Marion Council considers selling cultural centre to make way for international hotel chain building

MARION Council may sell the Marion Cultural Centre — moving the library, gallery, theatre and cafe — to make way for an international hotel chain keen on building near the aquatic centre.

The Marion Cultural Centre could make way for an international-standard hotel. Picture: AAP/Morgan Sette

A MULTINATIONAL chain wants to establish a hotel at Oaklands Park, in a bid to capitalise on visitors to the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre, as well as Tonsley and Westfield Marion

The proposal — to build an international-standard hotel at the Marion Cultural Centre site — has prompted Marion Council to call for expressions of interest from accommodation groups to buy or develop the Marion Cultural Centre.

If the project went ahead, it would mean the cultural centre’s library, gallery, theatre and cafe would need to be rebuilt on-site or nearby.

Mayor Kris Hanna would not say which hotel group had approached the council with the proposal.

He said the Marion Cultural Centre property had clear selling points for accommodation providers.

Its appeal included proximity to Adelaide’s biggest shopping complex and premier swimming centre, the Tonsley innovation precinct and Flinders hospital and university.

“It’s a long-identified need,” Mr Hanna said. “The inner south attracts more than 18 million people a year and visitors have few options for accommodation.”

A hotel would be a “major boost” to the local economy.

The area is already zoned to allow a hotel at the cultural centre site.

Bidders expressing an interest in the land would have to say how they would accommodate the cultural centre’s venues either on-site or close by.

“If we can have the facilities that are at least as good as what we’ve got now, and at the same time possibly get a financial return for ratepayers, that would be good,” Mr Hanna said.

The proposed development would be built on the cultural centre property and land between Westfield Marion and the aquatic centre.

Plans for a $174 million upgrade of the Oaklands Crossing include a new walkway between Oaklands Park station and Westfield Shopping centre which could link up with the hotel site.

The two-month expression of interest process will begin late this month.

A report published by the Southern Adelaide Economic Board — a joint venture between Marion and Onkaparinga councils — last year identified the need for more accommodation in the south.

The idea of a hotel at the cultural centre has been discussed behind closed doors at several Marion Council meetings over recent months, including its last meeting on Tuesday night.

Councillors voted to go ahead with the expression of interest process, making the decision public today.

Details of the hotel chain that approached the council and its proposal will remain confidential during the process.

Cr Bruce Hull, who represents the Oaklands Park area, was pleased at the hotel chain’s interest.

However, he would support the project only if it was “in the best interests of ratepayers”, and “only if there wouldn’t be any long-term consequences of the city paying through the nose to a foreign landlord”.

He also doubted whether the expression of interest process was fair, saying one hotel group had discussions with the council dating back several months.

The council would consider the proposals after the November elections and decide whether or not to go ahead with the project.

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