A developer’s proposal to raise a hotel tower in Adelaide’s Glenelg by four storeys has sparked objections from local competitors, even after the State Commission Assessment Panel granted approval. Thirteen Commercial’s updated plan for the site at 1-7 Moseley Street will increase the building’s height from 10 to 14 storeys and position it as a Radisson RED hotel, details confirmed during the approval review. The location sits just two blocks from Glenelg Beach, a prime tourist destination in Adelaide.
The height adjustment follows an announcement last month that the Sydney locale of Haymarket would get Australia’s first Radisson RED hotel. Chris Vounasis, executive chairman of Future Urban, defended the change, emphasizing Glenelg’s status as a high-demand tourist area with insufficient accommodation options. He dismissed rival concerns as driven by commercial self-interest, arguing the project would introduce much-needed competition to a market currently dominated by established hotels. The original 10-storey proposal, approved in August last year, had included plans to preserve adjacent 1878-era terrace houses, a commitment that remains in the revised scheme.
The new design incorporates elements not present in the initial proposal, including three penthouse suites on the 12th floor and a pool deck with an attached bar on the 13th. Two specialized elevators, one dedicated to the pool area and another for the bar, will serve these upper levels. The total number of rooms will expand from 90 to 108.
Read Also: Developers Face Rising Costs, Labor Shortages, and Pessimism
Opposition to the taller structure came from Marcus Rolfe, a planner with Taplin Management, which co-owns The George hotel nearby. Rolfe argued that a 14-storey building exceeded reasonable limits, citing only three comparable towers in the vicinity: the 12-storey Stamford Grand (constructed in 1990), an identical-height building at 8 South Espalande, and an unbuilt 18-storey proposal at 15 Colley Terrace. He characterized the approval as a failure to enforce local height restrictions.
Greg Vincent, representing SGA (1994) Pty Ltd, the owner of the Stamford Grand, challenged Rolfe’s comparison, noting that the area includes low-rise buildings alongside taller structures. He argued that the local planning context was defined not by the Stamford, which was part of the wider locality, but by nearer two-storey buildings in a zone that “contemplates a generally acceptable building height of five building levels.” The panel ultimately approved the increase after closed deliberations.