Rundle St and East Tce tower knocked back by SCAP

State government planners have rejected plans for a towering apartment block set for the edge of the east parklands.

Artist impressions for the 21-storey Pelligra apartment block at corner of Rundle St and East Tce. Credit: Tectvs Architecture/Future Urban

State government planning experts have rejected plans for a 21-storey tower that was to be built on the edge of the east parklands.

The State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) on Wednesday rejected the plan because it:

WAS TOO high for the zone within which it sits.

IMPACTED on the heritage character of 14 nearby heritage-listed buildings and the entire east end.

WAS TOO large in terms of overall size.

The plan was for a 21-storey, mixed-use development by Ross Pelligra overlooking the east parklands across Rundle St from the Stag Hotel.

Mr Pelligra has been contacted for comment.

Included was refurbishment of the street-level heritage-buildings at 292-300 Rundle St.

The tower plan consisted of four levels of parking, one level of office space and 15 storeys of residential space – 26 three-bedroom apartments and one penthouse across two floors.

Artist impressions for 21-storey Pelligra apartment block at corner of Rundle St and East Tce., Credit: Tectvs Architecture/Future Urban

Assessment of tower projects is carried out at arms length of government, by a planning panel within the State Planning Commission.

The failure of the bid at the commission was expected following criticism from state government architect Kirsteen Mackay in a submission last year.

This was despite a 2017 approval for a similar tower at the site.

The building was to be 67.8m high, far greater than the site’s two building zone height limits of 53m and 34m.

“I continue to find the proposed building height challenging due to its impact on the historic low-rise character of the precinct,’’ she wrote to the commission.

“To this end, my support for the building height is contingent on achieving a high-quality design outcome, particularly in relation to the heritage response, architectural expression, material quality, environmentally sustainable design (ESD) response and residential amenity.”

“In my view, this has not yet been fully demonstrated.”