Clarity, LOC and more face demolition under student accommodation tower plans
A developer proposes to knock ‘The Block’ on Hindmarsh Square down to make way for a 35-storey student accommodation tower.
Beloved record store Clarity, popular wine bar LOC and café Carton Deli face an uncertain future under development plans to demolish the Pulteney Street and Hindmarsh Square building, ‘The Block’.
Pulteney Street Student Accommodation Pty Ltd lodged the development application on Monday, which details plans to demolish the “existing buildings and structures” and build a “35-level mixed use building comprising student accommodation with associated amenities and communal areas and ground-level shop uses”.
The application requires State Planning Commission approval, and covers two parcels of land across 56-62 Pulteney Street Adelaide, SA, neighbouring the Pullman Hotel.
According to ASIC records, directors of Pulteney Street Student Accommodation Pty include Damien Ellis (the director of an Adelaide development company called Intro which counts 266 North Terrace and the Monarto Safari Park visitor centre as projects), student accommodation group Campus Estates founder and director Jon Whittle, and construction firm BESIX Watpac CFO Peter Bergin.
BESIX Watpac is a part-owner of the company, as is a company called Pulteney Ellis Pty Ltd and Campus Family Pty Ltd.
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No plans have been made available yet for the proposed 35-level building.
The Block includes downstairs retail and hospitality tenants LOC Bottle Bar, Clarity, Carton Deli, Nonna & I and KOCO Korean Colour Hair Salon. The upstairs office spaces are leased by a graphic design collective Sunroom Studio, artist Billie Justice Thompson and property management firm Retail Asset Management.
The office space is also leased by LIV Eats, the neighbouring grab-and-go cafe franchise on the corner of Pulteney Street and York Street, which opened late last year. The LIV Eats shop will not be affected as it’s in a separate building.
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The Block became a microprecinct for creatives in the city’s east end after LOC’s Olivia Moore moved into the space in 2020 with the help of Renew Adelaide.
Renew Adelaide, which activates underutilised property across the Adelaide CBD by offering a rent-free period and business support, helped LOC, Sunroom Studios and former Block tenant albie management get their start.
In 2021, anchor tenant Clarity leased the vacant 100sqm retail space next door to expand, allowing them to sell more records and host live music, making it a drawcard for musicians and punters.
In 2024, after tenants were made aware that the property was up for sale, some office tenants chose to move out of the space, including Renew Adelaide, which is now located in Pirie Street’s Epworth building.
Room on Fire Vintage previously leased the neighbouring store to LOC for three and a half years before moving out in February 2025, with the owner moving to Melbourne.
Alana Batzavalis, owner of creative marketing agency albie, was one tenant who moved because she wanted security in a new lease.
“It’s a real shame that the building is potentially going to be demolished, obviously it’s such a beautiful old building and it was a big, awesome, creative community,” Alana said.
“It was definitely sad to move out, I mean, we still miss the people that are there but it just wasn’t working out for us.”
InDaily approached Intro, BESIX Watpac and Jon Whittle for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
