City glow-up: New builds revitalising the CBD

From cool new apartments to cutting-edge hotels, Adelaide’s skyline is getting a multibillion-dollar makeover. We take a look at the big developments you need to know about.

Did you know there are currently 40 approved building projects ready to break dirt in the city’s square mile?

Most of them are mixed use – that is, a combination of offices, shops, hospo and housing or hotel accommodation. This is important because these kinds of developments are not only convenient for the people who live there – they also bring others in at night and on weekends, making the street level vibrant, welcoming and safe.

More places to call home

Those 40 projects will enable thousands more people to call the city home. They’ll add 1800-plus apartments and 300 student accommodation units. As well, the 13 new hotels with 2700-plus rooms will cater to more tourists and create more jobs.

One of them, the 24-storey high Central Market development, will include 600 apartments and dramatically change the Victoria Square precinct in line with how we feel as a progressive, festival-loving and highly liveable city.

Construction already underway

Those green-lit projects are on top of a stack currently under construction and conservatively totalling more than $1.33 billion in investment.

These 13 projects range from NEXTDC’s state-of-the-art data centre to the new Entrepreneur and Innovation Centre at Lot Fourteen to projects that will together deliver another 1600-plus apartments and townhouses.

They’ve got the keys

So far this year, we’ve also seen the completion and handover of nine projects, including iconic developments like the Australian Bragg Centre in the city’s biomed precinct and the new office tower at Festival Plaza.

See for yourself how our city is changing

Want to explore Adelaide’s exciting transformation for yourself? Check out the government’s online development activity tracker. This nifty tool gives you a bird’s eye, 3D view of the city, complete with all the new developments popping up.

It’s not just a static map – you can zoom in, spin around and even click on specific projects for more details. Whether you’re curious about that new building going up near you or want to see how the whole skyline is evolving, this tracker has got you covered.

The best part? It’s super easy to use. You can toggle between approved, commenced and completed developments, so you’ll get a clear picture of what’s happening now and what’s coming soon.

Like a list of what’s happening around town? We’ve made our own.

APPROVED DEVELOPMENTS

207-209 Pulteney Street
- Mixed-use: 330 apartments, 160-room hotel, retail
- 55 storeys
- Proponent: JWDT Land Trust
237 Gouger Street (Central Market development)
- Mixed-use: 600 apartments, 220-room hotel, retail
- 24 storeys
- Cost: $1.25 billion
- Proponent: Gurner Group
75-79 King William Street
- Hotel with 347 rooms
- 35 storeys
- Cost: $150 million
- Proponent: Guava Lime P/L
51 Pirie Street
- Hotel with 295 rooms
- 22 storeys
- Cost: $80 million
- Proponent: CES Pirie Hotel P/L
274 North Terrace
- Mixed-use: hotel (234 rooms) and café
- 16 storeys
- Cost: $17.5 million
- Proponent: 274 North Terrace Pty Ltd
2-6 Hutt Street (Rymill Park Apartments)
- Mixed-use: residential and retail (ground floor restaurant)
- 38 apartments
- 16 storeys
- Cost: $27 million
- Proponent: Rymill Park Apartments P/L
154 Angas Street
- Mixed-use: residential and commercial
- 166 apartments
- 18 storeys
124-126 Franklin Street
- Hotel with 200 rooms
- 26 storeys
- Cost: $30 million
- Proponent: Jon Haynes/Peter Price
108-114 Franklin Street
- Hotel with 150 rooms
- 20 storeys
- Cost: $80 million
- Proponent: The Punvec Group
126 Wakefield Street
- Mixed-use: hotel (240 rooms) and retail
- 18 storeys
- Cost: $30 million
- Proponent: BYLD P/L
Lot 14 North Terrace (Aboriginal Art and Cultures Centre)
- 3 storeys
- Cost: Not specified
80 King William Street
- Mixed-use: hotel (110 rooms) and office
- 13 storeys
- Proponent: Pelligra Group P/L
399 King William Street
- Mixed-use: residential (60 apartments), office and retail
- 16 storeys
- Cost: $14 million
- Proponent: Festival State Building Group
261-263 Pulteney Street
- Mixed-use: residential (68 apartments), commercial and retail
- 23 storeys
- Cost: $20 million
- Proponent: KOZNO
15-19 Halifax Street
- Mixed-use: hotel (200 rooms) and restaurant
- Cost: $30 million
- Proponent: Samaras Constructions & Developments
98-100 North Terrace
- Hotel (240 rooms)
- 23 storeys
- Cost: $74 million
- Proponent: Doma Group
156-172 Franklin Street
- Mixed-use: residential (140 apartments) and hotel (85 rooms)
- 16 storeys
- Proponent: Greaton Developments P/L
54-58 Elizabeth Street
- Student accommodation: 300 apartments
- 17 storeys
- Cost: $26 million
1-8 North Terrace
- Mixed-use: residential (191 apartments), hotel (161 rooms) and offices
- 31 storeys
- Cost: $72 million
- Proponent: One North Terrace Pty Ltd
Women’s and Children’s Hospital carpark & energy plant
- 7 storeys

DEVELOPMENTS READY TO START

Lot 14 North Terrace, Entrepreneur and Innovation Centre
- Mixed-use: commercial and education
- 16 storeys
200-206 East Terrace
- 36 residential apartments
- 8 storeys
- Cost: $40 million
- Proponent: Global Intertrade
211-117 Pirie Street
- Mixed-use: data centre and commercial
- 6 storeys
- Cost: $100 million
- Proponent: NEXTDC
353-357 King William Street
- Mixed-use: hotel (37 rooms) and retail
- 16 storeys
- Cost: $100 million
- Proponent: YI Corp
21-59 Grote Street
- Mixed-use: commercial, retail, hotel (250 rooms) and residential (210 apartments)
- 14 storeys
- Cost: $240 million

DEVELOPMENTS RECENTLY COMPLETED

60 King William Street
- Mixed-use: office and retail
- 15 storeys
- Cost: $450 million
- Proponent: Bieson P/L
- Completed: 2023
North Terrace, Australian Bragg Centre
- Health research facility
- 11 storeys
- Cost: $500 million
- Completed: 2024
Festival Drive
- Commercial offices
- 27 storeys
- Cost: $1 billion
- Proponent: SkyCity Adelaide
- Completed: 2024
185 Pirie Street
- Mixed-use: commercial and retail
- 8 storeys
- Cost: $45 million
- Proponent: Palumbo Building
- Completed: Not specified
266-270 Pulteney Street
- Mixed-use: TRYP Hotel (136 rooms), offices and café
- 8 storeys
- Cost: $25 million
- Completed: 2023