Hyatt Hotel in Adelaide set to receive planning approval despite heritage controversy

A 21-storey, $160 million hotel that has been approved for a heritage listed site near the Adelaide Town Hall, has not been without its controversy.

The Hyatt hotel will be built at 51 Pirie Street in Adelaide, a  former bank building built in 1927, which has a local heritage-listed frontage.

Last month the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) dismissed building plans due to concerns that the proposed building was too reflective and that its front façade and canopy were inappropriate.

Both the Government Architect and Adelaide City Council said the design had faults. This led to SCAP deferring any grant planning consent until the issues were resolved by the developers CEL Development and Future Urban.

CEL Development have now amended their plans.

They reduced glare by changing the proposed glazing material and have changed the canopy shape so as to comply with the encroachment policy of Adelaide City Council.

However, there are still issues.

Kirsteen Mackay, a Government Architect is still concerned with the colour of the proposed glazing and cladding material located at the base of the building.

In a submission to the SCAP, a spokesperson for Mackay wrote,“The design of the base of the building and canopy is not yet considered to be convincing to warrant removal of the Local Heritage (Townscape) building… and further review of the design is recommended.

“The GA’s support for the removal of the heritage facade is contingent on the new proposition providing a significant contribution to the streetscape and achieving a high-quality design and material outcome, which has not yet been demonstrated.”

Managing director of Future Urban Chris Vounasis exclaimed that Mackay’s opinion was “simply unnecessary and inappropriate”.

“In our opinion, it provides no benefit or value to the process apart from ‘muddying the waters’ to a degree,” he wrote in an email to the SCAP.

“This issue has already been assessed by SCAP.”

The Adelaide City Council was also concerned that the revised hotel design “will make considerably less contribution to the city at the expense of… the local heritage place.

“The previous application proposed a more elegant and highly refined sculptural form which would have made a significant design contribution to the locality and city,” the council’s senior planner Seb Grose wrote.

“The current proposal is not the same high-quality design.”

The council warned in March last year that demolition of this heritage listed building was inconsistent with requirements.

SCAP recommended that panel members grant approval at a meeting held on Wednesday.

Spokesperson Gabrielle McMahon wrote “Having undertaken an assessment of the amended plans, together with consideration of the GA and council comments which are of specific relevance to the points of deferral, I am satisfied that the applicant has appropriately responded to the SCAP’s reasons to defer its decision.”

This comes after the June decision for developers to  decrease  the number of rooms from 295 to 285, reducing the 28 storeys to 21.

The property will feature an event space, market café, swimming pool, fitness facilities and rooftop bar but they had to forego two storeys of private suites, three levels of car parking and an indoor plant room.

CEL Australia executive director Robert Lee said at the time that the changes were made to incorporate government feedback and make the building “more efficient”.

Work on the hotel was originally meant to begin at the beginning of 2020 but will now start in 2021.