News & Developments: Port Adelaide

[SBD]

I think high-quality townhouses along the waterfront, interspersed or above restaurants and cafes, looks much nicer than Gold Coast-style highrise right up to the edge. Repurpose the large woolstores and bond stores, and build the highrises in the next tier back from those.

Glenelg has achieved a restaurant precinct with apartments over them around the marina, but I'm not sure that's actually as attractive as the townhouses and lower apartment buildings on the other side of the Patawalonga.

Nobody said anything about Gold Coast style high rise.

This is a city, if you want your country town living, go live in a country town.

Townhouses are generally city living in my experience. The country town I grew up in had one duplex house that I remember, every other home was detached, or attached only to the shop owned by its resident.

[Honey of a City]

Rev, read my comments again and note that I am openly asking you/the forum where you/the forum see the max. price range and where you think most of the buyers will come from? It may be basic comprehension but that is the purpose of the question mark at the end. Therefore I am more than happy to let you/the forum enlighten us..

What's of concern is the assumption that good town planning and building design are necessarily more expensive, and that only people of higher income deserve these. Sure it's the market that will determine the price range of the stock, and no developer is going to price themselves out of the market. What is incredibly disappointing is that here well into the 21st century the powers that be seem unwilling or unable to either direct or guide a first class built environment which services optimal residential, commercial, leisure and tourism wellbeing side by side. The Port is the ideal canvas for this, but expediency seems to have trumped (pardon the pun) the holistic vision which could have prevailed here.

[how good is he]

Can I ask ‘Honey Of A City’ to give an example/s of a development/s that you would have liked to have seen here? To make it easier to see your vision for the site.

[Honey of a City]

Can I ask ‘Honey Of A City’ to give an example/s of a development/s that you would have liked to have seen here? To make it easier to see your vision for the site.

Firstly, as a resident of the area, with generational connection with the Port, and a lifelong student of social history and industrial archaeology, I have to declare a personal focus on the preservation of the remaining features that define this place as a unique historical doorway to a unique city.
That said, I get that this is meaningless to many people, particularly politicians and developers whose purpose is principally about using formerly common property for their own short term profit. This is evidenced by the current wasteland that we see there.
In terms of vision, here are some ideas.
Bad: Hijacking of prime historical waterside space for generic low density housing which could be at home in any suburban setting.
Good: Medium density mixed socio-economic residential with community facilities and spaces designed to celebrate the history of an industrial maritime centre.
Bad: Landlocked small Maritime Museum with assests scattered around bits of the old harbour some of which are inaccessible to tourists.
Good: An integrated maritime museum precinct centred around the current lighthouse and Fishermans Wharf area at the and of Port Road, with the Customs House at its heart.
Bad: A Port Dock spur line (at least it's a start) which terminates in a carpark with a bus shelter at the back of a red brick 80's police building.
Good: A spur line to St Vincent St with an inspirational sense of arrival akin to the old iconic station sadly demolished without a trace in the 80's
Bad: Poorly scheduled local bus services which discourage local movement in favour of cars.
Good: Light rail from Port Dock to Semaphore Jetty.
Bad: Tram museum located at St Kilda without easy tourist access and with limited opening times.
Good: Tram museum integrated with the magnificent National Train Museum Port Adelaide, with vintage stock running to/from the Semaphore jetty on weekends.
Bad: City of Adelaide clipper ship (a national treasure of the signficance of the Cutty Sark) shunted around available dock space to get out of the way of townhouse development.
Good: City of Adelaide ship as the centrepiece at Queen's Wharf next to aforementioned Maritime Museum.
Bad: Closing down of the community garden which was thriving at McLaren Wharf, the site being relocated to a smaller shadowed block with no information on its finish date.
Good: High priority given to the re-establishment of the community garden in a sunny expanded central site which all residents can access and share.
Bad: Dozens of empty main street properties used as a 30+ year tax dodge by greedy developers with pigeons as tenants and a well meaning but now expired renewal scheme.
Good: Incentives and then penalties for building owners/developers who toxify the public realm.

There's a start. Granted that each of these ideas will be more likely pot-shotted than seriously evaluated, but that's an inevitable process when it comes to vision. Just ask Col William Light.

[Llessur2002]

What Port Adelaide can learn from Fremantle’s transformation to cosmopolitan hot spot

IF there’s anyone who can see the true potential of Port Adelaide, it’s Fremantle mayor Brad Pettitt.

He’s seen his virtually identical WA suburb transform from a working-class industrial hub to a cosmopolitan hotspot, all the while retaining its unique identity.

