New $800 million tower unveiled for Melbourne Square precinct

A major new residential tower has been unveiled for Southbank, with developer OSK Property announcing Aura as the next phase of the $3.5 billion Melbourne Square precinct.

Planned for 7 Hoff Boulevard, Aura will deliver 673 apartments across 67 storeys and continue the transformation of the large mixed-use precinct on the eastern side of Southbank.

The new $800 million tower is being pitched as a wellness-focused addition to Melbourne Square, with its design drawing on Japanese principles of calm, clarity and simplicity, while also taking cues from Australian natural materials and landscape.

According to the developer, Aura will centre on four key elements: apartment design, social amenity, Japanese-inspired gardens and a broad suite of wellness facilities.

Those facilities will be spread across multiple levels, including the Aura Club on level seven, which is set to feature an indoor pool, cold plunge, spa, gym, Reformer Pilates studio, yoga room, sauna, steam room, library, games and music rooms, golf simulator, work-from-home spaces and open-air terraces.

Higher in the tower, levels 66 and 67 will house the Cumulus Club, including lounges, private dining, outdoor terrace areas and wellness spaces such as treatment rooms, sauna, meditation and sound therapy rooms. Levels 49 and 50 will feature the Meridian Club, focused more on social uses, with a lounge bar, conservatory and private dining rooms.

Designed by COX Architecture, Aura is intended to complete the eastern end of the Melbourne Square precinct and add another distinctive element to the Southbank skyline.

The building’s design has been described as combining influences from both New York high-rises and Tokyo’s skyline, while its interiors aim to create a calmer, more reflective living environment.

The ground floor and level one will also include around 1600 sqm of retail space across between five and eight tenancies, adding to the existing mix of public amenities already operating within Melbourne Square, including Kennedy Park, Woolworths, Nido Early School, BWS and nearby cafés and restaurants.

OSK Property chief executive Chong Boon Woon said Aura would build on the strong market response to BLVD, the previous Melbourne Square release, which is now 80 per cent sold.

“Aura stands tall as an exemplar of holistic wellness,” he said.

“Its focus on social, physical and mental health culminate in a building that is calming, restorative and relaxing, where residents will have their own sanctuary within the well-connected and sought-after Southbank.”

COX director Paul Curry said the tower would act as a gateway between the broader Melbourne Square precinct and the surrounding city.

Construction of Aura is currently expected to begin in late 2026.