Education officials said the proposed accommodation would be aimed at students attending a new University of Waikato campus expected to open in the city centre by 2019.
Waikato University deputy vice-chancellor Alister Jones said the university was not funding the facility but was working with the developer to ensure that students would benefit from it.
"It's not a student hostel but it is a major development," he said. "It will open at a similar time as the campus on Durham St."
Education officials at the university and at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology were unable to give details of price, exact location, building size or the number of beds that would be available.
A developer named as being behind the project said it was "only a thought at this stage" and "we haven't committed to anything".
A proposal was lodged with Tauranga City Council a year ago, but "I haven't followed through with it" and it was too early to give further details of the project.
The Bay of Plenty Times has not named the developer because it is understood that publicity could have financial implications for him.
In May 2014, a proposal to build a 100-bed hostel in Spring St prompted the council to relax its rules on high-density living in the city.
The hostel has not been built, but it does mean that the proposed new development should gain building consent more easily.
The university's new campus will feature two buildings joined by an atrium and walkway, and will be built on a downtown Durham St site that is being used for car parking.
The official completion date for the campus is 2020, but the university hopes that it will be at least partially open to students by 2019.
Campus officials will collaborate with the nearby Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology's Bongard Centre, with the idea of creating a "tertiary precinct" for Tauranga.
