The Freemasons Hall Trust lodged a development application on October 30 for its long-mooted “Keystone Tower” behind the Freemasons Hall on North Terrace, with the plan listed on the public developments register this month.

The project, worth an estimated $400 million, features a 240-room hotel, office space, business lounge, function area, “wellness centre” and a top level balcony.

The History Trust is also hoping to house a new Adelaide Museum of South Australia’s History on the first five floors of the new tower and within the Freemasons Hall, contingent on state government funding.

Architectural drawings lodged with PlanSA. Image: Walter Brooke and Associates and Freemasons Hall Trust/supplied

The site location of the Keystone Tower. Images: Walter Brooke and Associates and Freemasons Hall Trust/supplied

At 183 metres, the Keystone Tower would be Adelaide’s tallest building, eclipsing current title holder Crowne Plaza on Frome Street by 45 metres.

The proposal is also taller than a 180-metre, 55-storey hotel and apartment plan that was last year approved for the corner of Pulteney and Flinders Street. The developer has since reportedly tried to offload that site to another buyer.

The Freemasons’ plan will require demolition of the Great Hall located at the rear of the state heritage listed Freemasons Hall, while retaining its frontage.

The Freemasons Hall at 254 North Terrace. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

The grand North Terrace building was erected in 1927 and added to the state heritage register in 1984.

Freemasons SA/NT deputy grand register Henry Davis said the group hoped for planning approval before March 2024, and project completion in 2026.

“The intention is that this would be a real building for Adelaide and its people and for visitors to come and experience Adelaide and see Adelaide in a different way,” he said.

Development plans supplied to InDaily show hotel floors level 13 to level 29, office space on level 30 and a function area on level 31.

A three-level public viewing platform featuring an observatory, mezzanine and balcony is planned for levels 33 to 35.

Internal drawings presented to the state government’s Office for Design and Architecture. Images: Walter Brooke and Associates and Freemasons Hall Trust/supplied

The hotel operator is expected to be announced next week.

History Trust CEO Greg Mackie told InDaily his organisation has been working with the Freemasons and their consultants for the last three years on making a new museum a “major element in the repurposing of the Freemasons Grand Lodge”.

“(The museum) would be 8000 square metres and therefore obviously only a small part of that would fit into the existing heritage building,” he said.

“The first five floors of the tower would connect to the 1927 building and provide contemporary museum, open plate spaces that are really desirable for 21^st century museums.”

Internal drawings presented to the state government’s Office for Design and Architecture. Images: Walter Brooke and Associates and Freemasons Hall Trust/supplied

The History Trust, which already runs the state’s Migration Museum, the National Motor Museum and the South Australian Maritime Museum, has long had its sights on establishing a new museum documenting South Australia’s history.

It was also given $250,000 from the former Marshall government to explore a business case for the concept, with the Freemasons Hall one of the three options identified.

A view of the Keystone Tower at night. Image: supplied

Mackie said the Freemasons Hall museum proposal would require a financing arrangement for government “the likes of which no public cultural institution would have ever enjoyed before in Australia”.

He also said the AMOSAH proposal was particularly significant given South Australia’s approaching bicentenary in 2036.

“The opportunity to align AMOSA into our preparations for that state-wide celebration are I think culturally exciting and quite compelling,” Mackie said.

Detailed plans of how the proposed museum will be integrated into the Freemasons Hall and the new Keystone Tower. Images: Walter Brooke and Associates and Freemasons Hall Trust/supplied

Davis said the extra height was because of demand from the hotel sector for more rooms.

Asked why this tower proposal would succeed when other major developments have failed, Davis said: “We have the money.

“We’ve signed the hotel agreement yesterday, and I think the real difference is that the people behind it have a vision… it’s not driven by money.”