News & Developments: Bowden TOD

[Llessur2002]

It's difficult to see how all of them could be retained with a full-size oval on the site - assuming any oval would be placed to the north of the site away from the bulk of the heritage structures then still the northernmost one or two buildings would have to be removed. The removal of East Street entirely would also need to happen for an oval to fit on the site.

The only way to retain all of the heritage structures would be for the Crows to also purchase the land directly to the north of Second Street and site the oval in that area instead - this would save the heritage structures but would require the removal of both Second Street and East Street.

[rev]

Ridiculous to put an AFL club there, on a site that could be used for housing and public space. Especially considering Thebby oval isn't far away and under utilised.

[AG]

Rob Lucas announced today that the successful tender for the site was by Melbourne's MAB Corporation with collaboration involving the Duxton Pubs Group and Australian Unity, trumping Pelligra and Adelaide Crows' bid amongst numerous others. There should be further info released on this development in February.

[Nathan]

I can't access the whole article, but here's an excerpt.

Render of the Crow's losing proposal looks awful, completely crowding the remaining heritage buildings so that the only open space is grass fields.

The Adelaide Crows’ plan to establish a new base at Bowden has been knocked on its head after its bid to redevelop the former Gasworks site was rejected.

Treasurer Rob Lucas announced this afternoon that Melbourne-based developer MAB Corporation had been selected to rejuvenate the site.

It plans to adapt and restore former gasworks structures and tunnels on the site, along with the construction of a 120-room hotel and a commercial and retail zone incorporating a piazza surrounded by cafes, restaurants and bars.

In total, it is expected to invest $459 million into the precinct, with an average of 190 construction jobs supported over the site’s 10-year development.

A further 730 to 1000 ongoing jobs are expected once the rejuvenation has been completed.

Mr Lucas said MAB Corporation had been selected because it offered the highest economic impact of all proponents during both the construction and operational phases.
“The MAB proposal delivers an intergenerational solution for the site, remediating it for future generations,” he said.

[crawf]

Great result. Far better plan than the Crows proposal.

Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2022

Crows lose Bowden base bid to Melbourne developer
https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/01/27/ ... developer/
NEWS
The Adelaide Crows’ second bid for a new city base has been rejected, with the State Government this afternoon announcing that Melbourne-based MAB Corporation had been chosen to develop the former gasworks site at Bowden.



Treasurer Rob Lucas said that MAB Corporation had won out over the AFL club to remediate and develop the vacant, 5.8 ha former industrial site just north of the CBD with its “intergenerational” proposal “while also reducing the State Government’s liability and therefore the risk to taxpayers”.

The MAB proposal for the site – part of which has been designated a Heritage Quarter – includes a 120 room hotel, piazza, cafes, restaurants and bars: an “integrated commercial and retail offering that will generate unprecedented levels of entertainment, economic activity and social vibrancy”.

MAB Corporation also has proposed to build 120 affordable housing apartments, 305 market sale apartments and up to 200 build-to-rent and aged care apartments and 1,180 car parks.

Around 1.5 hectares or 25 per cent of the total site would be set aside for public open space under the plan.

The government said there would be 11,500sqm of commercial and retail space featuring an “Employment Hub” and the developer would also restore and reopen former gasworks buildings and tunnels.

The former gasworks site on Chief Street in Bowden once produced the gas to light Adelaide streets during the 1800s, with its southern end listed as a state heritage place.

It was purchased by the State Government in 2010 and is part of the wider $1 billion Bowden apartment and townhouse development.

Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2022.

The Adelaide Football Club was one of four local and interstate bidders short-listed by government agency Renewal SA to develop the site.

The club, which is currently based at West Lakes, has been looking for a home closer to the city since AFL matches moved to Adelaide Oval.

It initially proposed bulldozing North Adelaide’s Adelaide Aquatic Centre and building a new $65 million training and community complex at the park lands site.

But it later withdrew its bid after suffering an economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May last year, the club announced it had joined forces with Melbourne developer Pelligra to pitch a new clubroom, office and housing development for the gasworks site.

At the time, it was reported that the Crows had proposed purchasing the land from the government for a small fee, under the condition that it would cover the costs of remediation and upkeep.

The club is also considering a building a training and administrative facility at Thebarton Oval.

Building its base at Thebarton would put the Crows in a share arrangement of a modern community football precinct with the SANFL and Adelaide Football League. The club would be in a lease arrangement with the City of West Torrens for 42 years (by a 21-year agreement with an extension for another 21 years).

