Lendlease Completes Melbourne Quarter, Hosts Fashion Week Preview at Sky Park

Lendlease has reached completion on Melbourne Quarter, a mixed-use precinct in Melbourne's central business district, closing out a 13-year transformation of a former railyard. The firm announced the milestone on 19 October 2026 while hosting the Melbourne Fashion Week Media Preview at the precinct's Sky Park.

Melbourne Quarter Reaches Completion After 13 Years

The precinct spans 2.5 hectares along Collins Street and comprises four office buildings, two residential towers, curated retail and dining, and a network of parks, laneways and public spaces. According to Lendlease, it is already home to more than 1,800 residents and supports a daily workforce of more than 12,000 people.

The principal office building is Melbourne Quarter Tower at 695 Collins Street, a 34-floor premium A-grade tower providing approximately 70,000 square metres of office space.

"The completion of Melbourne Quarter marks the end of a 13-year transformation," said Adam Williams, Executive Director, Development at Lendlease. "What was once a former railyard is now a vibrant city neighbourhood where people can live, work and connect."

Sky Park Hosts Melbourne Fashion Week Preview

At the centre of the precinct is Sky Park, which Lendlease describes as Australia's first elevated public park. The 2,000-square-metre park is suspended 11 metres above Collins Street and offers views across Melbourne.

The Melbourne Fashion Week Media Preview, held in partnership with the City of Melbourne and Melbourne Fashion Week, converted Sky Park into an open-air runway. The event brought together media, influencers and invited guests for a first look at highlights from this year's Melbourne Fashion Week program.

Melbourne Quarter is also showing fashion-inspired installations across the precinct from 16 to 30 October, including activations delivered with longstanding partner First Nations fashion label Ngali, which celebrate Indigenous creativity, storytelling and design.

"Sky Park was designed as a place for the community to gather and experience the city in new ways," Williams said. "Seeing it transformed into a Melbourne Fashion Week runway is a great example of how these spaces can support culture and connection."

Completion Arrives in a Selective Melbourne CBD Office Market

The completion comes as Melbourne's office market continues to split between high-quality, amenity-rich buildings and older stock. Melbourne CBD vacancy stood at 18.9% in July 2026, down marginally from 19.0% six months earlier, with positive demand concentrated in A-grade buildings. JLL, using a different methodology, reported CBD vacancy of 20.5% in the second quarter of 2026, equivalent to about 1.1 million square metres of vacant space.

Melbourne's CBD received approximately 675,000 square metres of new office space between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2026, equal to 12.5% of total stock. Projects including 51 Flinders Lane and 435 Bourke Street continued to add supply in 2026, and JLL said two second-quarter completions alone delivered 48,000 square metres.

Premium and A-grade rents have held up. Cushman & Wakefield reported second-quarter 2026 net effective rents of approximately A$506 per square metre per year for premium space, up 9.8% year over year, and A$405 per square metre per year for A-grade space, up 9.3%. CBRE said the next major new-supply wave may not emerge until 2032 at the earliest, with approximately 100,000 square metres of backfill space expected to enter the market during 2027 and 2028.

Public Realm as a Differentiator for Lendlease

With the precinct finished, Lendlease holds a completed mixed-use asset that combines office, residential, retail and dining with public space. Sky Park, the resident population and cultural programming form an amenity offering at a time when landlords are competing for tenants in a high-vacancy market.

Lendlease said events such as Melbourne Fashion Week demonstrate how the precinct's public spaces can create shared experiences and contribute to the cultural life of the city as Melbourne Quarter enters its next chapter.

Sources

• Lendlease media release: Melbourne Quarter welcomes Melbourne Fashion Week to Sky Park