A futuristic residential project proposed for the heart of Fitzroy has been hailed as a test case in the debate over housing density and urban character.

But it has also sparked a strong campaign among residents "to ensure this turkey doesn't get off the ground", according to a leaflet advertising a protest meeting at Richmond Town Hall next Wednesday.

The $70 million apartment project, by local architect Ivan Rijavec and interior designer Joseph Licciardi, is one of the largest private housing developments proposed in Melbourne's oldest suburb.

Occupying almost the entire block bounded by Argyle, Napier, Kerr and Young Streets, the project comprises 128 apartments as well as cafes and offices in a building that ranges in height from three to eight levels.

The project promises the latest in green design; all apartments have a four or five-star energy rating.

Playing on the area's musical and artistic reputation, Mr Rijavec described the design as "free-spirited, urban jazz".

He said he had anticipated resident opposition to the building's bulk and height. "Melburnians are height-phobic when really they should be pancake phobic," he said. "Flat, pancake development leads to consistency and mediocrity."

City of Yarra ward councillor Deborah Di Natale said a number of residents had phoned her, concerned about the project's bulk, height, and lack of sympathy for neighbourhood character and heritage.

"We've listened to our residents' concerns and we think they are valid. As it stands, this (proposal) probably wouldn't be accepted by council," she said.

Mr Rijavec said many people equated neighbourhood character with single and two-storey terraces when Fitzroy was made up of myriad buildings of styles and sizes built in many eras.

The area is not covered by a specific height limit but a heritage overlay guides development in line with the neighbourhood.

Fitzroy Residents' Association president Geoff Barbour said he had not yet considered the application, "but we would be looking for something that is in scale with the street. Seven or eight levels is not likely to be in scale.

"Fundamentally Fitzroy is low rise and I think people like it like that."