A few “game changers” have helped this happen, Mr Pettitt said — including hosting the 1987 America’s Cup, which brought a huge injection of funds into the portside town to upgrade facilities, and the introduction of a Notre Dame University campus in 1989.

“This led people to see Fremantle as not just an industrial port but as something else,” Mr Pettitt said.

“The university used a lot of the old warehouse buildings and now there are 5000 students enrolled there and it’s given it a huge buzz.”


Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt on South Terrace, in the centre of Fremantle.

More recently, the council secured a significant jobs boost for the suburb by getting a State Government department to relocate to the suburb.

“That’s 2000 jobs, and obviously that will attract people to live there and do their shopping there,” Mr Pettitt said.

Mr Pettitt, who visited Port Adelaide on a study tour two years ago, said he was struck by how similar geographically and architecturally the two places were.

“You can see the huge potential Port Adelaide has to offer,” he said.

“The key thing is you need a great boost in terms of people living there.

“If you could get a university to see Port Adelaide as an ideal location for one of their campuses, you start to get a great mix.

“Transport is crucial and underpins all of these things, and that’s where State Government plays an important role.”

Mr Pettitt said Port Adelaide’s strength was its heritage.

“That’s key, but it’s about adaptive re-use and getting people into those buildings and being willing to put interesting buildings along side of it,” he said.

“Port Adelaide needs to embrace its character, that’s what will be its future, but … it has to visualise it and activate it. This kind of investment is going to require a partnership with the private sector and the State Government.”

Old harbour town discovered art to getting it right

FREMANTLE is not that dissimilar to Port Adelaide.

It’s a similar distance from the CBD and has a proud tradition as a working-class portside town.

Fremantle has also been known as a bit of a hippie town, which local business owner Heath Daly says has been part of its appeal.

“We’ve got a bit of a Bohemian element here,” said Mr Daly, who runs The Raw Kitchen.

“Fremantle has a lot of artisans and a lot of people who are interested in their craft and the art of what they are doing, which is important especially in an era where it’s chains of soulless shopping experiences. Freo’s done well like that to keep enough interesting experiences alive.

“We have a lot of festivals and market experiences and there is a lot of investment into that culture.”


Heath Daly at his Fremantle cafe, The Raw Kitchen. Picture: Nic Ellis / The West Australian

Mr Daly said celebrating Fremantle’s history and incorporating the new into it was at the heart of its vision.

“We’ve got heritage buildings and beautiful architecture — that’s a core ingredient you need,” he said. “Then it’s about celebrating that, finding the essence and carrying it forward in progressive ways.”

Mr Daly said parallels could be drawn with Port Adelaide and he has no doubt that, with some bold vision, Port Adelaide could be a thriving cosmopolitan hotspot.

“It’s the arts that gives the juice to it and the creative business owners in their community,” he said. “People are led into interesting areas by their arts and culture.”

Port’s brilliant best yet to come

FOR local business owners Amanda and Kelly McKinnon, Port Adelaide is a thriving community with an incredibly bright future.

It has come a long way, and Mrs McKinnon, who with her husband owns Black Diamond Tattoo and LaserTat on St Vincent St, says the best is yet to come.

“I see it one day becoming a seven-day destination — there’s a lot of housing that’s going up over the next five or 10 years and the community will build,” she said.

“We’re already seeing really busy days and nights here throughout the week, and that’s a really good sign that things are starting to change.


Amanda and Kelly McKinnon, the owners of Black Diamond Tattoo, with kids Charlotte, 7, and Lockie, 6. Picture: Tom Huntley

“I think we’re probably five to 10 years off of seeing things really take shape but there certainly are some very encouraging things happening down here that’s starting to make that happen.”

Mrs McKinnon said a growing arts community was bringing new life to the Port and revitalising interest in the area, and that celebrating its past was the key to developing its future.

“We’ve got some great organisations that are working to retain its heritage and that’s what places like Fremantle and Hobart have done — it’s great to see those old wharf sheds been done up,” Mrs McKinnon said.

“We can certainly have something like a Plant 4 but … done Port Adelaide’s way and keep that heritage.

“We’re really excited to see what the future holds for the Port — we’ve got a great community and there’s a great business group here.

“I couldn’t imagine doing business anywhere else.”

From: https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/fut ... 62a548a346

[GrowAdelaide]

Can I ask ‘Honey Of A City’ to give an example/s of a development/s that you would have liked to have seen here? To make it easier to see your vision for the site.

