Plans to turn Blackwell's Publishing offices in east Oxford into 74 student flats and a restaurant or shop have been turned down.
Blackwell's 113 staff are moving out of 108 Cowley Road, used by the company's science publishing sector, to join colleagues at Oxford Business Park.
A planning application was submitted for offices fronting Cowley Road to be turned into a shop, restaurant or pub, with office space to the rear and 74 student rooms in a warden-controlled development.
Oxford City Council officers advised councillors to support the scheme, saying it would revitalise the dead frontage of the building and retain it as an important employment site.
But east Oxford councillors said the development was not in accordance with city policy to modernise employment sites and refused permission.
Residents living nearby were also concerned about being "flooded" with more student flats.
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