A grand plan to finally fill the gaping Le Cornu site on O’Connell Street will be released soon, possibly as early as next week.
InDaily understands the Makris Group is ready to release its plans for the site which will include retail, residential, a boutique hotel and a car park.
The property developers have been in negotiations with the State Government on the site, which has been vacant since 1989.
Because of the size of the site and the value of the development, the proposal will go straight to the Development Assessment Commission rather than the Adelaide City Council.
InDaily understands the Makris Group will display its plans at the North Adelaide Village shopping centre.
The development is likely to have a mix of building heights across the vast site.
The developers wouldn’t talk today about the imminent release of its plans, however, in August, Makris Group general manager Steve Ploubidis told InDaily that negotiations on the site were well-advanced.
“We are well down the path of negotiating with Government to revitalise North Adelaide,” he said.
“Adelaide needs private cranes in the air and we plan to deliver.”
He said on 25 August that the Makris team had met with the Development Assessment Commission and the State Government in the past week.
DAC is the independent statutory body which reviews development proposals.
The Le Cornu site was granted major project status in May 2007 when a hotel/apartment complex was proposed (see artist’s impression below).
It was put on hold when the Global Financial Crisis hit in late 2008.
Ploubidis said in August the new concept was a more advanced version of the 2007 proposal.
“We have done substantial work on North Adelaide. We met with DAC last week and plan to release architectural drawings when we go to full public consultation in November.
“We’ll actually have a shop front where people can see the design and ask questions.
“Then we’ll finalise the concept and lodge the formal submission early in the New Year.
“Once we have approval, then we can finalise the negotiations with a hotel group, the supermarket operators and commence pre-sales of apartments.
“Everyone involved is very excited with this project.”
In February this year the Makris Group sold its shopping centre in Bonnyigg, Sydney, to “cash-up” for the North Adelaide project.
The Le Cornu site remains one of Adelaide’s eyesores.
In 1989 the Le Cornu furniture store was demolished. Since then there have been seven development proposals. After each one failed, the developer sold the site.
Con Makris has held the site since 2001.
