News & Discussion: General CBD Development

[Ben]

Type: Application Assessed on Merit
Application Number: DA/566/2011/1/A
Lodgement Date: 4/07/2012
Location: TELSTRA BUILDING, 22-38 Pirie Street, ADELAIDE SA 5000
Description: Variation to previous authorisation to carry out alterations to Pirie Street entrance and new bike shelter - VARIATION - changes to facade - STAGE 1 - DEMOLITION OF EXTERNAL CANOPY STRUCTURE

[Brando]

Type: Application Assessed on Merit
Application Number: DA/566/2011/1/A
Lodgement Date: 4/07/2012
Location: TELSTRA BUILDING, 22-38 Pirie Street, ADELAIDE SA 5000
Description: Variation to previous authorisation to carry out alterations to Pirie Street entrance and new bike shelter - VARIATION - changes to facade - STAGE 1 - DEMOLITION OF EXTERNAL CANOPY STRUCTURE

Work on removal of canopy beng carried out tonight.

[Will]

A pretty interesting article from the Adeloaide Review regarding our liquor licensing rules and the proposals to change them.

Breathing new life into laneways

July, 2012

As planners and developers look for new ways to revitalise Adelaide’s CBD, the State Government believes the answer could lie in changing our liquor licensing laws and creating our own laneway culture.


It is a wintery Sunday afternoon in Sydney’s The Rocks and John Wardle is about to take the stage. While country and western is his forte today he is playing jazz in Bar 100. To the punters taking shelter from the cold he is just another muso. Yet 10 years ago this bar would not have existed without Wardle’s lobbying and campaigning to the New South Wales Parliament.

“I got very frustrated with the lack of opportunities for venues, for performance in New South Wales and it was quite clear that liquor licensing and planning legislation were a barrier that would have to be addressed,” he reflects.

“I was a lobbyist on restaurant and bar licensing. I played a pretty robust role in the associated changes to planning laws which were about development and consent to live entertainment.”

Inspired by his work, Renew Adelaide called on Wardle to do the same here with the Raise the Bar campaign. Set up as a website, it allowed supporters to email their local member of State Parliament and members of the Legislative Council asking they readdress the liquor licensing laws.

Within 48 hours of the website being live it attracted over 1000 supporters and less than a month later Minister for Business Services and Consumers John Rau announced reduced liquor licensing fees for smaller venues and consultation with industry for a new class of small bar license. Aimed at revitalising the Adelaide CBD the changes intend to create a local version of laneway bars and culture akin to Melbourne’s CDB.

Since the announcement of Minister Rau’s proposals Ian Horne, General Manager of the Australian Hotel Association South Australian branch (AHA SA) claims they have been painted in the media as having “a fight on their hands”.

He argues: “It is in the interest of the mainstream media to paint us as the bad guys, the pokies baron and beer barons. Much of it is insulting and that doesn’t reflect our membership. But we have said to the government we think a revitalised city has got to be good for current operators and future operators.”

While the AHA SA is in full support of revitalising of Adelaide’s CBD they are concerned about relaxing licensing laws for new bars.

“If there’s concessions for these new types of premises a-la they don’t have to meet certain types of standards, we’d expect those concessions to fall across to everyone otherwise it wouldn’t be fair,” he believes.

Those concessions include provisions for toilets and disability access. Yet this is not the only concern the AHA SA has about the changes. Horne asserts changing the Liquor Licensing laws will have little impact unless the Adelaide City Council changes some of its “draconian and ridiculous” bi-laws. These include venues being fined when punters stand outside the premises with a drink or everyone having to move inside at midnight.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood is encouraged by the Government’s ideas on how to revitalise the CBD and acknowledges the Council has a role to play.

“I have asked for a review of council’s liquor licensing position to be prepared and brought up to council as a report which will happen in the next couple of months,” he says.

