The Empire Building was home to commercial, retail arcade with offices and showrooms over, in the city of Melbourne, Australia.

[2] It housed a variety of different uses, with a dead-end retail arcade at ground level and 'rooms' above, accommodating over the years the usual array of specialist uses found in city buildings such as a cafe on the first floor, a ladies training college, a dressmaker, a tailor, a poultry specialist, and a meeting room for hire.

The Empire Arcade was nearly gutted by a spectacular fire in 1923, resulting in losses exceeding at £70,000 but it was quickly rebuilt in the following years.

Designed by ClarkeHopkinsClarke Architects, a small front section of the Empire Building was retained, and a 14 storey tower added behind.

This redevelopment required the balancing of heritage guidelines, commercial imperatives and the City of Melbourne Planning Scheme.