Elder House set to undergo multimillion dollar makeover
One of Adelaide’s historically significant buildings is set to undergo a multimillion dollar makeover following its $31 million sale to a Perth-based property group last year.
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Perth-based syndicator Acure Asset Management plans to breathe new life into one of Adelaide’s historically significant buildings following its $31 million acquisition late last year.
Elder House is set to undergo a multimillion upgrade in the coming months, and has already attracted a major national restaurant chain to set up shop on the ground floor.
As part of the first stage of upgrades to the building, $2.5 million will be spent by Acure to create an arcade linking the building’s primary Currie St entrance with Anster St at its rear.
Retail, hospitality, medical services and other tenants are being sought for the ground floor space, while vacant office space is being leased on the upper floors.
Anster St will be upgraded with new paving, trees and improved lighting.
Acure managing director Angelo Del Borrello said early refurbishment works would reactivate the Currie St entrance, while later stages would include up to $13 million worth of upgrades to the building’s fit-out and services.
A development application has been lodged with council for the first stage of works.
“The building’s got great historic appeal to it, it’s one of the better heritage buildings in town - it just needs a bit of love,” Mr Del Borrello said.
“The grand entrance and the ceilings are magnificent, and we certainly want to play up to that and even enhance that.
“We’re conscious of activating Currie St and we’ve reached a deal with a national restaurant group, and they’ll be a really exciting addition to Adelaide.”
Additional entry points will made available from Currie St, topped with canopies to add a “French provincial” style to the building.
Elder House’s history dates back to the 1930s, and it was the long-standing headquarters of agribusiness Elders before its relocation to 80 Grenfell St in 2015.
Original wood panelling and other heritage features are prominent in parts of the original building, while a seven-level addition was completed in 2001, delivering 6500sqm of extra floor space.
Around 29 per cent of the building is currently occupied by the Australian Institute of Business.
Mr Del Borrello is no stranger to Adelaide. In 2001 he co-founded Aspen Group, which went on to develop much of the City Central project in the CBD and previously owned 55 Currie St for around five years.
After departing Aspen in 2010 he established Acure, which currently manages close to $400 million worth of property across Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and now Adelaide.
“We like Adelaide - coming from Perth they’re similar in a lot of ways so we’d like to add to our portfolio there,” Mr Del Borrello said
“I think we will set up an office there - we have appointed someone (in Adelaide) and they’ll hopefully be starting in a month’s time - the more assets we get the more people we can bring in.”
Around 5400sqm of office space is available, priced at $350 to $400 per square metre, while the ground floor tenancies range in size from 80sqm to 600sqm. The lower ground floor will include new end of trip facilities and some additional office space.
Signage rights may also be available to incoming tenants.
Savills’ Andrew Ingleton and Adam Hartley are spearheading the leasing campaign. Mr Ingleton said Elder House provided a point of difference in the Adelaide market.
“Very few Adelaide buildings have combined heritage with modern amenity on a large scale and yet in the eastern states they are highly valued,” he said.
“Another significant point is the size of the floors with levels three and four offering around 2000sqm each, plus levels five and six of around 1100sqm. For a large space user, that means over 6000sqm of contiguous space.”