The developer behind a proposed student accommodation high-rise on the site of the Cambridge Hotel hopes to lodge plans for the site this month.
Linkcity Australia managing director Nicolas Swiderski said on Wednesday that the company had held pre-application meetings with City of Newcastle and would submit plans in about two weeks.
Linkcity announced in March last year that it would buy the hotel and spend about $110 million transforming it into a 19-storey "sanctuary" for 500 students living out of home for the first time.
Linkcity, part of the French Bouygues group, has developed more than 17,000 student accommodation beds in France and the United Kingdom.
Sister company AW Edwards will build the tower if approved.
"If approved, this will be first purpose-built accommodation for students in the city centre and we are excited to be able to lead the way in providing a high-quality, smart and sustainable development for what is arguably our most informed and consequence-conscious generation," Mr Swiderski said last year.
"These 500 students will bring a new vibrancy to the Newcastle CBD, spending money, eating out and also looking for part-time employment. It will be a long-term economic lift for the CBD."
Unilodge, which operates 35,000 student housing beds in Australia and New Zealand, is a partner in the project.
The Cambridge Hotel's lease expires next month, and its operators are planning a three-day "farewell festival" from June 23 to 25.
Hoteliers Russell Richardson and Greg Mathew are reconfiguring another of their venues, the King Street Hotel, to fill the live music void left by the Cambridge's closure.
The Hunter and Central Coast Regional Planning Panel is the determining authority for the project.
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