Kyren Group lodges plans for $60 million, 21-storey office tower for Franklin St
CONSTRUCTION on a major city street will get even busier if a $60 million office tower is approved for Adelaide’s CBD.
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CONSTRUCTION on a major city street will get even busier if a $60 million office tower is approved for Adelaide’s CBD.
The state’s planning authority is expected to give the green light on Thursday for plans by Adelaide developer Kyren Group to build a 93.5m tall tower at 52-56 Franklin St, near the intersection with Bentham St, which would include 21,000sq m of office space.
The 21-storey building would be constructed on vacant land opposite the Uniting Church’s $60 million 20-storey U City apartment and office building, now under construction, and west of the $450 million redevelopment of the GPO site, featuring a headquarters for BHP and a future five-star Westin Hotel.
The state’s planning department has recommended that the State Commission Assessment Panel — which considers all projects above $10 million in value — approve the Kyren Group project.
The proposal will retain the existing Wilson carpark and include 172 bicycle spaces.
The Kyren Group, headed by Theo Samaras, is also behind what will be Adelaide’s tallest building — the 135m Adelaidean hotel and apartment tower, which is under construction on Frome St.
The Property Council Office Market report, released last week, revealed that office vacancy rates for premium office space had plummeted from 9.3 per cent to 2.8 per cent in the six months to July — the lowest vacancy level in six years.
What’s currently on the site
Property Council (SA) executive director Daniel Gannon said the challenge for the State Government and Adelaide City Council was to come up with a plan to fill the current vacant so-called C and D Grade office space, which account for 33 per cent of total vacancies across the CBD.
He cited as a potential solution, the so-called Postcode 3000 strategy of former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, which aimed to convert unused office buildings into residential and student accommodation to bolster Melbourne CBD’s population.
“One of our problems is land tax and the composition of building ownership, buildings are typically owned by a small or medium-sized private owners rather than the institutional owners,” he said.
