Luxury developer Tim Gurner has launched his billion-dollar Adelaide play, filing plans along with joint-venture partner Kennards Self Storage to redevelop the former Australia Post site in the centre of the city.
The documents before the South Australia’s State Commission Assessment Panel call for five towers up to 27 storeys, with 600 apartments, a luxury hotel, offices, shops, bars, restaurants, a public plaza and wellness centre.
Gurner announced the partnership with Kennards—which owns the 1.7ha site at 237 Grote Street—in June last year.
The five towers will range from 17 to 27 storeys, and include 57,000sq m of residential space and 3352sq m given over to retail, food and drink. Commercial space will account for about 2300 square metres.
The plans show 220 rooms in what the partners are calling a five-star hotel, as well as parking for 513 vehicles.
Kennards will take space in the project for its new South Australian headquarters. The developers say they are targeting downsizers, with self-storage part of the plans, as well as co-working spaces.
The development has been designed with a long-time Gurner collaborator Elenberg Fraser, which has been behind a number of the developer’s ventures including the FV project in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley and the award-winning 107 Cambridge Street in Collingwood.
The Australia Post site has three frontages—to Grote, Gouger and Blenheim streets—and was acquired by Kennards in 2020 with the intention of repurposing the building for self-storage.
The 24,000sq m, six-storey building was originally built for Australia Post to sort and distribute mail around the city centre.
Under the plans, the hotel will sit above the original post office building, with the facade retained as part of the development.
Chief executive Tim Gurner said they were inspired by the heritage features of the original site.
“As we’ve done with so many projects in the past, we’ll be retaining, restoring and celebrating the incredible heritage of the existing site, transforming the red brick façade into an amazing hotel lobby that will deliver a level of service and amenity not currently available,” he said.
“These existing elements have heavily influenced the project’s design features and the development represents a new and exciting chapter for the site.”
Public open space will centre on a multi-level circular plaza, with hanging gardens, an atrium and a sky walk that allows visitors to cross the area above.
About 3000sq m will be set aside for recreation and wellness facilities.
The private developer boasts a $14.6-billion portfolio, with projects in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and on the Gold Coast. Most recently it acquired a 1195-sq-m site in the heart of Sydney, earmarked for a two-tower, $800-million landmark.
The Grote Street development is Gurner’s first foray into South Australia.
“We are extremely excited at the prospect of delivering an iconic Adelaide project that represents a never-before-seen level of luxury and amenity for the city,” he said of that milestone.
The State Commission Assessment Panel is scheduled to consider the planning proposal on Wednesday.
