The Islamic Council of Victoria is searching for a site for a grand mosque in central Melbourne to cater for growing demand.

Key points: Demand for prayer facilities in Melbourne outstripping supply

Demand for prayer facilities in Melbourne outstripping supply Islamic Council wants mosque in Hoddle Street grid or Docklands

Islamic Council wants mosque in Hoddle Street grid or Docklands It hopes to have something in the ground in five to 10 years

The council's president, Byram Aktepe, said the current facilities needed to be expanded.

"At the moment, the city mosque, which started with about 300 people praying on one floor, has grown to two services being prayed over three floors. So we're talking about 2,000 people praying there," he told 774 ABC Melbourne's Jon Faine.

Mr Aktepe said the new mosque could be housed in an existing city building, or may stand alone.

It would ideally be located within in the Hoddle Street grid or in the Docklands to ensure accessibility, he added.

"If it's a standalone building, we'd like something to be uniquely Australian in how it looks — not a traditional type of mosque with lots of minarets and that sort of thing.

"[We want] something that's appealing to the eye and something that blends in with the local fabric."

Victoria's population is growing about 1.7 per cent each year.

Mr Aktepe said the new mosque should be able to accommodate population growth for the next 30 to 40 years.

"We don't want to be spilling out to the streets. That's the problem that we face if we don't address it in the next few years," he said.

The council is hoping the mosque could be funded by the local community.

"We're not looking for any special favours," Mr Aktepe said.

"If there's an opportunity to work with local and state government to find an appropriate facility, then that would be a bonus. We'll have those discussions with them ... to see what's available."

A garage is used as an extra prayer room when the city mosque is overflowing. ( ABC News: Guy Stayner )

Building 'needs to be multi-purposed'

The council hopes the new building will include both prayer and education facilities.

A planned mosque in Bendigo sparked protests last year, while an application to build a mosque at Narre Warren North was rejected due to planning concerns last month.

Mr Aktepe said the council was working to help allay concerns in the community.

"I think there needs to be more the Muslim community to talk about what actually happens inside a mosque," Mr Aktepe said.

"We do a lot of work with mosque open days each year. Virtually every mosque has one. We'd like to see more people attend those ... so it's less of an alien concept.

"If we can do some of that work ... then I think that, some of the anxieties that are rightly out there, can be overcome."

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said he was not concerned about any potential security issues.

"A number of our communities work with security concerns, the Jewish community certainly do that at their schools and often at their places of worship," he said.

"Our city, I think, is set to to be a very safe place to be and to worship, so I think a mosque would be a wonderful addition to multicultural Melbourne."

The council is hoping to have something in the ground in five to 10 years.