Developer vows to restore Buckingham Arms Hotel after fire
The developer hoping to build a development behind the Buckingham Arms Hotel in Gilberton says they are still planning to retain and restore the historic pub after its rear was gutted by a fire over the weekend.
Citify managing director Joel Wilkinson said he was “shocked and saddened” to learn about the fire which broke out at the local heritage listed Buckingham Arms Hotel on Saturday morning.
The blaze was extinguished by Metropolitan Fire Service crews on Saturday afternoon but not before it caused “extensive damage” to the vacant pub, according to SA Police.
Damage to the exterior and interior of the Buckingham Arms Hotel after Saturday’s fire. Bottom right photo: Joel Wilkinson/LinkedIn, all other photos: Thomas Kelsall/InDailyWilkinson said that “much of the newer parts of the building have been destroyed” but the local heritage listed pub “appears to be structurally sound despite suffering smoke damage”.
“This will be verified by our engineers once we are granted access,” Wilkinson posted on LinkedIn on Tuesday.
“It remains our intention, as outlined in the multiple development applications we have submitted, to retain and restore the historic pub and to incorporate it into our future development plans.
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The rear of the Buckingham Arms Hotel. Photo: Thomas Kelsall/InDaily“Our team has been working and will continue to work through the logistics of what is required to make safe, secure and protect the heritage portion of the building and ensure that it can be restored for future generations to enjoy.
“As the scene remains under active investigation by the MFS and SA Police, we will not speculate on the potential cause of the fire.”
A police spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the cause of the fire is undetermined and remains under investigation.
The Buckingham Arms Hotel was built in the 1840s and fronts a five-way intersection between Northcote Terrace, Walkerville Terrace and Robe Terrace along the city ring route.
The pub, which became famous for its smorgasbord, was local heritage listed in 2007 but closed in 2022.
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After the pub’s closure, the state government approved rezoning the 6219-square-metre Gilberton site for six-storey housing, which can be extended to 10-storeys under incentives in the state’s planning code.
Citify has lodged three separate development applications to transform the site.
The first was a 10-storey, 193-home mixed-use apartment development that the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) rejected in March, deeming it “over-development”.
An image of the rejected 10-storey block for the former Buckingham Arms site. Image: Forum/Citify suppliedThe second application, lodged in July, is for a three-storey townhouse development with 29 homes. This will be assessed by Walkerville Council’s assessment panel.
The three-storey townhouse plan. Image: Citify and SMFA/suppliedThe third application, revealed in October, is another 10-storey proposal, this time with 130 residential apartments and 57 tourist apartments. This plan underwent a significant architectural redesign from the original 10-storey proposal in a bid to win over the state’s planning authorities.
The redesigned 10-storey Buckingham Arms proposal with the original proposal inset.All three development plans have included restoring the Buckingham Arms Hotel, potentially into a wine bar or tapas offering.
