Dexus Reveals Apartment Tower for St Kilda Office Site

St Kilda Road, once Melbourne’s premier corporate strip, is entering a time of transition as plans to turn ageing office towers into apartments begin to grow.

The latest is by Dexus, who has filed plans to replace its office building at 636 St Kilda Road with a $320-million residential tower.

The application, submitted as a ministerial permit under the Development Facilitation Program, proposes 402 apartments across 27 storeys on the prominent St Kilda Junction site.

Planning documents by Urbis propose 40 studios, 87 one, 203 two and 66 three-bedroom homes plus six penthouses.

The Bates Smart-designed tower has two distinct “expressions”, according to the application documents.

The boulevard-facing elevation would “mirror the rhythm and scale of heritage mansions”, while the park-facing side would feature sculpted glass forms opening toward Albert Park Lake and Port Phillip Bay.

Rising to 90.2m excluding roof services, the project would deliver 68,891sq m of gross floor area above a four-level basement with 449 car and 122 bicycle spaces.

This would include a two-storey podium with a stepped tower form that is in response to the triangular 4542sq m site.

The podium would comprise 1578 sq m of communal amenities including ground-level health and wellness facilities such as a 25m pool, gym and spa treatment rooms.

Level one would include 366sq m of residential and work lounges, while level 20 would include 360sq m of entertainment and dining spaces. A rooftop terrace on level 21 would provide 182sq m of outdoor space and a 138sq m linear park is planned at street level.

Landscaping design by Tract Consultants includes 35 canopy trees across 1303sq m and a 100 per cent STORM rating. The project would target a 7.5-star NatHERS average energy rating, supported by a 25kW solar photovoltaic system and 35,000L rainwater tank.

Under the proposal, Dexus would demolish the 19-storey office building on the site. The project would generate $228 million in gross value added during construction and support 340 full-time equivalent jobs.

Post-completion, the development is projected to contribute $15 million in annual retail expenditure and seven ongoing full-time equivalent positions.

The developer would contribute $9.6 million to the Social Housing Growth Fund, equivalent to 3 per cent of development costs.

The site is within the St Kilda Road North Precinct. The proposal aligns with mandatory height and setback requirements under the Port Phillip Planning Scheme while responding to the precinct’s ongoing transformation into a mixed-use residential corridor.

▲ The 19-storey office tower at St Kilda Junction would make way for the apartment development.

According to Dexus’ annual results for the the 2025 financial year, released in August, the company undertook around $5.0 billion in transactions, comprising $1.2 billion in acquisitions and $3.8 billion in divestments.

The company’s real estate development pipeline stands at $13.3 billion, including major projects such as Atlassian Central and Waterfront Brisbane.

In July, the Dexus Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund acquired a 25 per cent stake in Westfield Chermside for $683 million, in one of the largest shopping centre transactions of 2025.

That deal was the latest collaboration between Dexus and Scentre Group. Under that ongoing partnership, the joint venture secured approval in April for a $38.5 million residential development in Perth’s Ardross.