“(I’m) not 100 per cent sure we will have to tackle any specific bi-laws. Certainly we may need to look at the development plan but we do need to be having an ongoing conversation about building code regulations and how they are enforced.”

Yet according to Horne one of the hindrances to how bars and pubs operate in the city is the growing number of residents and residential apartments. Lord Mayor Yarwood concedes that it is a “complex question that council has been grappling with. In fact there’s not really a CBD in the world that is not dealing with these issues”.

Seeing the irony that it is the vibrancy of city living that attracts people, the Lord Mayor accepts it also has its impacts.

“At the end of the day we also have to acknowledge that if you move into the city you have to be a part of city life and a pub on most corners is a part of city life,” he admits.

For Wardle addressing council bi-laws is “putting the cart before the horse”. He believes we need to look at our Liquor Licensing Act, remove definitions for entertainment and address the competition laws.

“As an outsider I look at South Australia and I see what happens for the festival [month],” he says.

“The rules are bent for the festival then when everybody leaves it returns to a protectionist, dysfunctional, inconsistent type of regulatory system and I think that is a pretty poor way to regulate ideas in the community.”

– Louise Pascale

[Wayno]

Thanks Will - that's a good article.

You can send a message to YOUR local pollie here --> http://raisethebarsa.good.do/raise-the- ... iquor-act/.

[Ben]

Video of proposed Leigh Street upgrade

http://video.adelaidenow.com.au/2257105 ... a-facelift

[crawf]

Why don't they target streets that actually need urgent work?, eg Bank Street.

Leigh Street doesn't look that bad at the moment.

[[Shuz]]

I don't get it? Are they actually closing the street off to cars now?

[Ben]

Leigh St in Adelaide closed to traffic in laneways plan

by: Sheradyn Holderhead

Adelaide Now17 July 2012

LEIGH St will be the first in a series of roads to be closed off to traffic in an effort to revitalise the city centre's under-used laneways.

The six-month trial period will start on Monday, July 30, and is the first of a series of laneway upgrades which will eventually link the riverbank precinct with the Central Market.

"Leigh Street is the ideal choice to begin the revival of the city's laneways, with its already strong pedestrian activity and thriving businesses, cafes and restaurants," Premier Jay Weatherill said.

"Bringing life to the city's streets and laneways - and also its squares, parks and terraces - is a key part of Adelaide's exciting future as a vibrant and active place for residents, workers and visitors."

Bollards will be used to block the middle section of Leigh St to vehicles while at both ends of the street there will be drop-off zones, shared by vehicles and pedestrians.

Right-hand turns from Currie St are no longer permitted and from July 30, right-hand turns from Leigh St on to Hindley St will also be prevented.

The State Government contributed $50,000 towards works in the street, which include new planter boxes, trees and street seating.

"The Leigh St project won't cost the earth, but I believe it will show how small changes can help laneways grow into people-friendly places with cafes, alfresco dining, music, small bars and more," Planning Minister John Rau said

[Nathan]

Looks like the middle section will be closed, but the ends will be shared zones to facilitate drop offs, and I assume access for the private off-street parking.

Agreed, not sure if it's really needed as it's already one of our nicest streets, but the budget is pretty low - $50,000. I guess they want to make just polish it up a bit to make it an A-grade example of what can be done, before embarking on the more difficult tasks like Bank St and Topham Mall.

[Ben]

From ACC

Leigh Street Kicks Off City Laneways Project

Released: 17/07/2012

The next step in revitalising Adelaide – the improvement of the city’s underused laneways – will begin with the closure to traffic of historic Leigh Street for a six-month trial period starting on Monday 30 July.

The closure was announced today by the Premier Jay Weatherill, Deputy Premier and Planning Minister John Rau and Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood.

Mr Weatherill said the project, which builds on the street’s existing strengths, is the first of a series of laneway upgrades which will eventually link the rejuvenated Riverbank precinct with the Central Market.

