Outcry over student accommodation proposed for site of Adelaide heritage pub

A proposal has been submitted for the construction of a 19-storey student accommodation building in Adelaide on the site of a 171-year-old locally heritage-listed pub Crown and Anchor.

Designed by Brown Falconer, the proposed building would supply more than 700 beds to tertiary students.

Plans show the facade of the Grenfell Street pub would remain relatively intact, however, the interior would be gutted and replaced with a lobby, a gym, a laundry, a bike storage area and retail offerings. The proposal has received some backlash, including from Adelaide's lord mayor, Jane Lomax-Smith, who, in an interview with ABC Radio Adelaide on 22 April described the project as "hideous […] facadism."

Dash Architects prepared the heritage impact statement, submitted as part of the development application. The report confirms the Crown and Anchor is a local heritage place and therefore the site is subject to a local heritage places overlay, however, it also noted, "the building interiors, and parts of the building not visible from the street, were not considered to be of heritage value."

Additionally, the heritage impact statement mentions the City of Adelaide conducted a local heritage survey in 2012 but they did not revise the heritage listing to include the interior.

The planned accommodation block is approximately 63 metres in height. A recessed separation has been proposed on the Grenfell Street exterior, forming a gap between the original facade and a new podium. On Union Street, restoration works would be undertaken to restore the remaining facade to its original 1920s form.

The planned material palette for the tower's exterior includes precast panels, curtain glazing and aluminium panels. If constructed, the building would be within close proximity to the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, the University of South Australia and Adelaide University.

The plans are on exhibition until 10 May.