Australia 108

Australia 108
Artist's render of the approved design for Australia 108
Alternative names	70 Southbank Boulevard
General information
Status	Under construction
Location	70 Southbank Boulevard, Melbourne, Australia
Construction started	2015
Completed	2020
Cost	~AUD$900 million
Height
Architectural	316.7 m (1,039.0 ft)
Tip	318.7 m (1,045.6 ft)
Top floor	312.4 m (1,024.9 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	100 plus 1 underground
Lifts/elevators	11
Design and construction
Architecture firm	Fender Katsalidis Architects
Developer	Aspial Corporation
Main contractor	Brookfield Multiplex
Other information
Number of rooms	1,105
Parking	558
Website
http://www.australia108.com.au/

Australia 108 (previously 70 Southbank Boulevard) is a residential supertall skyscraper currently under construction in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. When completed, it will become the tallest building in Australia by roof height, surpassing the Eureka Tower, and the second-tallest building in Australia by full height, surpassed by Q1. The project consists of a 317-metre-tall (1,040 ft) apartment building with 1,105 apartments over 100 floors. Construction commenced in 2015, with completion expected in 2020.

Prior to its current form, plans were initially for a 226-metre-tall residential building with 72 floors. In 2012, these plans were revised and resubmitted in favour of a design with a height of 388 metres (1,273 ft) and 108 storeys. This proposal was approved by the State Government in March 2013; however, it was shelved four months later after it struggled to meet conditions imposed by government authorities including VicRoads and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

The 70 Southbank Boulevard site is situated on the corner of City Road and Southbank Boulevard in the Southbank precinct of Melbourne. The land comprised two separately titled buildings, both of which had two levels. The buildings had a total net lettable area of 2,828 m², on a land area of 2,642 m².

The site was purchased by architecture firm Fender Katsalidis Architects in April 2008, for $14.2 million, after the original tenancies ran an expression of interest campaign.

In 2009, plans were submitted by Fender Katsalidis Architects to the City of Melbourne for a A$400 million residential building to be built on the 70 Southbank Boulevard site. In its original proposal, the building, 70 Southbank Boulevard, was planned to be 226 metres in height and consist of 532 residential apartments, six levels of office space, a fresh food market and other retail amenities, spanning 72 floors. The building was designed to replicate the nearby Eureka Tower, also a Fender Katsalidis development. Nonda Katsalidis noted the similarities with the Eureka Tower: