Apartment block bid next to landmark North Adelaide pub
A Melbourne Street office block could soon be replaced by an eight-storey building with 35 apartments under a developer’s plan to reshape a North Adelaide “catalyst site”.
The development application lodged earlier this month would transform land at 183 Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, by demolishing an existing three-level office block for a new mixed-use office and apartment building.
The more than 1700-square metre development site is located next to the Lion Hotel on the corner of Melbourne and Jerningham Street.
It is also home to the state heritage-listed former malt house of the old Lion brewery. The 1872-built structure is planned to be conserved and incorporated into the new development, potentially as a residents-only gym or lounge.
Project director Daniel De Conno, who is also behind a nearly 500-home development in West Lakes, said 183 Melbourne Street was “a prime location for some revitalisation”.
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He also said the land qualifies for extra height under the planning code given its status as a “catalyst site” in the City of Adelaide more than 1500-square metres in size.
“Currently, it’s a multi-level office building and we’re going to replace that with a residential building and the theory being that once that building’s complete it would be like it has always been there,” De Conno told InDaily.
“We’re conscious that it needs to integrate into the community. It’s not of a scale that we think should cause concern.”
De Conno said most apartments will have three bedrooms with a floor space of 140 to 150 square metres and “generous balconies”. Apartments on the lower floors will be slightly smaller with two bedrooms.
The most likely buyers, De Conno said, are nearby homeowners looking to downsize.
“It’s probably going to be more of a downsizer product – we think most of the buyers would live in the surrounding locality,” he said.
The existing office block is currently home to several commercial office tenants, including private health firm Partnered Health, recruitment agency Complete Personnel Group and mortgage brokers Mortgage Choice.
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The developers are hoping to begin construction within 12 to 24 months, De Conno said, and will have to decant the existing tenants. One new commercial office tenancy will be available as part of the new development.
The plans go out to public consultation tomorrow and will eventually be assessed by the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP).
The development represents a new height for Melbourne Street, which is primarily composed of low-rise office buildings.
Indeed, in a comment to the Planning Commission on the development, Adelaide City Council CEO Michael Sedgman said the western side of the proposed building would need particular design attention given the low-rise character of the area.
“The western elevation requires careful resolution, particularly given the low height of nearby development,” Sedgman said.
“The west face will be highly visible looking east along Melbourne Street.”
De Conno said the majority of the building has a height of 23.5 metres “which we believe to be consistent with the emerging character of Melbourne Street”, pointing to a recently constructed seven-storey building down the road at 69-71 Melbourne Street.
It comes as development in North Adelaide – one of Adelaide’s most historic and heritage-protected suburbs – continues to gradually escalate in intensity.
The 183 Melbourne Street project comes after a separate application was filed last month for a nine-storey apartment building at 18-20 Walter Street, near North Adelaide’s Wellington Square.
The developers behind that project, Eastern Building Group, declined to comment and no renders are available yet. The date for public consultation on those plans is yet to be determined.
Meanwhile, Commercial and General’s landmark redevelopment of North Adelaide’s old Le Cornu site, Eight-Eight O’Connell, is scheduled to open next year.
The project features two 13-storey towers and one 15-storey tower holding a range of luxury apartments and a retail strip on the ground floor.
