Time to bite the bullet? Unpopular decision looms over $600m Aboriginal gallery

The prime land once occupied by the Royal Adelaide Hospital on North Terrace has become a symbol of prolonged inaction and failed urban planning, with South Australians still uncertain about its future nearly 20 years after the site was slated for redevelopment.

The latest significant proposal, an Aboriginal cultural center named Tarrkarri (meaning "the future" in the Kaurna language), has been stalled for over three and a half years. The project, with an estimated cost of up to $600 million, remains a mere hole in the ground at Lot Fourteen, its development indefinitely postponed.

This stasis is not a new phenomenon for the site. Since 2007, various ideas have been floated, including returning portions of the land to the adjacent Botanic Gardens, repurposing heritage buildings, and even an international design competition that yielded ambitious concepts like an artificial green mountain. A $300 million proposal for a school, student accommodation, and art gallery was eventually sidelined.

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The risks of inaction are substantial.

Concerns about the economic impact of leaving the site vacant were raised as early as 2014. A cabinet document warned of "substantial risks of inaction" and the need to minimize "downtime" following the hospital's relocation. Subsequent negotiations for a $1 billion "24-hour city" project involving a luxury hotel and residential apartments also collapsed in 2017, leaving the government to manage the site and seemingly return to square one with plans mirroring earlier suggestions.

The current government, which came to power in 2018, inherited a complex situation. While the Tarrkarri project was launched, its prolonged delay highlights ongoing challenges in realizing a cohesive and timely vision for this significant parcel of Adelaide's cultural boulevard.

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Plans must be well enough advanced that 'downtime' following the relocation of hospital functions is minimised.