Former 3AW radio building turning Japanese with apartment tower

The former home of radio station 3AW is being replaced by a 19-storey Japanese-influenced apartment tower.

Set to swap shock jocks for sleeping quarters, the property on Bank St, South Melbourne will become home to 170 apartments ranging from one- to three-bedroom floorplans.

The station and many of its best known on-air talents, including former Herald Sun editor Neil Mitchell, shock jock turned politician Derryn Hinch and breakfast radio mainstay Ross Stevenson, were based in the building from 1991 until 2010.

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It was sold to developer Virgate for $15 million in 2016.

The building is expected to stand 19-storeys tall, with a facade based on Soho in New York.

The $120 million redevelopment dubbed Domain House for its location in the suburb’s Domain precinct has been designed by Bruce Henderson Architects and will reflect a luxury hotel, with some apartments to be priced up to $1.7 million.

A foyer Japanese garden featuring bonsai, Japanese cherry and maple trees, and a Japanese-influenced yoga studio are part of plans to give the tower an international feel.

A Japanese-style yoga studio will feature in the development’s sixth-storey podium.

The tower itself was inspired by the streets of Soho in New York.

Construction is expected to begin in October next year and be completed in 2022; apartment sales will commence via CBRE Residential Projects from October 19.

This article from the Herald Sun originally appeared as “Former 3AW radio station home to become Japanese-influenced tower”.