THE site housing the old Royal Adelaide Hospital will be managed by the South Australian Government after a billion-dollar redevelopment plan fell through.
The government will take control of the redevelopment of the seven-hectare site, meaning all elements of the project will be in the hands of the public.
In 2016, the Government announced Commercial & General and John Holland would undertake a billion-dollar redevelopment of the old hospital site, which would turn the land into penthouses.
The South Australian Government announced the site will go the way of Bowden, Tonsley, and Festival Plaza, and be transformed into a mixed-use development site.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says the Government does not want to see the heritage site, firmly planted in the Adelaide parklands, to be left to the market to decide what to do.
"We don't want to see this vital piece of our city fenced off for years to come and left to the market to dictate what happens and when," says Weatherill.
"By maintaining control over the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site we will ensure that the interests of South Australians are paramount rather than the interests of private developers."
Instead of the more than 1,000 residential apartments under the commercial agreement, the government plans to return 30 per cent (two hectares) to the Botanic Garden, open 70 per cent of the site to the public, and attract commercial, educational, and research tenancies.
In terms of proposals for what might end up on the old hospital site, the government has opened registrations of interest for a 5-star hotel, and an international search for a team of designers to create a contemporary art gallery on the site.
There will still be a residential component to the redevelopment of the site, which the government foresees housing student and aged-care facilities.
Work has already commenced on demolishing parts of the old hospital, with the East Wing building set to come down within weeks.
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