Malaysian developer SP Setia has secured approval to transform a completed Melbourne hotel tower into residential apartments. The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) granted the permit for the project at 288-308 Exhibition Street. The site was acquired by SP Setia from Telstra in 2016 for $101 million. Originally, the project was planned as a luxury Shangri-La hotel.
Shifting from Hotel to Apartments
The project involves converting a “cold shell” hotel tower into 393 residential units. This includes 98 studio apartments, 147 one-bedroom units, 138 two-bedroom units, and 10 three-bedroom units. The plan has a total development value of $250 million. Officials described the proposal as an “innovative and positive response” to the adaptive reuse of the existing building structure.
SP Setia put the 500-room Shangri-La Melbourne project up for sale in 2022 for $500 million. However, no buyer emerged for the property. The developer then shifted its focus back to the residential conversion earlier this year. The new layouts incorporate Murphy beds in the studio apartments. The assessment report states these provide greater flexibility and additional usable living space. The City of Melbourne did not object to the application, noting that the adaptive reuse makes a “meaningful” contribution to the city’s housing targets.
Plans for the new apartments include 2247 square meters of retail space and 4624 square meters of function space in the podium. The development also features 1423 square meters of indoor communal amenities and 670 square meters of outdoor area. The complex provides 487 bicycle parking spaces and only 20 car spots. It links to the neighboring Sapphire by the Gardens residential tower via a skybridge that won the 2022 ASI National Award for Engineering Projects.
Atlas Melbourne Construction Begins
Construction is already underway on the second tower at 383 La Trobe Street. This 72-storey, $525 million highrise will deliver over 850 apartments. This project represents the first to break ground in Melbourne since SP Setia began work on the Exhibition Street project in 2018. The Atlas Melbourne tower, designed by Cox Architecture and Fender Katsalidis, is located on a 2851 square meter site and marks the second partnership between SP Setia and the builder Multiplex, who previously delivered the West Side Place precinct and Melbourne Square.