Hines Property plans to ramp up CBD apartment projects James Hines from the Hines Group at the construction site of their new 150-apartment project which will be the Ibis Hotel on Grenfell St in the City. HINES Property is preparing to relaunch itself into Adelaide's apartment market, buoyed by major projects that are "breathing new life" into the CBD. The developer is in the early stages of planning for a new apartment tower that will comprise in excess of 150 apartments in a location north of Grenfell St in the city. Managing director James Hines said feasibility and preliminary design work was being undertaken for the landmark project which would be "uniquely located" in the heart of the city. "I think we're in an environment now with low interest rates where there'll be a strong return to residential property and that's why we're gearing up again to get back into the apartment space," he said. We've sat on the sidelines for four years. We are really optimistic about Adelaide and see enormous potential for new building projects in the CBD area, particularly high-rise residential developments. Hines has reached the halfway stage of its $65 million Ibis Adelaide project, which will introduce 311 new rooms to the city's hotel stock when it opens next year. A high-profile, destinational retail operator is being sought for the ground floor of the building which will become the largest Ibis hotel in Australia and will add to Accor's portfolio which includes the Mercure Grosvenor, Sebel Playford, Rockford and Mount Lofty House. Accor regional general manager Adrian Williams said the economy hotel would satisfy a niche in Adelaide's market which was dominated by 4 and 5-star hotels. "We are anticipating that the renewed confidence in the Adelaide market coupled with the recent expansion of low-cost carriers will stimulate travel from a range of sectors," he said. Lonely Planet's endorsement coupled with the city's recent cultural transformation and infrastructure upgrades plants Adelaide firmly in the minds of discerning business and leisure travellers. Mr Williams said that after a flat start to the year, Accor's Adelaide occupancy rate had reached 78.3 per cent for the year to date. As the Sydney Convention Centre prepares for a major redevelopment, Mr Hines renewed calls for the State Government to establish a bid fund to attract major international conferences to a revamped Convention Centre. "Adelaide is competing nationally, it's competing internationally so if you're going to build one of the best conference facilities in the country you've got to run it at a competitive level with the rest of the country and internationally," he said. What better time to be aggressively out there buying business so to speak. Mr Hines, whose company was on a shortlist for the development of Festival Plaza, questioned why developers weren't offered more support, including at the controversial Riverbank site where Walker Corporation's plans for office buildings have been opposed by the Property Council. "I was surprised that the Property Council would have a negative development view on anything to be honest," he said. If it's ultimately feasible then it should have everybody's support to go ahead - not get into this infighting. If someone wants to come in and put $100 million worth of investment into something then there should seriously be a ticker-tape parade when they arrive here.