The city's record number of proposed skyscrapers shows no sign of slowing as interests associated with Melbourne's largest private apartment developer Central Equity lodge plans for another 50-level tower in Southbank.
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If the 165 metre high-rise block at 54-68 Kavanagh Street comes to fruition, it will bring the number of dwellings planned for the suburb to 3350.
Across the border in Fishermans Bend, a further 8382 dwellings are waiting approval.
The seven Southbank towers now being considered by Planning Minister Matthew Guy will see it rival the CBD's breakneck development pace as industry speculation grows that another tranche of skyscrapers are likely to be approved before the government goes into caretaker mode on November 4 for the state election.
The approvals would be reminiscent of a "Super Tuesday" in February and a "Super Thursday" in June when a combined 10 tall towers were fast-tracked.
Central Equity's latest proposal includes 720 apartments, 417 car spaces and 490 bike lots in a building with a nine level podium stretching between Kavanagh and Fawkner streets.
As potential development sites dry up in the CBD, domestic and offshore developers were likely to focus on Southbank, JLL's Victorian sales and investments director James Kaufman said.
"On the construction front, there are currently four major residential projects being developed in Southbank. This pipeline will deliver 1895 apartments to market between 2014 and 2015," Mr Kaufman said.
About 80 per cent of Southbank was yet to be fully developed under the current planning controls, the JLL report Transforming Southbank: From Industrial to Residential says.
Southbank could add 4 million square metres of gross floor area by 2040, equivalent to 45,040 dwellings, the report states.
That would support the anticipated growth of the residential population to 58,550 and working population to 53,470 – a 557 per cent increase.
The suburb's rapid expansion has prompted concerns about the lack of facilities including schools, post office and open spaces.
A recent Fairfax Media analysis of apartment resales in the suburb shows values flatlining or declining suggesting an oversupply of units.
"Over the past 20 years, the number of apartments in Southbank has risen from less than 600 to 10,000 by the end of 2013, and land has increased from less than $1000 to $15-20,000 per sq m," Mr Kaufman said.
Most of the growth in land values has occurred since 2008, he said.
