[COM] Festival Plaza Tower 1 | 115m | 27 Levels | Office

[SRW]

Perhaps already spotted by others, Festival Tower is now named 'One Festival Tower'.

A few newer renders I have not seen before can be found here: https://www.onefestivaltower.com.au/

I like how they’ve named where the plaza is meant to go the somewhat ambiguous “future stage.”

Worse is the implication of 'One Festival Tower' being 'Two Festival Tower'.

[Prodical]

IMO another tower would be ok if designed well - would prefer something thinner and taller to balance the bulk of this one.

Photo from yesterday

[AG]

It's very much an open secret now that Walker intends on developing a second building that is considerably larger than the three level plaza building which was previously mooted. What will be interesting is how the completed basement car park structure will accommodate whatever new plan arises. If the basement car park structure was designed to support only a three level plaza building above, how will it accommodate 10-20 levels instead? Or perhaps the basement car park below the second development site was always intended to support something of that magnitude...

[Nort]

Walker can intend whatever he wants, and go buy his own land to build it on instead of taking more public space.

[ChillyPhilly]

Walker can intend whatever he wants, and go buy his own land to build it on instead of taking more public space.

This. Nasty developer - he's behind the mess currently being built in Buckland Park.

[dbl96]

It's very much an open secret now that Walker intends on developing a second building that is considerably larger than the three level plaza building which was previously mooted. What will be interesting is how the completed basement car park structure will accommodate whatever new plan arises. If the basement car park structure was designed to support only a three level plaza building above, how will it accommodate 10-20 levels instead? Or perhaps the basement car park below the second development site was always intended to support something of that magnitude...

It was probably designed to support a much larger building, because as we know, it has always been Walker's intention to build a much larger building there.

Some people may like the look of Walker's development, but it is not in the right place. This is public land - it shouldn't be being used for private office towers.

Furthermore, building the tower where it is actually detracts from development elsewhere in the city. Through his connections, Walker has been allowed to build one (or probably two) massive office towers on public land. His development is so big that it will more or less saturate the market for new office space for many years, and so make it much more difficult for other office development to get off the ground elsewhere in the city. Projects like the Wright St Hotel office tower redevelopment and the long-mooted office tower in front of Auto-Park on Franklin will probably languish as unsightly vacant sites for many years to come.

It would be a much better thing for the overall development and activation of the city, if eight (or 16) 5000m2 office towers were built scattered around the city, than having Walker build just one (or two) 40,000m2 towers on Festival Plaza.

[Algernon]

Walker can intend whatever he wants, and go buy his own land to build it on instead of taking more public space.

The space for the mooted tower was always earmarked for development. They're angling to build a tower in lieu of the low rise component. I understand that their constant angling for a second tower russles some jimmies and there are questions about how transparent the process has been. Transparent in the sense that it's so transparent that you can see straight through the whole process and know it's what they wanted all along (it was even suggested in the original proposals). But of all the criticisms levelled at this idea, the one that it somehow creates a further net loss in public space simply doesn't land. I fully accept the criticisms of how this diminishes the parliament building and could be overbearing on the existing public space, but it's simply not true that building a tower or not will determine how much open space there is.

Personally, I don't see the need for a second tower. If built with the same size and bulk, it'd make a significant portion of the northern aspect of the skyline look like a big lego brick got dumped on it. Differentiation in scale and design would be an absolute must if a second tower does prevail.

[rev]

Walker can intend whatever he wants, and go buy his own land to build it on instead of taking more public space.

This. Nasty developer - he's behind the mess currently being built in Buckland Park.

What a nasty developer providing jobs and creating economic stimulus in the local economy, not to mention building thousands of much needed homes. (Maybe you're secure in your abode, but many people in this state aren't)
He should take his billions of dollars and keep investing them interstate and overseas, not in South Australia. We don't need private investment in SA, we're doing swimmingly aren't we.

[Mpol02]

Walker can intend whatever he wants, and go buy his own land to build it on instead of taking more public space.

This. Nasty developer - he's behind the mess currently being built in Buckland Park.

What a nasty developer providing jobs and creating economic stimulus in the local economy, not to mention building thousands of much needed homes. (Maybe you're secure in your abode, but many people in this state aren't)
He should take his billions of dollars and keep investing them interstate and overseas, not in South Australia. We don't need private investment in SA, we're doing swimmingly aren't we.

You on one, luv?

[Prodical]

This development is a great addition to Adelaide and to the north CBD. Before this build it was a ramshackle and run down Plaza that had fallen into disrepair - hot and barren in summer with no one there. Previous to that function it was the "City Baths", a tacky open-air swimming pool.

The new development will breathe life into the Riverbank precinct. Deloitte are recruiting another 1,000 staff to be based there (including 130 new graduate positions in 2023). Flinders Uni will have 8 floors of teaching / research areas, so the building will have ground level activation and a mix of consulting, academic, retail and other tenancies. What is there not to like?

The public land argument has some merit but is mostly selective. When the previous government wanted to move the entertainment centre to north of the railway lines, that was "stealing public land / parklands". The site remains an ugly, run down car park.

