When will Adelaide’s sleeping giants wake up to fill our skyline?
THEY are unveiled with much fanfare, trumpeted as the next skyscraper to pump millions into the economy and create hundreds of jobs. But many of the CBD’s most ambitious projects are yet to get off the ground, years after they were approved.
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CONSTRUCTION has yet to start on more than $1.25 billion worth of developments in the CBD, despite approvals dating back as far as 2009.
A $250 million development at the site of the old Trims clothing store on King William St and 23-storey apartment tower at the former HQ nightclub are among a suite of proposed city towers yet to get off the ground.
Analysis by The City of development approvals from State Government planning bodies over the past decade found the first sod had yet to be turned on 25 projects, including more than 1310 apartments and almost 700 hotel rooms, shops and offices.
Half were given the green light more than three years ago, with one application — for a $12 million office building on Wyatt St — signed off in 2009.
Development approvals are typically valid for three years, although developers can apply for extensions or lodge variations to their proposals.
Building owners and developers contacted by The City either declined to comment on the status of their projects or did not return calls. But industry groups said “soft” population growth, barriers to foreign investment and high cost of infrastructure were among the reasons why construction had failed to start.
However, Lord Mayor Martin Haese and Planning Minister Stephan Knoll were buoyant about the state of the city property market, and confident incentives for buyers and developers would add to the already record number of cranes in the CBD skyline.
The most significant of the idle projects is Karidis Corporation’s proposed 31-storey Echelon Apartments at the former Trims store at the King William St/Carrington St intersection.
The 141-apartment proposal was approved in December 2016 and scheduled to commence soon after — but nothing has eventuated.
The developer — who did not respond to repeated requests for comment — is still calling for expressions of interests from potential buyers, as well as offering “exclusive” appointments to visit the site.
At the old HQ nightclub on West Tce, work has yet to start on a $150 million apartment tower, more than two years after it was approved.
Supreme Court documents, seen by The City, show the developers — One North Terrace Pty Ltd — have been embroiled in a complex legal dispute over the 23-storey development since the project was given the green light.
The owners of the neighbouring property called for a judicial review of the project’s approval, arguing, among a range of complaints, that it should have been assessed as a “noncomplying” development.
That matter was scheduled to return to court on May 2, according to the documents.
A 90-apartment complex at 188 Grenfell St, a 21-storey tower above North Tce’s Queen Adelaide Club and what was to be Adelaide’s first “eco-hotel” — the nine-storey Hotel Ivaritiji on Wright St — are among development proposals that are yet to eventuate despite being approved more than three years ago.
Construction has also yet to start on Commercial & General’s $260 million development at 200 North Tce, the new Sofitel Hotel on Currie St and $50 million Park SQ apartments on South Tce.
Property Council SA executive director Daniel Gannon said the lack of action was a reflection of SA’s sluggish population growth, which was recorded at 0.6 per cent last year — the lowest among Australian states.
Mr Gannon said “populist” restrictions on foreign investment also meant the vast majority of overseas money was being spent in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
However, he did note CBD construction was at an all-time high, with more than 30 projects with a value of $2.95 billion completed since 2008.
Urban Development Institute of SA executive Pat Gerace said developers faced a number of hurdles to get their proposals off the ground, including the high cost of installing water and power.
“Without more council and State Government investment (in infrastructure) all of that translates into higher prices for consumers,” Mr Gerace said.
Mr Haese was pleased to see “more cranes in the sky than ever before”, but acknowledged more developments were needed for the council to reach its target of growing the CBD’s population from 23,400 to 28,000 by 2020.
He said the City Council would continue to advocate for special visas for skilled migrants as part of a push to win a “bigger share of the nation’s migration intake”.
Mr Knoll was confident the State Government’s plan to reform land and payroll tax would result in more investment in the CBD.
“We’re confident that with the new Liberal Government’s reform agenda we’ll see more of these projects get off the ground,” Mr Knoll said.
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