A 15-storey building planned for a north Sydney site would create 510 beds for students at the nearby Macquarie University.

Campus Properties and Baracon Property Group submitted an application for the site at 23-25 Lachlan Avenue, Macquarie Park.

The tower, designed by Rothelowman, includes single, double and multi-bed boarding rooms with ground-floor dining facilities, recreation areas and study space.

There is also a laundry, gym, cinema, 22 car parks, 11 motorbike spaces and 86 bicycle parking spots in the plans.

The tower would replace two low-rise buildings with 26 apartments on the 2266sq m site.

The property groups, led by Jon Whittle and Brett Rogers, have previously worked on such large-scale projects as collaborations with Whittle’s Campus Estates and Global Student Accommodation Group.

The student accommodation sector has been under stress thanks to a lack of international arrivals that has reduced the NSW student population by a third in 2021.

Despite this, development applications have been moving ahead while some providers have applied to repurpose assets to be used by essential workers until borders reopen.

According to the Macquarie Park application, the building will take “advantage of the nearby Macquarie University and the new metro rail station”.

“The proposed development will encompass all the facilities expected of a contemporary student college,” the application states.

“The site’s location and use as student accommodation provides an … opportunity to activate the public domain on two sides of the site … the street edge to Lachlan Avenue, [and] … interfacing to the Elouera Reserve Parklands.”