Karidis Corporation’s proposed $130m, 18-storey apartment block would be Glenelg’s tallest tower
With retirement living and serviced apartments, these beachside apartments would tower over Glenelg as the developer calls on Adelaide to grow up.
A $130m, 18-storey apartment block proposed for Glenelg would become the area’s tallest tower, rising six storeys higher than any of the beachside suburb’s present buildings.
The 90m-tall building on 15 Colley Tce would include 104 apartments, including five levels of serviced apartments and six levels of retirement living apartments.
Under the Karidis Corporation’s plan, the tower would also include a restaurant on its ground floor and 106 parking spaces spread over its basement and lower floors.
Karidis Corporation executive Peter Karidis said when Glenelg’s 12-storey Atlantic Tower Motor Inn was built in the 1970s, there was nothing higher than about three storeys in the suburb.
“So, that was actually much higher,” he said. “Adelaide needs to mature and understand that height isn’t an issue.
“It’s in the context of design and good architecture. If something looks right and is appropriate in context, then that should be supported.”
Mr Karidis said he had worked on the plan with the state government’s Office for Design and Architecture SA, which considered a taller, slender form more architecturally appropriate, compared with a shorter building.
He said the retirement living part of the development would be an extension of Avista Glenelg, a Karidis-owned retirement village for over-55s just a three-minute walk away.
The building’s serviced apartments would add to those at the nearby Durham Serviced Apartments, another Karidis development.
The plan, which requires approval from the State Planning Commission, said the living rooms and balconies at 15 Colley Tce were designed to offer views towards the coast and east towards the Mount Lofty Ranges.
Adelaide Airport is also required to provide advice on “potential impacts on the safety and operation of aviation activities” because the building exceeds 44m in height.
The ground floor would be a “semipublic” area, featuring a publicly accessible covered pedestrian link through the building, with automatic sliding doors at either end.
The block is now used for parking after a two-storey apartment building at the site, Colley Mews, was demolished last year.
The tallest buildings presently in the suburb include Liberty Towers, Atlantic Tower Motor Inn and Stamford Grand, all of which are 12 storeys.
Mr Karidis said if the plans were approved, he expected to start construction in the second half of 2026 and finish in the second half of 2028.
The plans are open for public feedback until December 19.
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Originally published as Karidis Corporation’s proposed $130m, 18-storey apartment block would be Glenelg’s tallest tower
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