State Commission Assessment Panel approves 33-level apartment tower for La Boheme site on Grote St

A 33-level city apartment tower has been approved – and one of its closest neighbours will be another apartment tower two levels higher.

Two of Adelaide’s highest apartment buildings will face each other across a city street.

The State Commission Assessment Panel has approved the construction of a $200m, 33-storey tower on the corner of Penaluna Place and Grote St.

The building will be directly opposite another apartment tower approved for the site of the Adelaide Central Market Arcade in a $400m joint venture between Adelaide City Council and Melbourne-based developer ICD Property.

SCAP approved a project earlier this year, which also includes an office tower, boutique hotel and expansion of the Adelaide Central Market.

The $200 million, 33-level apartment tower planned for the Le Boheme site on Grote St. Picture: Cheesman Architects

The 35-level apartment tower planned across Grote St on the site of the Adelaide Central Market Arcade.

Demolition of the arcade, a Coles supermarket and a carpark has been delayed until early next year by the pandemic, with construction expected to take up to four years.

The market will remain open during the project, with alternative parking to be provided at the former bus depot on Franklin St and the Adelaide bus station carpark. The latest tower to be approved will be built on the site of the former La Boheme cabaret bar next to the state heritage-listed Metropolitan Hotel and Her Majesty’s Theatre.

The 33-level apartment tower planned for the La Boheme site on Grote Street. Picture: Cheesman Architects

The site of the proposed 33-level apartment tower on the corner of Grote St and Penaluna Place. Picture: Colin James

Directly opposite the Adelaide Central Market, it will feature shops and cafes on its ground floor, carparking and commercial space on its first six floors and then a mix of one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments on the remaining 26 levels, including three, three-bedroom penthouses.

The project will require the widening of Penaluna Place to accommodate two-way traffic and a new footpath under a land acquisition deal negotiated with Adelaide City Council,

The La Boheme-site tower will be 118m high while the tower proposed for the existing market arcade site from the back of the Hilton Hotel to the eastern side of the market will be 130m tall.