Super skyscraper in Southbank would dominate Melbourne's skyline Australia 108 UPDATE 2017

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• published: 20 Mar 2017
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Super skyscraper in Southbank would dominate Melbourne's skyline Australia 108 UPDATE 2017 Super skyscraper in Southbank would dominate Melbourne's skyline Australia 108 UPDATE 2017 Super skyscraper in Southbank would dominate Melbourne's skyline Australia 108 UPDATE 2017 Designs for the huge Australia 108 are being finalised and, if approved, will feature 600 apartments, the nation's highest hotel and restaurants seemingly floating 84 stories above the city. The 108-storey tower, which will be the 18th-tallest building in the world, is planned to rise near the 297m Eureka Tower. Architects Fender Katsalidis, who also built Eureka, gained planning approval for a 228m apartment building on the 70 Southbank Boulevard site in 2010, despite objections from Melbourne City Council. But Nonda Katsalidis has super-sized his plans by adding a 288-room hotel and sky deck on top, saying the economy had strengthened and Melbourne was more confident and ready for an iconic centrepiece. "Buildings like this change cities, they make the city more dynamic, more interesting, more exciting," he said. One of Australia 108's most striking features will be a two-storey sky lobby which will house two restaurants and two bars, extending 9m out of the building, 84-storeys above Melbourne. A hotel check-in and swimming pool will also appear to hang over the city, with sections of glass floor enabling visitors to see all the way to the ground in a much larger version of Eureka's Sky Deck. Although the skyscraper is intended to dominate Melbourne's skyline, Mr Katsalidis said it would form a pair with Eureka. Towering apartment buildings are also set to rise near Queen Victoria Market, with approval gained for skyscrapers in Elizabeth St and at the Celtic Club in Queen St. The 62-storey, 197m tower on the corner of Elizabeth and Franklin streets will house 541 apartments only 100m from Victoria Market. The Celtic Club development will rise 48 storeys and 154m with 256 apartments within 300m of the market. While the redesigned Australia 108 plans will be subjected to a fresh planning application process, Planning Minister Matthew Guy said the fact such a project was being proposed underlined the confidence in Melbourne. "Australia is coming of age and our cities are growing upwards," Mr Guy said. "Taller buildings ... are a symbol of a growing nation, a strong economy, and they do have the ability to define a city."