“Leigh Street is the ideal choice to begin the revival of the city’s laneways, with its already strong pedestrian activity and thriving businesses, cafés and restaurants,” he said.

“Bringing life to the city’s streets and laneways – and also its squares, parks and terraces – is a key part of Adelaide’s exciting future as a vibrant and active place for residents, workers and visitors.”

This project – the first of many – has grown out of work by the Integrated Design Commission and the desire of the Government and Adelaide City Council to bring more residents and life to the city.

Zis Ginos of Ginos Group, owners of Leigh Street, said the changes were exciting.

“Leigh Street is already a popular, cosmopolitan part of Adelaide,” he said. “The closure is bound to bring more people to the street and that is great for visitors and businesses alike.”

Bollards will be used to block the middle section of Leigh Street to vehicles. At both ends of the street there will be 10 kph drop-off zones, shared by vehicles and pedestrians. Right-hand turns from Currie Street are no longer permitted and, from 30 July, right-hand turns from Leigh Street on to Hindley Street will also be prevented.

Traffic studies will monitor the impact of the change, supplemented with pedestrian surveys. Businesses in the street have been consulted extensively.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood said the Leigh Street closure would build on the street’s cosmopolitan feel.

“This move is about more people spending more time in the city,” he said. “It will create a space for people to enjoy the best of what Adelaide has to offer,” he said.

Deputy Premier and Planning Minister John Rau said the Leigh Street transformation included an initial Government contribution of $50,000 towards works in the street including new planter boxes, trees and street seating.

“The Leigh Street project won’t cost the earth, but I believe it will show how small changes can help laneways grow into people-friendly places with cafes, alfresco dining, music, small bars and more,” he said.

[Maximus]

Apologies if this is common knowledge and/or has been discussed before, but I've just noticed the dirty great big grassy area of vacant land on the southern side of Gouger Street, between West Tce and Morphett. Street View doesn't show much apart from temporary fencing and some 'deep excavation' signs.

Do we know anything about what's happening on this site?

[Ben]

Apologies if this is common knowledge and/or has been discussed before, but I've just noticed the dirty great big grassy area of vacant land on the southern side of Gouger Street, between West Tce and Morphett. Street View doesn't show much apart from temporary fencing and some 'deep excavation' signs.

Do we know anything about what's happening on this site?

That is the site of the failed Mercongouger. the new owner/developer Tancheng (same guy as 399 KWS) will propose something shortly.

[Ben]

From the AFR:

Adelaide revamp gets kiss of life

26 Jul 2012 PRINT EDITION: 26 Jul 2012

?Adelaide’s new planning rules, which have introduced a 27-level limit, allow for higher density in the CBD.

?Stamp duty exemptions for off-the-plan apartments valued at up to $500,000 should encourage first-home buyers.

An overhaul of Adelaide’s planning laws was designed to inject life into the city’s core market, but the initial sparks of activity may fail to fuel the city’s fire unless demand improves.

Development applications for a new crop of apartment towers, which would have been rejected in the past, were approved after a 27-storey limit was introduced, plus allowances for smaller apartments and reduced car?parking.

Four projects are under construction, seven have been approved and six are pending approval.

One of the city’s largest projects is the West Central Joint Venture, a $900 million project by Brookfield Multiplex and Urban Construct in conjunction with the City of Adelaide.

The Precinct, to be built on the old Balfours site, originally consisted of 1300 apartments. However, failure to deliver on time on a stage of the project led the consortium to hand back 7520 square metres of land to the City of Adelaide this month.

A council spokeswoman said stage one and some of stage two of the Balfours site were complete, with the balance of the second stage delayed due to a lack of pre-sales.

Stage three will proceed but has been impacted by the stage two delays.

“Work has not stopped on the projects, but progress has been affected as a result of a soft property market and lack of pre-sales,’’ the spokeswoman said.

The council plans to deliver a mixed-use development, possibly including retail, office and residential spaces.