Firstly, as a resident of the area, with generational connection with the Port, and a lifelong student of social history and industrial archaeology, I have to declare a personal focus on the preservation of the remaining features that define this place as a unique historical doorway to a unique city.
That said, I get that this is meaningless to many people, particularly politicians and developers whose purpose is principally about using formerly common property for their own short term profit. This is evidenced by the current wasteland that we see there.
In terms of vision, here are some ideas.
Bad: Hijacking of prime historical waterside space for generic low density housing which could be at home in any suburban setting.
Good: Medium density mixed socio-economic residential with community facilities and spaces designed to celebrate the history of an industrial maritime centre.
Bad: Landlocked small Maritime Museum with assests scattered around bits of the old harbour some of which are inaccessible to tourists.
Good: An integrated maritime museum precinct centred around the current lighthouse and Fishermans Wharf area at the and of Port Road, with the Customs House at its heart.
Bad: A Port Dock spur line (at least it's a start) which terminates in a carpark with a bus shelter at the back of a red brick 80's police building.
Good: A spur line to St Vincent St with an inspirational sense of arrival akin to the old iconic station sadly demolished without a trace in the 80's
Bad: Poorly scheduled local bus services which discourage local movement in favour of cars.
Good: Light rail from Port Dock to Semaphore Jetty.
Bad: Tram museum located at St Kilda without easy tourist access and with limited opening times.
Good: Tram museum integrated with the magnificent National Train Museum Port Adelaide, with vintage stock running to/from the Semaphore jetty on weekends.
Bad: City of Adelaide clipper ship (a national treasure of the signficance of the Cutty Sark) shunted around available dock space to get out of the way of townhouse development.
Good: City of Adelaide ship as the centrepiece at Queen's Wharf next to aforementioned Maritime Museum.
Bad: Closing down of the community garden which was thriving at McLaren Wharf, the site being relocated to a smaller shadowed block with no information on its finish date.
Good: High priority given to the re-establishment of the community garden in a sunny expanded central site which all residents can access and share.
Bad: Dozens of empty main street properties used as a 30+ year tax dodge by greedy developers with pigeons as tenants and a well meaning but now expired renewal scheme.
Good: Incentives and then penalties for building owners/developers who toxify the public realm.

There's a start. Granted that each of these ideas will be more likely pot-shotted than seriously evaluated, but that's an inevitable process when it comes to vision. Just ask Col William Light.

Just FYI apparently Colonel Light contributed little other than a rubber stamp to the design, location and surveying of Adelaide. It was all done by George Kingston. Light had tuberculosis for all of the three years he was here, and very little in the way of surveying skills. What he did do was rule out places like Port Lincoln and Encounter Bay as options.

[claybro]

Can I ask ‘Honey Of A City’ to give an example/s of a development/s that you would have liked to have seen here? To make it easier to see your vision for the site.

Firstly, as a resident of the area, with generational connection with the Port, and a lifelong student of social history and industrial archaeology, I have to declare a personal focus on the preservation of the remaining features that define this place as a unique historical doorway to a unique city.
That said, I get that this is meaningless to many people, particularly politicians and developers whose purpose is principally about using formerly common property for their own short term profit. This is evidenced by the current wasteland that we see there.
In terms of vision, here are some ideas.
Bad: Hijacking of prime historical waterside space for generic low density housing which could be at home in any suburban setting.
Good: Medium density mixed socio-economic residential with community facilities and spaces designed to celebrate the history of an industrial maritime centre.
Bad: Landlocked small Maritime Museum with assests scattered around bits of the old harbour some of which are inaccessible to tourists.
Good: An integrated maritime museum precinct centred around the current lighthouse and Fishermans Wharf area at the and of Port Road, with the Customs House at its heart.
Bad: A Port Dock spur line (at least it's a start) which terminates in a carpark with a bus shelter at the back of a red brick 80's police building.
Good: A spur line to St Vincent St with an inspirational sense of arrival akin to the old iconic station sadly demolished without a trace in the 80's
Bad: Poorly scheduled local bus services which discourage local movement in favour of cars.
Good: Light rail from Port Dock to Semaphore Jetty.
Bad: Tram museum located at St Kilda without easy tourist access and with limited opening times.
Good: Tram museum integrated with the magnificent National Train Museum Port Adelaide, with vintage stock running to/from the Semaphore jetty on weekends.
Bad: City of Adelaide clipper ship (a national treasure of the signficance of the Cutty Sark) shunted around available dock space to get out of the way of townhouse development.
Good: City of Adelaide ship as the centrepiece at Queen's Wharf next to aforementioned Maritime Museum.
Bad: Closing down of the community garden which was thriving at McLaren Wharf, the site being relocated to a smaller shadowed block with no information on its finish date.
Good: High priority given to the re-establishment of the community garden in a sunny expanded central site which all residents can access and share.
Bad: Dozens of empty main street properties used as a 30+ year tax dodge by greedy developers with pigeons as tenants and a well meaning but now expired renewal scheme.
Good: Incentives and then penalties for building owners/developers who toxify the public realm.

