Gurner to develop Adelaide super site into $1.25 billion mixed-use precinct
Multi-billion-dollar developer Gurner has continued its expansion across the Australian residential market, securing its first South Australian site through a joint venture with Kennards Self Storage, the site’s existing landholder.
When complete, the 1.7-hectare site at 237 Grote Street will comprise more than 750 residences with six-star amenity across four towers, a five-star hotel, over 15,000 sqm in retail and commercial space, an entertainment and recreation component and a public plaza, with an estimated end value of $1.25 billion.
With an estimated end value of $1.25 billion, the site will keep inline with the group's industry-leading Greener by Gurner initiative, making Gurner's first project in Adelaide carbon-neutral.
It will also become the headquarters of Kennards in South Australia, complete with cutting-edge technological inclusions, retail stores, self-storage units, as well as enterprise and coworking spaces.
Part of the 1.7-hectare site is a 24,000 sqm six-level building originally constructed for Australia Post to sort and distribute mail near the CBD, but as letter volumes reduced, it was finally put on the market.
The strategic partnership between the two groups – the first of its kind in the self-storage space – will see Kennards repurpose the former Australia Post building into next-generation storage facility, which will be seamlessly integrated into the master plan.
Gurner CEO, Tim Gurner said the group will bring its vision to life for an iconic mixed-use, residential, self-storage and commercial office super-site across 11,000 sqm of prime development land.
“This is an incredible site, and we could not be happier to be partnering with such iconic Australian success stories in Kennards and Sam, to bring a shared vision for the development to life – we’ll be creating something very ambitious, something that hasn’t been done before in this sector,” he said.
The announcement of the new project is a timely one for Adelaide, which was named the third-most liveable city in the world according to The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Index for 2021, as CBD living, luxury property and amenity-rich projects continue to be favoured by owner occupiers and downsizers alike.
“The main focus of this city-changing site will be a transformative public realm, that will become a key attraction for Adelaide CBD,” Gurner added.
While there is no permit in place on the site, which has three street frontages on Grote Street, Gouger Street and Blenheim Street, Kennards Self Storage CEO, Sam Kennard commented on the current zoning and planning controls, allowing Gurner and Kennards Self Storage to proceed with a transformative mixed-use development.
“Originally we had identified an opportunity to re-purpose the existing building into self-storage and planned to subdivide and sell the surplus land, but COVID allowed us the time to take pause and reflect, and we soon realised the site had the potential to become a city-shaping project,” Kennard said.
A design competition is currently underway to appoint a lead architect, and the development application is expected to be lodged in late 2022.