But the Crows are uneasy with the uncertainty on how much land is taken from the site for the South Road tunnels, access to the site during the major road upgrade and how long Kings Reserve, needed for a second training ground, is used as a storage and soil dumping site for roadworks.

Lucas said this afternoon that the final decision on the gasworks site was his.

“The recommendation was clear from the evaluation team, the board made the recommendation and ultimately it was up to me to make the final decision,” he said.

Lucas said “a lot of (MAB Corporation’s) proposal is based on many of the contaminants being removed from the site, rather than building an oval over the top”.

“I’m sure when they make public statements the Crows will be disappointed with the final decision; I saw no other reasonable decision to make,” he said.

” The Crows obviously indicated they still had two options to consider. The Thebarton option is still open to them. It is up to the Crows to decide their next option.”

[Llessur2002]

Render of the Crow's losing proposal looks awful, completely crowding the remaining heritage buildings so that the only open space is grass fields.

Yeah that's absolutely shocking. I was sceptical that they could make it work given the limited space for a full-sized oval but that's ten times crapper than I expected it to be.

Looks to be a sound decision, I can't see how any other plan could be less sympathetic to the site than this one.

[Nathan]

And here's the government press release:
https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/news/medi ... -at-bowden

Additional key points:

• MAB has experience in remediating former gasworks sites (Crows would have just laid turf over the top)
• Nightingale is involved to deliver 120 zero-carbon affordable apartments, on top of their current construction
• 207 townhouses, 305 market sale apartments, 200 build-to-rent and aged care apartments. Total 2200 residents, 1180 carparks.
• all power across the project will be delivered via 100 per cent renewable energy provided through rooftop solar
• 11,500sqm of commercial and retail space featuring an Employment Hub – this is almost four times larger than Plant 3 and Plant 4 combined.

[PeFe]

And here are some renders of the Melbourne's group proposal for the site.

[SRW]

Looks and sounds great. Especially pleased about the 'ethical' residential components. Slightly sceptical about the level of retail need, but I guess they've assessed the market.

[Mpol02]

The Melbourne proposal looks fab, just what this area needed to rejuvenate interest and keep the suburb growing

[Algernon]

Render of the Crow's losing proposal looks awful, completely crowding the remaining heritage buildings so that the only open space is grass fields.

Yeah that's absolutely shocking. I was sceptical that they could make it work given the limited space for a full-sized oval but that's ten times crapper than I expected it to be.

Looks to be a sound decision, I can't see how any other plan could be less sympathetic to the site than this one.

It was crap in its DNA. This is a TOD. What on Earth would you need a training oval and a change room in this location for For people who never would catch a train?

[Llessur2002]

Render of the Crow's losing proposal looks awful, completely crowding the remaining heritage buildings so that the only open space is grass fields.

Yeah that's absolutely shocking. I was sceptical that they could make it work given the limited space for a full-sized oval but that's ten times crapper than I expected it to be.

Looks to be a sound decision, I can't see how any other plan could be less sympathetic to the site than this one.

It was crap in its DNA. This is a TOD. What on Earth would you need a training oval and a change room in this location for For people who never would catch a train?

Exactly. But because of this and the fact that it was obviously going to result in a reduction in access to the area for the general community I thought it would be guaranteed that they would come up with something first rate in terms of what they did with the non-oval space and the heritage buildings. Instead it was a crowded mishmash of buildings stuck in one corner of the development with seemingly no interaction with either Chief Street, the greenway or the rest of the Bowden development. A poor effort.

[AG]

There are a lot of nonsense comments going around on social media about how a Melbourne property developer was picked over the Adelaide Crows (I say this as a Crows supporter as well), or how the money will just go interstate. What's missing from the commentary is that the Adelaide Crows bid was also in partnership with a Melbourne based developer, or the jobs or benefits from the development itself.

[Jaymz]

I fly in and out of Adelaide on a weekly basis, have done for close to nine years now. I get a birds eye view of Bowden, and it hardly seems like a resounding success. Seems to be taking a long time to fill in that parcel of land. Still looks half finished after all those years, so I don't see how this development is going to improve the area in a hurry. The demand seems to be pretty low.

[baytram366]

Looks like a good outcome especially for the heritage buildings currently on site. Would be great to be able to see them close up and in use.