There's a start. Granted that each of these ideas will be more likely pot-shotted than seriously evaluated, but that's an inevitable process when it comes to vision. Just ask Col William Light.

Agree with all of the above, but how is any of this affected by this proposed development? All of the things proposed in your list, need a critical mass of people and built infrastructure...and fast. Until we get some infill there, tourists will not really embrace the Port as it still looks like an empty industrial wasteland. Most here are reacting like the whole site is being filled in by 4 bedroom AV Jennings kit homes. From the renders it actually looks like a good mix of high and medium density- not dissimilar to Bowden. There are some green spaces, and public areas. Is there a mix of public housing in there?...im not sure, does anyone know? I thought a certain percentage of affordable housing was mandated in projects? Yes there is a big focus on 2/3 storey townhouses along the wharf by the look, but given the vast expanse of existing UNUSED waterfront that will not be built out, why create more space to sit empty, vandalised and underutilised needing to be "activated". The Port needs critical mass, and now.

[Llessur2002]

In the long term, I'd love to see a landmark structure built at Port Adelaide similar to the Spinnaker Tower at Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, UK. I think this would fit in really well in the nautical context of the Port.







Although a large proportion of it is a retail outlet centre, the rest of the Gunwharf Quays development is not dissimilar to what could be undertaken in terms of waterfront apartment living at the Port. The early 2000s architecture in many cases leaves much to be desired but the goal of turning a disused and heavily contaminated wharf area into a busy and vibrant shopping, leisure and residential precinct with adjacent historical precinct and national maritime museum has been met pretty well.

[SRW]

I think we've already got iconic structures at Port Adelaide, not least of which is the lighthouse:

The problem has been the critical mass of reasons to go there. We need residents most of all, but the suggestions of an expanded maritime museum (featuring the CoA under restoration), an aquarium, a university campus, brewery etc will all help.

[Nathan]

Well the brewery suggestion is sorted, with Pirate Life moving. I'd suggest a major upgrade of the National Railway Museum. Move the courts & police elsewhere, establish a proper station as Honey of a City suggested, and integrate the museum into the new station building (ie. the station building also contains the museum entrance). The current museum is sadly very underfunded, and relies on volunteers. As the "national" museum, it should be a destination — with higher quality displays of the trains and other items, better buildings, and more activities.

[Llessur2002]

I think we've already got iconic structures at Port Adelaide, not least of which is the lighthouse

I'm not saying that it doesn't, nor that an 'iconic' structure would be a catalyst or prerequisite for renewal of the area - it was more a long-term vision. The icing on the cake if you will.

The lighthouse is great and obviously has much historic merit, but the Spinnaker tower is perhaps 7-8 times the height and is a landmark in its own right. In the dockside setting at Portsmouth it works really well and can be seen from miles away. A similar structure would be a beacon for the Port from the air when flying in, from cruise ships entering Outer Harbor, from the hills and from many other parts of the city. When lit up at night, in my opinion, it looks amazing...

[rev]

Oh yeh, I can see how that lighthouse is on par with a world renowned landmark......

[SRW]

To each their own, I’m just not swayed that something’s iconic because it’s tall. Beyond improving the features the Port already has, any of the suggested investments (museum etc) could be housed in architecturally significant buildings as additional draw cards. A tower is a distraction IMO.

[Patrick_27]

a world renowned landmark......

And yet I and many others have never heard of it... Must be world renowned.

[SBD]

I think we've already got iconic structures at Port Adelaide, not least of which is the lighthouse

I'm not saying that it doesn't, nor that an 'iconic' structure would be a catalyst or prerequisite for renewal of the area - it was more a long-term vision. The icing on the cake if you will.

The lighthouse is great and obviously has much historic merit, but the Spinnaker tower is perhaps 7-8 times the height and is a landmark in its own right. In the dockside setting at Portsmouth it works really well and can be seen from miles away. A similar structure would be a beacon for the Port from the air when flying in, from cruise ships entering Outer Harbor, from the hills and from many other parts of the city. When lit up at night, in my opinion, it looks amazing...

I don't know if the Adelaide city centre is visible now from cruise ships, but I expect it will be with the new tall buildings added in the next couple of years. If cruise ships are the market, then putting a standout tower at Northhaven and linking it to the passenger terminal with development that is more interesting than a large secure carpark would surely be a better investment than putting it at Port Adelaide. I'm not sure how or why it would attract cruise ship passengers, since they would have to choose to go to see that at Port Adelaide instead of the City, Barossa, Adelaide Hills or whatever else ship passengers do on their day in Adelaide.