Tullamarine airport hotel of 164 keys approved over Hume objection
Victoria's planning department granted a permit for a 164-key, eight-storey hotel at 13 International Square, Tullamarine, after Hume council refused it.
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Victoria’s Department of Transport and Planning has granted a permit for a 164-key hotel at 13 International Square, Tullamarine (Melbourne), according to The Urban Developer’s report of 6 November. The department overruled the City of Hume, which had refused the application earlier this year.
The Urban Developer says the project will turn two “factory-like” buildings into an eight-storey tower. The plans were designed by Hayball and lodged by developer SMA Projects.
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For Melbourne developers, the outcome shows the state department can overrule a council refusal on land use in an industrial zone.
Why it matters
The Urban Developer reports that Hume rejected the plan on the ground that the proposed use conflicted with the largely industrial neighbourhood.
SMA Projects countered that a Mantra hotel already operates nearby in the Commercial 2 zone, and that a second hotel already has approval on the adjoining Trade Park Drive site at number 4-6. The outlet reports that the department then overruled the council’s objections and issued the permit. The article does not give the date of the permit.
The Urban Developer describes the Tullamarine hotel as adding to a growing roster of accommodation around Melbourne Airport. The outlet frames the approval as part of Melbourne’s hotel growth moving beyond the CBD.
The numbers
- 164 keys across eight storeys at 13 International Square, per The Urban Developer.
- The design includes a business centre and gym on a ground-floor podium.
- The same report says builder-developer Pace has started work on the 97-key Oakwood Flemington, an apartment hotel next to Flemington Racecourse. The Ascott Limited turned the first sod on 4 November, and the outlet gives an expected opening of February 2028.
- The article cites Savills as saying the Melbourne CBD hotel pipeline is slowing as the market absorbs developments started several years ago. Savills puts average daily rates up 2.2 per cent year on year in 2025, with occupancy up 2.9 percentage points.
The article gives no construction cost, no estimated start date and no operator for the Tullamarine hotel, so none is stated here.
What’s next
The Urban Developer’s report does not say when construction at 13 International Square will begin, or who will operate the hotel. Those details are not stated in the report.
For the Flemington project, the outlet reports an opening in February 2028. Ascott’s Oakwood brand is part of its global accommodation portfolio, and the outlet says Ascott expects three more Australian hotels to open by the end of 2026, one being Oakwood Epping in Melbourne’s north.
In the CBD, our earlier report on the Cbus Bourke Street tower covers an office project with hotel-style amenities.
Source: The Urban Developer, 6 November 2026.
Quick answers
Has the Tullamarine airport hotel of 164 keys in Melbourne been approved?
Victoria's planning department granted a permit for a 164-key, eight-storey hotel at 13 International Square, Tullamarine, after Hume council refused it.
What are the key numbers in this story?
hotel keys: 164; storeys: 8; Flemington keys: 97.
Where does this information come from?
This story cites The Urban Developer. Every source is linked on the page.
Sources
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Filed by the AusDev Melbourne Desk. How we report.