‘Back again to what it used to be’: $300m project which will revitalise North Adelaide street nears its completion
Struggling O’Connell Street is set to be completely transformed by the new towers on the notorious site, developers say, as the development hits its highest point.
SA News
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A new look at Adelaide’s largest private construction project has been revealed as the $300m project has hit its full height.
The former Le Cornu site at North Adelaide, now home to three apartment towers called 88 O’Connell, hit their full height of 61m on Monday with tenants now set to move in within 12 months.
A tree was craned onto the 14-storey centre tower for the traditional “topping out” ceremony.
Work on the development will now focus on the interior fit out ahead of its opening after the site remained vacant for more than three decades.
The 36-year saga over the fate of the site began in 1989, when the Le Cornu furniture store building, which had been in the retail family for 134 years, was sold.
Over the next 30 years, a retail complex, boutique cinemas and a hotel were among proposed plans for the O’Connell St site with big-name developers Con Makris, Theo Maras and Lang Walker attached to various projects.
Rebecca Di Giuseppe, 52, will be among the residents moving into one of the apartments and said she “has had our eye on this site for 30-odd years” with her husband.
“We always said if one day they ever build, we want to be a part of this,” Ms Di Giuseppe said.
“We put our name down many many years ago and when that fell through we were very disappointed and when this came up we just knew that we had to act quick and we weren’t about to miss it.”
Ms Di Giuseppe said she was looking forward to “the quality of life just having everything here”.
“I don’t think you could ask for anything better,” she said.
She will move to the development when it opens in 2025 from a home in Payneham South.
“As much as it was downsizing, we can actually still entertain our family here and actually have a really good time,” Ms Di Guiseppe said.
Its flagship tenant of the project was SA food retailer Mercato and amenities at the development include indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a gym and a day spa.
Only about 30 of the 162 apartments remain unsold in the development, including a penthouse which is being withheld from sale until it opens.
It also has 400 carparks.
The project has so far involved more than 300 skilled workers per day, about 3000 tonnes of steel and almost 17,000 cubic metres of concrete.
The three towers, Tynte, Centennial and Archer are connected by a podium and there will be restaurant, fashion, beauty and health offerings.
The project was undertaken by private developer Commercial & General and executive chairman Jamie McClurg said it was “great to see the building topped out after so many years”.
Mr McClurg said he expected “less apartments to be sold normally by this stage”.
“We’ve had some purchasers that have been waiting for decades to purchase here,” he said.
“We see what was a blighted site for many many years, turn and become something that needs to evolve.”
Mr McClurg said the project would allow “the whole street (O’Connell St) to come back again to what it used to be”.
“Success for me would be the fact that people come back to O’Connell St and I think that it’s not just about the success of the project itself but the feeling of community that would be created by that connection,” he said.
“People need to see things happen before they respond and we’ll see the fruits of that in late 2025 and early 2026.”
The milestone for the development came after a group of North Adelaide residents petitioned the Environment Resources and Development Court to quash the approval, claiming the design exceeds an eight-storey height limit supported by the public and is inconsistent with the heritage conservation zone.
Nearly 180 people attended a meeting as part of a campaign to lobby SCAP against the project, but were unsuccessful.
At the time, Mr McClurg said he was “incredibly proud to lead a team that has overcome the self-interest, bias and narrow mindedness that has stalled progress on this site”.
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