27-storey landmark takes shape at Central Square, to be ready in 2027

The 27-storey Central Tower in Chennai, set to open in 2027, will feature a hotel, offices, retail spaces, and multiplex.

The 27-storey Central Tower, which is being constructed at the busy junction opposite the Chennai Central Railway Station, will be ready by mid-2027.

Coming up at Central Square — modelled on the lines of London’s Trafalgar Square, Moscow’s Red Square and New York’s Times Square — the ₹350-crore, 119-metre-tall building has been designed as one of the iconic landmarks, housing everything from a hotel and office space to a multiplex.

Dedicated on-ground walkways will link the tower to Park Town MRTS station and suburban railway station. The basement of the tower will be connected to the Chennai Central Metro Rail station.

After the Chennai Metro Rail’s architect designed the building, the elevation was presented to a high-level committee of the State government, which approved it after multiple meetings.

According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), the Central Tower was designed in a way that blends it with the surrounding heritage structures such as the Chennai Central Railway Station, Victoria Public Hall, and the Ripon Buildings.

“While the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture is not adopted per se, we have captured some of its elements. We have also added a glass façade to provide a scenic view of the city and the sea. This building is situated at a vantage point, surrounded by other heritage structures, and hence, we tried to incorporate elements from these buildings. The bottom portion of the building is a public space; we used colonnades [an element of the Indo-Saracenic style] as part of the building design from here till the fifth floor,” said an official of C.R. Narayana Rao (Consultants) Private Limited, the architect.