A new building proposed for Queenstown could lead to the expansion of the SIT campus and the first Chipmunks childcare centre for the resort.
Remarkables Park has applied for resource consent to construct a four-storey building near the SIT campus at the shopping centre.
"Building 13" would house Chipmunks and a cafe on the basement and first floor, and 16 apartments on the top floors.
Remarkables Park director Alastair Porter said the building was the next step in the shopping centre's development.
Chipmunks was a leader in its field and would fit in well in the family atmosphere of the centre, he said.
SIT and Remarkables Park were confident there was a gap in the market for affordable student accommodation in Queenstown, but if anything changed the apartments could be used as visitor accommodation or turned into office space, he said.
Mr Porter said he hoped consent would be granted at the end of the month and building could start as early as next month, with the opening scheduled for the end of the year or early next year.
SIT chief executive Penny Simmonds said there was much interest in the Queenstown campus from overseas students, but it had been reluctant to place them when there was nowhere for them to stay.
In Invercargill, the number of foreign students had grown by 182 per cent in the 2008-09 financial year and the increase looked set to be even bigger this year, Ms Simmonds said.
Building 13 would provide a great location for students next to the campus and in an area that had plenty of shops and restaurants, she said.
Chipmunks representatives could not be contacted.