Urban Construct chief executive Todd Brown stressed that the project had not fallen apart from a lack of pre-sales and said there was still enough demand to meet the supply.

He said the council and the consortium held commercial-in-confidence discussions which resulted in the land hand-back compromise.

Off-the-plan apartments valued at up to $500,000 are exempt from stamp duty over the next two years to encourage buyers into the CBD apartment market.

The measure was introduced in this year’s state budget to increase buyer activity in the CBD. Kate Gray of CBRE said large apartment projects could take time as high pre-sale levels were needed before funding could be secured.

She said the stamp duty concessions had made buying a CBD apartment more affordable, which would fuel demand, but it may not return to the first-home buyer levels of 2009-10.

While house prices have fallen across Adelaide, prices are expected to stabilise in coming months.

Ms Gray said the market was tough for developers who needed pre-sales to secure finance.

One of the first applications lodged under the city’s new planning system was the $130 million Palladio project by Melbourne-based and ­Chinese-backed developer Bing Chen.

Mr Chen said Adelaide’s new CBD planning rules encouraged his investment and he expected the stamp duty concessions to bring the project forward about six months. When finished, the project will include six buildings of up to 19 ­storeys on Angas Street.

The project was designed by Pruszinski Architects, which has been responsible for 14 CBD buildings in Adelaide over the past decade.

Adelaide architect Paul Pruszinski designed the project so that the buildings will be filled with natural light and cross-ventilation.

The statement building will include indoor gardens.

Mr Pruszinski said the building would not have been permitted under the previous scheme, which had an eight-level limit.

The new planning regulations have allowed for brownfield redevelopment and an improvement to streetscapes.

A $200 million mixed-use development will bring life to the former Mayfield Electrics factory site.

Called New Mayfield to honour the site’s industrial past, the project was one of the first construction starts since the new planning rules were introduced.

It is being developed by the Sturt Land consortium, made up of South Australian construction firm Tagara and national property developer Colvid.

Designed by Adelaide architectural firm Woods Bagot, the project will include 427 apartments across three residential buildings.

The towers will be between 10 and 14 levels and include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom properties, with four levels of car parking, rooftop pool and community zones designed to bring the residents to common meeting points.

There will be 3500 square metres of ground-floor retail and dining space, and the broader streetscape will be lifted by a $6 million investment from the government and Sturt Land to plant more than 80 mature trees and build a new?park with bike lanes and wider footpaths.

An extension of the tram line along Sturt Street has also been proposed.

The project is still at the expressions of interest stage, with marketing set to begin later this year.

The high level of interest in the project has Sturt Land confident that pre-sale levels will be sufficient to secure project funding.

Sturt Land director David Bertram said the city centre needed regeneration and investment if it was to become a more livable and more desirable place to live.

He said New Mayfield was a step towards Adelaide becoming a more modern and vibrant city.

[tsmith3064]

Uno Apartments seem to be the only development in the CBD currently offering apartments under the Affordable Homes Program. I'm considering purchasing a property at UNO as a FHB but i can't seem to find any information on whether any other current or future developments in the CBD will offer similar apartments under the AHP. No response from the AHP website or Adelaide Council.

Some developments in the CBD have offered them in the past, but other haven't. I heard somewhere that the Govt looks favourably on developments that offer at least 15% of their properties under the AHP.

Any information at all would be much appreciated!

[Ben]

Uno Apartments seem to be the only development in the CBD currently offering apartments under the Affordable Homes Program. I'm considering purchasing a property at UNO as a FHB but i can't seem to find any information on whether any other current or future developments in the CBD will offer similar apartments under the AHP. No response from the AHP website or Adelaide Council.

Some developments in the CBD have offered them in the past, but other haven't. I heard somewhere that the Govt looks favourably on developments that offer at least 15% of their properties under the AHP.

Any information at all would be much appreciated!

The Rowlands apartments have some affordable housing componant.

http://www.themandala.com.au