The original vision of the Hyatt Regency Adelaide project was for a 28-storey, 295-room hotel to replace the vacant former Bank of South Australia building on the corner of Pirie Street and Gawler Place.

The $180 million project – originally scheduled for completion in early 2023 – was a joint venture between Hyatt Hotels and Singapore developers Chip Eng Seng Corporation Limited.

The tower would have marked the return of the Hyatt brand to Adelaide for the first time since 2009. The project was granted planning consent in April 2019 despite concerns about the demolition of former bank building’s local heritage listed Pirie Street façade.

The original 28-storey Hyatt Regency Adelaide project revealed in 2019. Image: GHDWoodhead

Project delays emerged in February 2020, prompting the developer to downsize the hotel to 21-storeys and 285-rooms.

Further delays emerged in November 2021 amid the pandemic, with construction pushed back to the second half of 2022 and the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) granting the developers a two-year planning consent extension.

The most recent 21-storey plans approved for 51 Pirie Street. Left image: ARUP, right image: CEL Australia and GHD Woodhead

With planning consent due to expire next Monday, August 26, and still no construction work commencing on site, the developer behind the project told InDaily that they are now considering selling the land at 51 Pirie Street or “other possibilities”.

“CES Pirie Hotel (SA) Pty Ltd regrets to announce that we will not be proceeding with the partnership with Hyatt Hotels to develop a Hyatt Regency in Adelaide,” CES Pirie Hotel director Robert Lee said in a statement on Monday.

CES Pirie Hotel is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chip Eng Seng Corporation, which purchased the land at 51 Pirie Street in 2016.

The former state bank building at 51 Pirie Street, with its 1927-built local heritage listed facade, was to be demolished under the most recent development plans. Photo: Thomas Kelsall/InDaily

Lee has since been spearheading the Adelaide Hyatt project and in January said the company was in “the final stages of refining the development plan” ahead of an announcement in late July.

On Monday, Lee said: “Our initial goal was to introduce a high-quality international five-star hotel into the Adelaide market. 

“However, due to the significant challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, including disruptions in the supply chain and fluctuating material availability, we have encountered difficulties in achieving the necessary standards for the project.

“Despite our efforts to adapt to the changing market conditions and extensive collaboration with Hyatt Hotels to redesign the project, we have been unable to arrive at a development budget that aligns with the expectations for a prominent international five-star hotel.”

A ground-level view of the most recent Hyatt Regency Adelaide plan for 51 Pirie Street. Image: CEL Australia/GHD Woodhead

Lee said there was no timeframe on whether they would sell the land or pursue a different development.

Asked whether a hotel development could still be explored for the site, Lee said: “Under our agreement we need to go back to Hyatt first if we decide to develop a hotel within two years.”

Lee confirmed Chip Eng Seng would not need to first consult with Hyatt Hotels if another form of development was explored, like an office block or student accommodation tower.

Asked if the looming expiration of planning consent factored into the decision, Lee said “the decision was based on more than one factor”.

The Hyatt brand has been absent from Adelaide since 2009 when the former Hyatt on North Terrace was rebranded as the Intercontinental.

A spokesperson for Hyatt said: “From Hyatt’s perspective, South Australia – especially Adelaide – is a key priority.

“We are continuously exploring opportunities to re-establish our brand in this vital market,” they said.

The SCAP’s most recent planning approval for 51 Pirie Street was granted in August 2020. It was for a 21-storey building standing 93 metres tall.

The Hyatt was to include a sky bar and restaurant on the 21^st floor, hotel rooms from level seven to 20, a gym on level six and a ballroom and event space on level two.

The skybar planned for the top floor of the 21-storey development. Image: CEL Australia/GHD Woodhead

A lobby and bar were also planned for the ground level, along with meeting and conference rooms on the first floor.

The failure of the Hyatt Hotel project marks yet another setback in the more than decades-long quest to redevelop 51 Pirie Street, which is fast becoming one of the CBD’s most notorious underutilised sites.

The interior of the former state bank building on Pirie Street pictured January 12, 2024. Photos: Thomas Kelsall/InDaily

The state bank building was vacant when the Hyatt project was first announced in 2019 and remains so today, with various plans dating as far back as 2009 to transform the site never materialising.

In 2012, property investment company Charter Hall owned the site and secured planning approval for a 20+ storey A-grade office building that would have retained the bank building through adaptive reuse.

The original Charter Hall proposal for a 22-storey office building at 51 Pirie Street. Image: Fitzpatrick+Partners

After those plans fell through, Charter Hall sold the site in 2014 to South Australian-based development firm LGB Australia for a reported $13 million.

LGB partnered with the Singapore-based Park Hotel Group in 2015 to propose a 30-storey hotel and apartment building, which, at nearly 115 metres in height, would have been Adelaide’s second-tallest building at the time.

The 30-storey Park Hotel proposal for 51 Pirie Street was to be Adelaide’s second-tallest building at nearly 115 metres when it was revealed in 2015. Image: GHDWoodhead

The $175 million plan never got off the ground and the land was then sold in 2016 to its current owners.