Work Under Way on Hickory, MaxCap $300m Little Bourke Street Student Highrise

Melbourne’s CBD has homes for about 25,000 of the nearly quarter-million international students that call it home. However, a $300-million joint-venture between Hickory and MaxCap will add a significant number of beds to that. Construction is now under way on the 26-level purpose-built student accommodation tower at 570 Little Bourke Street, with UniLodge appointed as operator. Designed by Nettletontribe, the tower will deliver 892 beds across 748 units. Completion is expected in late 2027 and the first students welcomed from Semester 1, 2028. Amenities will include a library, gymnasium, cinema, music room, group dining areas, lounges and games spaces. The facade of the historic Great Western Hotel will be retained as part of a broader reinterpretation of the surrounding bluestone, sandstone and red brick streetscape. Hickory managing director George Abraham said the site’s history had shaped the delivery approach. “The Great Western Hotel stood on King Street through generations of this city,” Abraham said. “It has been part of Melbourne’s history for over 160 years. We respect that. This is not something you completely demolish and forget about. It’s something you build around. “So we’re keeping its facade exactly where it belongs, front and centre. Because history like that deserves to be honoured, not erased.” Pedestrian access between Lonsdale and Little Bourke dstreets will be improved, with Brown Alley activated and new retail tenancies introduced at street level. Hickory’s fourth PBSA project and its first under an integrated builder-developer model, the development leverages in-house capabilities across construction, facades, manufacturing and fit-out to reduce planning and delivery risk. ▲ A rendering of the 26-level PBSA tower showing the restored Great Western Hotel facade at street level. Hickory group chief executive Michael Argyrou said the approach created greater certainty for investors. “Our integrated model allows us to take on more responsibility on suitable projects, reducing risk for investors and financiers while providing certainty that projects will be delivered to the highest standard,” Argyrou said. Offsite manufacturing also features in the delivery strategy, with SYNC prefabricated bathrooms to be installed—fully finished and tested before arriving on site, reducing on-site labour requirements and defects upon completion. The project is MaxCap’s second PBSA investment in recent years, following completion of the 736-bed UniLodge Perth Central asset in late 2025. MaxCap executive director Brae Sokolski said the project reflected confidence in Melbourne’s recovery. “This project is truly part of our re-emergence—getting the cranes back in the sky, building the critical social infrastructure projects this city needs,” Sokolski said. Preferred equity for the project was arranged by hCapital, Hickory’s investment manager, working in conjunction with MaxCap’s equity team. ▲ The Great Western Hotel on the corner of Little Bourke and King Street was a well-known watering hole for 158 years. Image: State Library of Victoria MaxCap head of equity investment Simon Hulett said activating new developments in the current environment was challenging, “so we are fortunate to have Hickory as a fully integrated partner to enable a clear pathway to delivery of the product”. UniLodge executive chairman Peter Bates said ongoing supply constraints underpinned the investment rationale. “The demand for high-quality PBSA in Melbourne is still undersupplied,” Bates said. “Provision falls short of global benchmarks relative to total student enrolment numbers. Well-located, premium-quality accommodation like 570 Little Bourke is absolutely critical infrastructure for the sector.” Abraham said the project represented a broader shift for Melbourne’s western CBD. “What we’re delivering here is 892 beds across 26 levels of purpose-built student accommodation—one of the larger properties on UniLodge’s asset register,” Abraham said. “But more than numbers, it’s about what this development does for the city. King Street and the western CBD have been waiting for this kind of activation. “This is Hickory doing what we do best, which is taking on complex, meaningful sites and delivering something the city can be proud of. For perhaps another 160 years.”

Work Under Way on Hickory, MaxCap $300m Little Bourke Street Student Highrise

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