Commercial & General executive chairman Jamie McClurg determined to transform 88 O’Connell Street
It has sat empty for over 30 years. Now a North Adelaide resident is set to become the first developer to transform the former Le Cornu site.
SA News
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North Adelaide resident Jamie McClurg is determined to make history by becoming the first developer to transform the former Le Cornu site on O’Connell Street.
The founder of successful Adelaide construction company, Commercial & General, is attempting to achieve what developers Vince Oberdan and Con Makris separately spent years trying to do – use the site for a $250m apartment block with shops, offices, cafes and small bars.
Mr McClurg knows it is not going to be easy convincing some residents in the affluent, development-averse suburb to support the much-awaited project but it is a fight he does not expect to lose.
“I have respect for the existing residents of North Adelaide, but I also have a responsibility to develop a place where our children want to create a future,” he said. “We need to fulfil that responsibility to future generations and to develop those sorts of places takes courage.”
Mr McClurg remembers the vacant 7500sq m site being surrounded by corrugated iron and graffiti when he was living on Buxton Street in North Adelaide with his parents as a teenager. It has sat empty since he bought his first house in Hack Steet in his 20s before getting married and building his family home as part of a project on Stanley Street in his 30s.
Now approaching his 50th birthday, Mr McClurg wants the successful redevelopment of 88 O’Connell St – in partnership with Adelaide City Council – to become part of his rapidly-growing legacy.
In recent years, Commercial & General has built the Calvary Hospital on Wakefield Street, high-security SA Police headquarters on Angas Street and is undertaking the $1bn redevelopment of Football Park at West Lakes.
The company recently sold another project – the yet-to-be completed SAHMRI 2 building on North Terrace – for $446m to a Sydney-based property company, Dexus.
Mr McClurg is now fine tuning his plans for 88 O’Connell Street, one of the state’s most controversial development sites since colonisation in the 1840s.
“I want to cut through a lot of the history of the site in terms of being a North Adelaide resident, having a reasonable idea of what makes this area tick and giving a voice to the silent majority,” he said.
“There’s always this perception that North Adelaide doesn’t want things to happen. I actually think that, collectively, North Adelaide does want things to happen but that there are some people who sometimes can’t get through the growing pains of doing that.”
Mr McClurg last month held three community forums at two North Adelaide hotels, the Old Lion and Cathedral, to explain his concept for the site, which involves the construction of three apartment blocks over two levels of retail and commercial space.
Almost 400 car parks will be provided beneath the development, with 200 reserved for residents with the remainder available for customers of the shops, cafes and bars planned for the ground level.
During the forums, residents questioned Mr McClurg about why he wanted to build one tower with 15 levels and another two with 13 levels when Adelaide City Council had called for expressions of interests for a maximum of eight levels.
McClurg said he told them any development had to provide a return not only for those investing their money but the wider community.
“When you look at the discussion around height, I think it’s a very simplistic style of argument,” he said.
“I don’t think we should be debating height by its nature; we should be arguing whether there or not there is value in a development.
“When you combine what we have designed, we believe the amenity for residents and visitors is unlike any other apartment project seen in Adelaide.”
Commercial & General is conducting focus groups with potential investors in the project to determine exactly what they want.
This includes people looking for city apartments, professionals needing consulting suites and retailers and hospitality operators seeking new opportunities.
Construction soon will start on a sales centre, which will include a fully fitted-out demonstration apartment.
Mr McClurg said the development would feature indoor and outdoor swimming pools, gymnasium, a pilates and yoga centre, spa, sauna, squash court and outdoor terrace on its second level.
“We are listening to all the feedback and taking everything on board,” said Mr McClurg.
“It’s been great to be able to go to the community with confidence and say that this is something that the council wants to see and what we want to see.
“We can now refine it together to ensure we get something that’s really enduring for North Adelaide.”
Mr McClurg said it was vital for the future of North Adelaide for the Le Cornu site to be given new life.
“This is an once-in-a-generational chance to make a transformational change to North Adelaide, he said
“This site is the missing tooth of O’Connell Street.
“If we get this right, it will be the catalyst to create better prosperity and attraction across the whole street.
“As a long-term North Adelaide resident, I am committed to doing this project because I want to be part of a community that thrives.”
Plans will be lodged with the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) next month, with construction expected to start early next year if they are approved.
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