Sensational-Adelaide.com

Pikey wrote:Site was put up for sale, and has since been sold.

Noticed this on the weekend, hopefully some details can be released soon!

Pikey wrote:Nah, the site is tiny. I'd say apartments or a boutique style offices.

A KERRY Stokes company has been shortlisted to develop Adelaide's new police headquarters despite the company's site only having one third of the land required for the $38 million tender.

The Stokes site, owned by Western Core Projects, would need to acquire twice as much State Government land to go ahead, prompting complaints from the Residents and Ratepayers Association.

Twenty two developers expressed interest in the project with two of the final three having 3000 square metres of their own land available – they being Prime Space Projects and Commercial and General Corporation.

The Seven Network boss' company's bid is based around the recent purchase of the old RSL building in Angas St which is only 950 square metres.

But the site is adjoined on two sides by State Government land of well over the remaining 2000 square metres needed.

Residents and Ratepayers Association President Kevin Kaeding said public land should not be sold to developers at cheap prices when other developers were prepared to use their own land for the deal.

"Government land belongs to the taxpayers and they are dealing with our land," he said. "How it is to be used should be in the best interests of the taxpayer, not developers."

Mr Kaeding said leasing back Government buildings after selling land to developers at low prices was not good value for money.

"We are paying exorbitant leases continually and it is just not sustainable," he said.

The SA Property Council refused to comment.

A spokesman for Mr Stokes would say only: "I suspect that the Government is better placed to comment on the development and the processes involved".

In a written statement a spokesman for Minister for Infrastructure Patrick Conlon indicated the Government was willing to sell land to the developer.

"One developer has proposed that, if successful, it will negotiate purchase of adjacent government land at a fair market value," the spokesman wrote. "Government identified a number of accommodation options in the registration of interest documents and `registrants' were advised that it had not made a final decision on the preferred option, pending assessment of the registrations of interest.

"The range of accommodation options included Government owning or leasing the building or land."