Student tower proposed for King St

The City of Melbourne is considering a planning application that seeks to build a new 12-storey student tower complete with a rooftop walking track in the CBD.

The proposal, located at 225 King St, would see the current 12-storey building, a former Victoria University city campus, demolished, to make way for the 80-metre tower.

The plans, which were recently lodged with the City of Melbourne, would accommodate 431 students in 409 studio and 11 two-bedroom apartments.

It would feature a ground floor study, lounge, meeting room and retails shops, various break our spaces across various levels, and a games room, study, lounge, study, and gym on level 12.

Under the proposal by Plus Architecture, an outdoor deck and walking track would be on the rooftop.

Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the council welcomed new developments which “deliver quality housing for students” and would “carefully consider this application to ensure it meets these high standards”.

“Melbourne is consistently ranked as Australia’s best student city, and we want to go one better and make it the world’s best student city,” he said.

“That means we need to keep working hard to build on Melbourne’s enviable reputation as a place for students to study and learn – with a CBD boasting everything from parks and cafes to libraries and entertainment.” 

The average room size would be 19 square metres, with 1359 square metres of communal space, and 377 square metres of tenancy space. A basement would house a laundry and 64 bicycles.

Last November, the council endorsed a plan to allow a 12-storey student housing complex to be built at North Melbourne’s RMIT Village at 5-17 Flemington Rd that would house 644 rooms.

Victoria University’s new 32-level city tower campus opened in 2022 to thousands of students at 370 Little Lonsdale St after five years of construction. •

Caption: An artist’s impression of the student tower.