". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  14. ^ Laurence Dragomir (31 May 2017). "Apartments galore set to breathe new life into the western CBD". Urban.com.au.