I use that plaza more now than ever before. It's a meeting place, often young kids playing there in the water features. Once the development if completed there will be more life, opportunities and public amenity there than ever before.

[Prodical]

This development is a great addition to Adelaide and to the north CBD. Before this build it was a ramshackle and run down Plaza that had fallen into disrepair - hot and barren in summer with no one there. Previous to that function it was the "City Baths", a tacky open-air swimming pool.

The new development will breathe life into the Riverbank precinct. Deloitte are recruiting another 1,000 staff to be based there (including 130 new graduate positions in 2023). Flinders Uni will have 8 floors of teaching / research areas, so the building will have ground level activation and a mix of consulting, academic, retail and other tenancies. What is there not to like?

The public land argument has some merit but is mostly selective. When the previous government wanted to move the entertainment centre to north of the railway lines, that was "stealing public land / parklands". The site remains an ugly, run down car park.

I use that plaza more now than ever before. It's a meeting place, often young kids playing there in the water features. Once the development if completed there will be more life, opportunities and public amenity there than ever before.

[dbl96]

Walker can intend whatever he wants, and go buy his own land to build it on instead of taking more public space.

This. Nasty developer - he's behind the mess currently being built in Buckland Park.

What a nasty developer providing jobs and creating economic stimulus in the local economy, not to mention building thousands of much needed homes. (Maybe you're secure in your abode, but many people in this state aren't)
He should take his billions of dollars and keep investing them interstate and overseas, not in South Australia. We don't need private investment in SA, we're doing swimmingly aren't we.

I welcome the investment, but like his Festival Tower development, the Buckland Park development is in the wrong place, and the fact that it was ever allowed to go ahead smells very fishy.

Buckland Park is known to be a flood-prone area. The development is in a far flung location, and is being built without any provision for a transport corridor to link it to the rest of the metropolitan area. It runs completely counter to the principles of the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide and the urban growth boundary, which everywhere else focus on infill development close to transport corridors, and preventing urban sprawl from encroaching on agricultural land. For some reason, Buckland Park has been exempted from these requirements - in fact a special excision of the urban growth boundary has been created to allow the development to go ahead.

Walker first proposed this development well over a decade ago, when the rules about containing sprawl and building in sensible locations were different. The development should have lapsed long ago because of Walker's total inaction, but for whatever reason, the government kept granting him extensions. They should have known better - Walker's development is huge, and it is in a terrible location. The state will pay for the mistake of allowing it to go ahead. The government will either have to fork out billions to connect it to the rest of Adelaide, or it will likely become a marginalised area of deprivation. I'll eat my hat if Walker ever pays for the grade separation of the Angle Vale Rd intersection. Walker is allowed to recklessly make billions while the State will pick up the tab for the consequences. The government should have killed this project when it had the chance.

[rev]

This. Nasty developer - he's behind the mess currently being built in Buckland Park.

What a nasty developer providing jobs and creating economic stimulus in the local economy, not to mention building thousands of much needed homes. (Maybe you're secure in your abode, but many people in this state aren't)
He should take his billions of dollars and keep investing them interstate and overseas, not in South Australia. We don't need private investment in SA, we're doing swimmingly aren't we.

I welcome the investment, but like his Festival Tower development, the Buckland Park development is in the wrong place, and the fact that it was ever allowed to go ahead smells very fishy.

Buckland Park is known to be a flood-prone area. The development is in a far flung location, and is being built without any provision for a transport corridor to link it to the rest of the metropolitan area. It runs completely counter to the principles of the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide and the urban growth boundary, which everywhere else focus on infill development close to transport corridors, and preventing urban sprawl from encroaching on agricultural land. For some reason, Buckland Park has been exempted from these requirements - in fact a special excision of the urban growth boundary has been created to allow the development to go ahead.

Walker first proposed this development well over a decade ago, when the rules about containing sprawl and building in sensible locations were different. The development should have lapsed long ago because of Walker's total inaction, but for whatever reason, the government kept granting him extensions. They should have known better - Walker's development is huge, and it is in a terrible location. The state will pay for the mistake of allowing it to go ahead. The government will either have to fork out billions to connect it to the rest of Adelaide, or it will likely become a marginalised area of deprivation. I'll eat my hat if Walker ever pays for the grade separation of the Angle Vale Rd intersection. Walker is allowed to recklessly make billions while the State will pick up the tab for the consequences. The government should have killed this project when it had the chance.

That's the fault of our governments for allowing it to happen without flood mitigation, without ensuring there is consideration taken for future potential public transport.

IMHO, don't be surprised when they announce a second tower with the eateries and what not in the plaza below incorporated into it.

[Prodical]

From light square today

[Patrick_27]

Just for context regarding office workers and the expectation they will feed into the nearby hospitality establishments… As I understand it, Lot 14 has roughly 2,500 workers/researchers/students in the precinct and yet, Rundle Street hospitality precinct hasn’t benefited at all from this, in fact, it’s increasingly in a state of disrepair. Amass of office workers doesn’t always result in the nearby hospitality offerings doing a roaring trade.