Fortis, Otello start 44-apartment Hutt Street tower, 43% presold

Fortis has made its first move into South Australia, partnering with Adelaide’s Otello to start construction on a 10-storey tower at 144 Hutt Street in the city’s CBD restaurant strip, the Urban Developer reported on 9 October 2026.

Why it matters

Fortis is described in the report as an east coast developer, and One Four Four Hutt is its first project in the state. Otello, the inner city Adelaide specialist, is the partner on the ground, and the two firms say they have worked together before this venture. Fortis head of development for SA, Arthur Dendrinos, said: “As Fortis’ first development in South Australia, this milestone is particularly significant.”

For Adelaide builders and agents, the entry of an east coast developer through a joint venture structure, rather than alone, is itself a signal. Fortis and Otello are also working on a second, 52-apartment project together in North Adelaide, where public consultation closed in August 2026, the Urban Developer reported, suggesting the Hutt Street venture is the start of an ongoing partnership rather than a one-off deal. Fortis brings east coast capital and development experience, while Otello carries the local relationships and site knowledge that a first-time entrant to Adelaide typically lacks.

BLAG Commercial is building the tower and DKO is the architect, both named in the Urban Developer’s report. Neither firm’s role on the project is disputed or unconfirmed between the two outlets reviewed for this story.

The numbers

The tower will hold 44 one, two and three bedroom apartments, including penthouses, on a 1,241 sqm corner site, with about 400 sqm of ground floor retail built in. Of the 44 apartments, 43% have sold off the plan and a further 9% are under reservation, the Urban Developer reported, putting more than half the building under some form of buyer commitment before completion.

Otello director Daniel Harris linked the retail component to that early sales result, saying the ground floor leasing had helped draw buyer interest to the project.

Completion is expected in 2028, according to the Urban Developer’s 9 October report. A separate listing page for the project still described it as pre construction with a late 2028 completion estimate, which reads as an unupdated listing rather than a change to the build timeline reported this month.

What’s next

The Hutt Street strip has more development interest beyond this one site. Nearby at 187 Hutt Street, Samaras Group has lodged plans for a separate $15 million, four storey development, the Urban Developer reported, pointing to wider investment appetite along the corridor. The City of Adelaide is also working on a detailed design for the street itself, which the council expects to complete by late 2027.

Elsewhere in the state’s development pipeline, a $30m Mount Barker hotel plan was resubmitted in the Adelaide Hills this month, a reminder that SA’s construction activity is not confined to the CBD.

For now, One Four Four Hutt is Fortis and Otello’s first completed deal together, with a second, larger joint project already through public consultation in North Adelaide. Builders and agents watching the CBD restaurant strip have a construction start, a builder and an architect confirmed, and a sales rate that puts the project well ahead of half sold before its 2028 completion.