Adelaide’s Historic Gawler Chambers for Sale for the First Time in 80 Years

Adelaide’s historic Gawler Chambers building is for sale for the first time since 1945, with the property having only two owners since its construction in 1913. 

Originally built as the headquarters of the South Australian Company, the five-storey property at 188 North Terrace is an Adelaide landmark that played a pivotal role in the early development of South Australia and its commercial foundations. 

The asset is being taken to the market via an Expressions of Interest campaign run by Knight Frank agents Max Frohlich and Ryan Mills on behalf of the owner, Adelaide Development Company (ADC). 

Owned by ADC since 1945, Gawler Chambers was once the premium location for medical and dental professionals in Adelaide. 

Located on one of the most prestigious corners on North Terrace, at the epicentre of Adelaide’s cultural boulevard, the 627sq m freehold site is being offered to the market with vacant possession. 

With its elegant heritage façade and expansive frontages to both North Terrace and Gawler Place, the property has significant development potential, offering a blank canvas.  

The property had a prior development approval for a 15-level commercial tower, but with no prescribed height limits a new development on the site could rise up to 34 storeys, with a total gross floor area of around 19,400sq m. 

ADC Group General Manager Chris Chambers said the sale of the building was timed to take advantage of the current strength of the commercial property market in Adelaide.  

The sale is part of an overall restructuring of the asset portfolio of the ADC Group. 

“Gawler Chambers’ spectacular location with uninterrupted views over Government House, together with its historic Edwardian design and detailed brickwork with Art Nouveau aspects, makes it a perfect site for high-end apartments, a hotel or the headquarters of a group looking to occupy an historic landmark building,” Mr Chambers said. 

“And being on the doorstep of the soon-to-be opened Adelaide University following the merger of the University of Adelaide and Uni SA, it would also be ideal for purpose-built student accommodation. 

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase such a unique asset and we expect it will attract significant interest.” 

ADC has been a significant contributor to the development of the City of Adelaide and to the surrounding residential areas, having celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2022. 

Mr Frohlich said 188 North Terrace represented one of the last remaining opportunities to secure a freehold development site on Adelaide’s trophy North Terrace boulevard. 

“It’s extremely rare for assets on North Terrace to come up for sale, and particularly this property, which has had the same ownership for 80 years,” he said. 

“Positioned at the crossroads of Adelaide’s cultural, educational, business and retail precincts, this landmark development opportunity offers the potential to redefine the city’s skyline. 

“188 North Terrace is well-positioned to benefit from strong tailwinds across Adelaide’s residential apartment, hotel, student accommodation and co-living sectors, all experiencing heightened demand driven by population growth, international student arrivals and a shortage of quality supply. 

“Adelaide’s hotel pipeline – worth nearly $2.2 billion since 2020 – signals strong investor confidence in the state’s tourism and business events future with quality supply additions and a robustly trading market translating to record high average daily rates compared to pre-COVID-19. 

“Compared to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Adelaide’s student accommodation market remains relatively underdeveloped, with fewer completed projects and only one scheme under construction, with demand expected to mirror the 9.3% increase in student cap – 295,000 placements, up from 270,000. 

“Adelaide’s residential apartment vacancy rate is 0.8%, far lower than Melbourne at 1.8% and Sydney at 1.5%, and we have seen the strongest rental growth in apartments of any major capital city over the last 5-years at 75.5%.” 

Gawler Chambers has uninterrupted views across Government House, the National War Memorial, and beyond – as far as the Lefevre Peninsula, with 360-degree views across Adelaide’s foothills and the Gulf St Vincent coastline once developed to its full potential. 

The property has the convenience of being adjacent the Art Gallery tram stop, Gawler Place car park and a very short walk to Adelaide Railway Station, Adelaide Oval, Rundle Mall and Adelaide University. 

Mr Mills said: “Live intel from recent campaigns, together with bolstered enquiry levels, demonstrates the depth of capital keen to invest in Adelaide at this stage of the cycle, to take advantage of upcoming capital growth as values rise.  

“Recent interest rate cuts with further reductions expected, has fuelled investor confidence and will drive development demand as feasibilities become more viable.” 

Knight Frank’s recently-released Australian Capital View found transactional activity in Australia’s capital markets was expected to be stronger over the second half of 2025 as capital values start to recover. 

The Expressions of Interest campaign for 188 North Terrace will close at 4pm on Thursday, October 9.