The next piece in the puzzle in one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in years has slotted into place.

Melbourne restaurateur Chris Lucas has announced his restaurant collaboration with acclaimed chef Martin Benn and partner Vicki Wild will be in the $800 million 80 Collins development in the CBD.

Although originally mooted to open last year, it’s now April, 2020 that the trio’s yet-to-be-named restaurant will serve its first diners.

Spanning 2000 sq m and multiple levels, the trio will open two restaurant concepts in a space that boasts eight-metre ceilings, open terraces and sweeping views across Collins and Exhibition streets.

Lucas said designs would be finalised by June and the restaurant build would begin soon after.

Taking over the corner of Collins and Exhibition streets – where high-end Le Louvre fashion boutique sold couture for almost 90 years – 80 Collins will include offices, a boutique hotel, high-end retail and hospitality spaces.

Lucas, whose restaurant empire includes Chin Chin, Kisume, Baby and Kong, lured Sydney’s powerhouse culinary couple from internationally acclaimed Sepia to Melbourne in what Lord Mayor Sally Capp described as a huge coup for the city.

Lucas said the trio wanted to create a “truly international restaurant”.

“The building will establish, I hope, a new era of elegance. I think the time has come (for Melbourne) to be a world class player in hospitality,” Lucas said. “We are very fortunate (Benn and Wild) have chosen Melbourne as their home town. I came to them with a vision and they believe in it. To close Sepia at the height of its success is unheard of.”

Benn said the site was integral to the development of the restaurant concepts.

“The site is so important, it defines how we use the space. If it was in a laneway it would be something else. This is such a visible, prominent site,” he said. “I feel like Sepia was my apprenticeship. This will be my life’s work. This restaurant will be my legacy.”