Grenfell Centre cladding to be replaced following city fire audit

One of Adelaide’s tallest buildings is having its potentially flammable cladding replaced after an audit prompted by the fatal 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London.

Potentially flammable cladding on one of Adelaide’s tallest and most recognisable buildings is being replaced after a government-led audit of city buildings.

The Grenfell Centre office tower on Grenfell St, otherwise known as the “black stump”, was among hundreds of buildings identified as having aluminium composite panels (ACP) following a statewide audit triggered by the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, in which 72 people died.

Replacement works have begun on-site at the Grenfell Centre, which is home to government and private tenants including SA Health, PIRSA, the Reserve Bank of Australia, JLL, Aurecon, Lipman Karas and Minter Ellison.

They’ve been notified of the works, which are expected to be completed by February 2023.

It is understood the cladding is being replaced with a similar looking material that won’t materially change the appearance of the landmark building.

Work has commenced on a replacement of cladding material on the Grenfell Centre office tower. Picture: Keryn Stevens

While the building was not prioritised by the state government as part of its statewide audit, it was identified by the Adelaide City Council and the council’s building fire safety committee as posing a risk due to the potentially flammable cladding material.

The severity of the risk has not been disclosed.

Adelaide City Council infrastructure and operations director Klinton Devenish said the building’s previous owner, Singapore’s Soilbuild REIT, had been proactive in pushing forward with the multi-million dollar upgrade.

“As part of the statewide aluminium composite panel (ACP) cladding audit conducted by the state government, the City of Adelaide identified this building as having ACP panels whilst undertaking an audit,” he said.

“The City of Adelaide is pleased that the need to upgrade the panels has been voluntarily implemented by the building owner by obtaining development approval, which is a great outcome for the city.”

The appearance of the Grenfell Centre tower is not expected to materially change after the replacement of cladding material.

Soilbuild REIT is managing the project despite selling the building to US investor Blackstone earlier this year.

Property investment groups MA Financial Group and Centuria Capital recently joined forces in a $167m acquisition of the tower in October, but don’t formally take over ownership until settlement in December.

Soilbuild REIT did not respond to requests for more details about the upgrade. Blackstone declined to comment.

Earlier this year residents in two Port Adelaide apartment blocks were given a 12 month deadline to strip external cladding from the buildings, which were classed as a “high risk” of fire danger due to the ACP cladding material.

A government audit update last December showed that there were six buildings across SA that were still at “extreme” or “high” risk of fire danger.

The government has refused to disclose the location of the buildings citing safety concerns.

A further update is expected before the end of the year.

Under government definitions, buildings with a “high” rating were to be fixed within a year of being identified.