$400,000 a Year to Maintain, More Than $50 Million on Sale: Lutherans Sell Their North Adelaide Campus

• The Australian Lutheran College site in North Adelaide sold for more than $50 million
• Developer Chris Diamantis bought nine of the blocks
• He plans at least 50 homes priced at $3.5 million to $4.5 million
• The site cost about $400,000 a year to maintain

The Lutheran Church of Australia has sold its college campus in North Adelaide for more than $50 million, The Other Cheek reported in August 2024.

The 1.9-hectare site, bounded by Ward, Jeffcott and Archer streets, housed the Australian Lutheran College, the church’s national office, apartments, hostel rooms, townhouses, an office building, a refectory, a library and the state heritage-listed Hebart Hall. The Lutherans bought Hebart Hall in 1922; it had earlier been North Adelaide Grammar School and then Angas College.

The church explained why it was selling: “The North Adelaide campus is now largely under-utilised with very limited use of some buildings. The cost of maintaining the site is approximately $400,000 per annum.” The college had moved to a distributed learning model. Developer Chris Diamantis bought nine of the blocks, and Hebart Hall was sold separately.

Diamantis said there “would be at least 50 new homes … and we’re hoping to pitch the price point between $3.5m and $4.5m”.

When a church’s college or office moves away, its land can be worth far more to others. Jamaica’s denominations own seminaries, schools and offices on valuable land in Kingston and elsewhere. Reviewing which buildings are really needed, and what they cost to keep, can produce funds for mission, but it also means losing central sites for good.

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