South Australia’s independent planning body, the Development Assessment Commission (DAC), has approved a 27-storey tower designed by Bates Smart, which will be part of the redevelopment of Adelaide Festival Plaza.
When completed, the 108-metre-tall tower will be the second tallest in Adelaide, behind the Westpac building designed by Rod Roach Architecture in association with Woods Bagot, which was completed in 1988.
The tower, developed by Walker Corporation, will be situated at the south edge of a redeveloped Adelaide Festival Plaza, adjacent to Adelaide’s Parliament House, and will replace an existing “derelict” car park.
The tower will have 40,000 square metres of offices, three levels of retail spaces and five levels of car parking spaces.
A proposed office tower in Adelaide designed by Bates Smart.
Image: Courtesy Walker Corporation
According to a government statement, “the DAC concluded that the development would bring a range of uses including retail and commercial which would highly activate the space during the daytime and the evening and would help to revitalise and rejuvenate the plaza as a desirable place to visit.”
Earlier this year, the South Australian government entered an agreement with Walker Corporation for the development of the office tower, car park, retail area and public space. A public square in front of the tower will be integrated with the redevelopment of Adelaide Festival Plaza, designed by ARM Architecture and Taylor Cullity Lethlean.
Other redevelopments in the precinct include the $90-million upgrade to Adelaide Festival Centre by Hassell and the $300-million expansion of the Adelaide Casino.
Construction on the tower will commence in 2016 and is expected to be completed in 2019.
