Flinders Lane Draws Rodd & Gunn for Australian HQ
For over 100 years from the 1880s, Flinders Lane was the home of the garment and textile trade in Melbourne, and Manchester House was at the centre of the trading activity due to its proximity to Flinders Street station.

Designed by architects Bates Peebles and Smart and built over 1911 and 1912 for Adelaide clothing manufacturers, G & R Wills and Company, the imposing corner building at 234 Flinders Lane has since been converted to provide apartments, offices and retail spaces.

Most recently, the 2nd floor has been completely restored to recreate the original warehouse space – down to the red brick walls, concrete flooring and exposed ceilings, now juxtaposed with current-day services and facilities. It has just been leased as the Australian office HQ of Rodd & Gunn, the global manufacturer and retailer of clothing, footwear and accessories, which was established in 1946.

Rodd & Gunn are relocating from Prahan and has taken a new 5-year lease of the 590sqm floor.

Fitzroys’ leasing agents Rob Harrington and Stephen Land commented that this part of Flinders Lane has become an established area for a variety of occupiers including those in the tech, higher education and creative sectors, with tenants often seeking premises specifically between the junctions of Swanston and Queen Streets.

The transaction closely follows Fitzroys’ letting of 2,700sqm to the Victorian government’s Apprentices Victoria at 278 Flinders Lane/271 Collins Street in the same city block.

In another deal leased by Land, a pastoral company has found its Melbourne CBD calling at the Scots’ Church’s historic 5-storey Assembly Hall building, in the Paris End of Collins Street.

The 5 5 5-year lease for the small 58sqm mezzanine office was negotiated at $23,500pa plus GST.

“The offices suited this tenant - operating a pastoral business and being based outside of Melbourne - as a CBD office base to use from time-to-time during the week,” Land said.

“This deal is demonstrated the ongoing importance of a central location that the CBD satisfies for all sorts of businesses and operators.”

He said the company was attracted to the heritage of the building. Built in 1914, the Gothic revival-style Assembly Hall offers rare self-contained offices in city’s Paris End and sits immediately in front of Westpac’s modern headquarters, and is adjacent to the 1873-built Scots’ Church, on the corner of Russell Street.

There is also retail space within the building that includes the well-known rare books store Kay Craddock. The entire building is again fully leased as a result of this lease.

Land said the the offices are mostly small single room offices ranging from 15 to 50sqm.

“When they become available, they are often well received given their character, easily manageable size, and proximity within the coveted Paris End of Collins Street, and close to high-quality cafés, eateries and bars.

“We continue to see tenants looking for highly accessible locations, while using the changing market and working conditions to seek out spaces they previously would not have considered.”

Land said reassessment of office space requirements will see fluid movement of tenants between the CBD, inner-city and inner suburban markets for some time.

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The site covers more than 50 hectares and has been earmarked by previous owners for a $2 billion-plus urban renewal project with up to 3,750 dwellings.

Chang Sheng bought the site in 2016 for $172 million in a joint venture agreement with Australian Chinese-language media executive Tommy Jiang. Before then, it had been owned by former Carlton Football Club vice-president Colin De Lutis, who took over the Bradmill business after it fell into receivership nearly 20 years ago.

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