One of Adelaide’s original hotels would be partially demolished under plans to build a $200 million, two-tower development across the road from the new Royal Adelaide Hospital.
GHD Woodhead is the architect behind the scheme, which would deliver 401 apartments from levels three through 23. On the ground floor would be retail and hospitality tenancies, along with a fresh food and flower market that would link to the historic Newmarket Hotel via a newly created laneway to be known as Newmarket Lane.
The architects state in planning documents that the development would respect the heritage value of the hotel.
“As the city skyline continues to rise into the 21st Century, the corner of the city should be marked from a distance as well as close up,” the statement reads. “We are seeking to do this in a way which turns the corner of North and West Terrace with the new addition as a backdrop to the existing heritage, not competing but complementing. These step back behind and beyond the heritage building to recognise the urban role of the heritage building and to provide ‘breathing space’. The proposed towers will also act as bookends to the terrace of new taller developments that are already approved or will develop over the coming years along both West Terrace and North Terrace.”
The site of the Newmarket Hotel, which sits prominently on the corner of North Terrace and West Terrace, has been the subject of a number of proposed developments in recent years, including a 2018 proposal to build the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital at the site. Designed by prominent South Australian architect Daniel Garlick and built in 1883, the hotel stands where Colonel Light began his survey of Adelaide in January 1837. The proponent of the latest project notes that the interior is in a state of disrepair, after vandals broke into the venue and damaged the hotel’s iconic spiral stair. The building, which in recent decades was home to the nightclubs has sat empty since 2017.
South Australia’s State Commission Assessment Panel will assess the development application on 24 March.
