City Council seeks offers for beach volleyball site and carpark

The Adelaide City Council could reap more than $30m from the sale of the CBD beach volleyball site and an adjoining carpark.

Adelaide City Beach volleyball on the corner of Pirie and Frome streets.

The Adelaide City Council could reap more than $30m from the sale of the CBD beach volleyball site and an adjoining carpark, which have been formally listed for sale through international firm JLL.

Offers for the beach volleyball site as a stand-alone development opportunity are being sought by the council, which will also consider bids for an expanded site taking in the Pirie Flinders UPark on Pirie St.

JLL head of sales and investments Roger Klem and the council would not comment on a potential sale price, but industry sources suggest the beach volleyball site, which stretches across more than 1500sq m, could alone fetch around $8m.

With the income producing carpark added in, the landholding expands to 5231sq m, boosting the expected sale price to more than $30m.

Developers are being offered the chance to purchase Adelaide City Council’s Pirie Flinders UPark as an add-on to the adjacent beach volleyball site.

Mr Klem expects the property to attract significant interest from local and interstate developers.

“The opportunity to acquire the Pirie Flinders UPark carpark provides a unique opportunity to increase the total landholding to approximately 5231sqm, which may support a larger and more integrated mixed-use development with provision to incorporate the existing carpark,” he said.

“Given the key location within the frame of the CBD, scope exists for developers to explore options including residential, short-term visitor accommodation, build to rent, commercial offices, education, business, retail and entertainment activities or a mixed-use development.”

The council had earlier earmarked the sale of the beach volleyball courts following a strategic review of its property holdings and in a bid to shore up council finances in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The beach volleyball site’s community land status was recently revoked, paving the way for a developer to build a “more intensive mixed-use development” on the site.

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said the council was seeking to “fully realise” the development potential of the beach volleyball site, with the adjacent carpark providing a “significant value-add opportunity”.

“Pirie St itself is undergoing its own renaissance, with significant investments underway including new commercial offices, exciting building refurbishments and an expanding food and beverage offer,” she said.

Expressions of interest close at 4pm on September 30.