A luxury hotel planned for London Circuit could instead be used to house students, if the developer's revised plans for the site are approved.
Seven years after HTI Group bought the site, the Canberra-based developer has proposed to build a 15-storey student accommodation block where it had once planned a hotel and commercial office space.
The application, which was put before the planning authority last week, seeks to take the already approved hotel building and, by changing it in small ways, convert it to purpose-built student accommodation.
According to the application, the decision was made in response to "evolving market conditions, changing user needs and renewed focus on design efficiency and sustainability".
HTI Group first proposed the idea of a hotel at the City West site in 2019. The then-16-storey building would have included 200 hotel rooms, and would have been built on the site of the London Court building, which would have been demolished.
However, the planning authority was concerned that the drop-off area and pick-up area for the hotel would cause traffic issues once the light rail was constructed, and that the design of the building was not in "rhythm" with the rest of the area.
In 2023, after HTI was able to buy the block next to the London Court building, a revised plan was put to the planning authority for a 15-storey building.
The new designs showed an L-shaped building which was now 15 storeys tall. The first two levels were planned as public space including a cafe, restaurant and bar.
The next seven storeys would house the hotel rooms, with four more storeys of commercial office space above in an "illuminated light box" designed to appear to float above the lower levels.
The entrance to the building was moved to Farrell Place to address the planning authority's concerns, and the hotel was given conditional approval on October 3, 2024.
However, demolition and construction on the site has yet to begin, and on June 16, HTI Group submitted an application to have its approved design converted from hotel rooms to student apartments.
The major design features have remained essentially the same: there will be one level of basement parking, rather than three, and a commercial lift in the centre of the building is no longer required.
Externally, the building's footprint would be slightly reduced from the second storey upwards, and the encroachment onto Shakespeare Square has been removed from the plans, but the design - including the "illuminated light box" previously intended as office space, will remain.
The accommodation would have room for 700 students across 511 rooms, and would include communal spaces on the ground and first storeys such as a gym, study area, quiet rooms and laundry facilities.
On the eighth floor would be a "social and recreational" hub with a bar, community kitchens, barbecue, games lounge, cinema, arts and crafts room and music room.
On the accommodation levels, there would be shared kitchen, living, dining and study spaces to create "semi-private" environments.
Public consultation on the development application is open until Friday, July 17.
