Salter Brothers Plot Melbourne Heritage Hotel Revamp

As investors keep a nervous eye on Melbourne’s office market, the Salter Brothers have decided to add office space to their redevelopment of a hotel in two buildings from a time when Melbourne was the richest city in the world.

The Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto hotel at 487-503 Collins Street  currently consists of a 1980s tower behind two heritage buildings—the Winfield and the Rialto. 

It was once in an area dubbed the ‘Paris End’ of Melbourne thanks to its architecture before that moniker was passed to buildings along Spring Street opposite the Victorian parliament.

The funds manager has filed plans with the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning to partially demolish and redevelop the building.

Cox Architecture has designed the plans for the redevelopment, which would scrap the 1980s tower and replace it with a tower comprising hotel rooms and office space.

A historic horseshoe-shaped laneway will be opened up on the site for dining and shopping.

“Investing in the preservation of the Winfield and Rialto buildings and opening up the hidden heritage covered walkway to the public, are critical to the unique experience we want to offer here,” Salter Brothers managing director Paul Salter said.

“Protecting the heritage, keeping the hotel use, and adding office and retail will contribute to a vibrant mixed-use precinct that will also support the ongoing revitalisation of central Collins Street.”

The new tower will be set back from the Winfield building, protecting the airspace above the two heritage buildings.

Under the proposal there would be 270 hotel rooms, 1500sq m of retail space on Collins Street and Flinders Lane, a new club in the Winfield building and, most importantly for the Melbourne office market, 22,000sq m of office space.

Salter Brothers told The Urban Developer that the proposal’s economic assessment identified it as an opportunity to support additional premium office stock in Melbourne’s CBD, which has a long-term forecast for an increase of 537,000sq m of additional floorspace needed to 2036 to support employment growth.

“Despite the present, short-term vacancy rates, there is a limited pipeline supply of premium floorspace and the proposal is considered timely in that regard,” a spokesperson said.

▲ A render of the Cox Architecture design for the redevelopment
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The Winfield and Rialto are considered part of Victoria’s building boom of the late 1800s.

The Winfield, formerly the Wool Exchange Building, was built in 1891 to house theoffices for the wool and wheat stores in the Rialto building.

At the time, the buildings offered what was the latest in amenities and use of space with street-level shops, office space above and warehouse space in the basements.

Patrick McCaughan commissioned William Pitt to design the neo-gothic Rialto while architects Richard Speight Jr and Charles D’Ebro designed the Winfield.

The Australian National Trust has listed the Winfield while the Rialto building is also listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Grollo Group purchased the site in the 1970s, redeveloping it and building the Rialto Towers and the extension to the Winfield building.

It is this extension that Salter Brothers would demolish.

Salter Brothers have applied to Heritage Victoria for a renewal of the heritage assets.

▲ The Winfield Building in the 1950s. Source: State Library of Victoria

IHG Hotels and Resorts Australia and Pacific managing director Matt Tripolone said protecting the heritage was key.

“Distinctive heritage buildings and laneways are cherished by Melburnians,” Tripolone said. 

“They are also a major drawcard for international and interstate tourists as they really define the Melbourne experience.

“The heritage aspects of our existing Intercontinental Melbourne are an important part of the appeal of staying here.” 

Both the state department and Heritage Victoria need to approve the plans but if all goes to schedule, construction is slated to start in 2025 with three years before completion. 

Salter Brothers recently announced their move to invest in hotels throughout the Asia Pacific region through their own brand, Ardour.