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

[abc]

Nick Champion spruiking the new tower on ABC Adelaide breakfast radio was asked if it could interfere with the airport flight path: "It won't be a problem because there are taller buildings in the rest of the CBD obviously".

He’s painfully incompetent

its further down the hill though so buildings at the top of the hill will have a higher profile

[HiTouch]

I like the building but because I've been living in Jakarta much of this year, so personally , I prefer the design of their new towers a lot more than Adelaide's. Nothing wrong with this but I hate it when SA politicians and business people pump things up with FOMO. Adelaide's got a lot going for it already and this this development won't necessarily define the future of Adelaide. I am learning that you can achieve similar results of economic activity with very little resources.

Two queries though:
Firstly, how does a strong economy and low unemployed correlate with development on public land? What is the benefit to the public? For example, if the Masonic Lodge is including a view-deck and museum, what will this offer? Lang Walker has yet to gain his social license with the community, how does he plan on getting it?

Secondly, how does this contribute to the vision of being one of the "world's great squares" when the foot traffic currently isn't existent and the first tower has yet to produce the much anticipated economic activity as promised.

Won't comment on the politics etc., but when these two buildings will be full of people you can expect some of them to spend time at the plaza, As long as there are facilities at ground level for them to enjoy of course.

Cheers

You've highlighted my concern though. The 52-66 KW St (the old Southern Cross Arcade) is a good example. Sure it's tenanted but there are no facilities at ground level. 90% of the stores are vacant. King's Lane is cold and empty and it's impacting the overall atmosphere of James Place.
I am hoping this won't be a trend in new developments.

[abc]

KW street is kind of dumpy these days... I wouldn't be rushing to open a retail store in that area

[VinyTapestry849]

Another Angle

[Jaymz]

No I haven’t been in delusional land like our premiere

I also live in London. But no one from home has mentioned anything so I’m confused. South Australia has had a struggling economy for ages what changed ?

You should tune into the SA Economy thread in the forum a bit more, SA's economy has been travelling pretty well.

Pure statistics are only part of the picture, sentiment is just as important when talking about the health of an economy. At the moment SA seems to be riding a wave of optimism that hasn't been present for decades.

[SRW]

A bit more information from the following InDaily article: Questions over second Festival Plaza tower amid high CBD vacancy rates

He also said there were “no arrangements or pre-commitments from the state government” to Walker Corporation and that the office space would be “private commercial space”.

“We’d only entertain that if it was a good deal for the taxpayer obviously,” Champion said.

“We’re getting a payment from Walker for the development rights over this piece of land.

“It’s a good deal for the state.”

What's the payment then, Nick? If it's such good deal, tell us! It can hardly be classed commercial-in-confidence, especially when there's not competing parties.

[abc]

No I haven’t been in delusional land like our premiere

I also live in London. But no one from home has mentioned anything so I’m confused. South Australia has had a struggling economy for ages what changed ?

You should tune into the SA Economy thread in the forum a bit more, SA's economy has been travelling pretty well.

Pure statistics are only part of the picture, sentiment is just as important when talking about the health of an economy. At the moment SA seems to be riding a wave of optimism that hasn't been present for decades.

nothing's changed really other than the federal government dramatically increasing immigration into Australia to rebound from the lockdown era which has seen the largest amount of immigration into Adelaide since the early 1970s, or around 28k people in a year, which is modest by the standards of any other capital city but quite a lot more than we're used to here.

[Mpol02]

Great stuff thanks guys

[rev]

A bit more information from the following InDaily article: Questions over second Festival Plaza tower amid high CBD vacancy rates

He also said there were “no arrangements or pre-commitments from the state government” to Walker Corporation and that the office space would be “private commercial space”.

“We’d only entertain that if it was a good deal for the taxpayer obviously,” Champion said.

“We’re getting a payment from Walker for the development rights over this piece of land.

“It’s a good deal for the state.”

What's the payment then, Nick? If it's such good deal, tell us! It can hardly be classed commercial-in-confidence, especially when there's not competing parties.

What purpose is a larger plaza going to serve? It will sit empty 99% of the year. We have half a redeveloped Victoria Square, that sits virtually empty most of the year outside of major events, despite being surrounded by apartments and office buildings. We have how many 'squares' that barely get used for much.

A modern new tower in a prominent position like that, will help change perceptions and the image of Adelaide. The benefits in that should be obvious.
A plaza, that next to nobody will use 99% of the time, wont do anything of the sort.

Hopefully it's also a catalyst for the government to finally redevelop the actual riverbank appropriately and get rid of those ridiculous gum trees on the northern banks blocking out the view of Adelaide Oval.

[A-Town]

Does anyone know if Deloitte have moved into the Festival Tower yet?

[Vasco]

“In exchange for the increased height, Walker Corporation will provide $40 million worth of benefits to taxpayers, likely including reserving the four bottom levels for "public civic space".

https://www.9news.com.au/national/adela ... PJMDyP55-4




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[Cryptic]

I like the look of the second tower proposal. I think with the vicinity to ARS it's a good spot for commercial office space. the only thing I would be cautious about in such a prominent spot, is the design. I think it looks worthy of its position though, unlike Tower 1. Having the workers and students here should hopefully activate the plaza and let food and retail offerings thrive there.

[dbl96]

How?

Magic (Premier Malinaskus’s economic plan and the State prosperity project)

Not really. Malinauskus has been good for PR, but the positive trends were well in place right back to the Weatherill era with increased investment and better image. SA then did really well through COVID under Marshall, by keeping the virus out and allowing things to function much as normal, unlike the total disfunction we saw in places like NSW and Victoria. That combined with the working from home phenomenon brought in sufficient interstate migration to flip the scales so SA became a net gainer of interstate migrants. And then, as abc points out, the international migration snapback after borders reopened has turbocharged population growth.

The state's economy now has some momentum behind it, though I'm still somewhat skeptical about whether it will be able to maintain it, especially if major action is not taken to address problems like house price growth, which threatens to undermine Adelaide's competitive advantage. Adelaide's house price is now closing in on Melbourne's, but despite all the great things Adelaide has going for it, the level of economic opportunity a house in Adelaide buys you is still a lot less than what one in Melbourne does. This is an especially important calculation for migrants, who have less tying them to one city over another. They will go to the place which offers the best balance between cost of living, lifestyle and economic opportunity. It is imperative that Adelaide retains its affordability in this context. The migrants also need somewhere to live in the first place, and it is increasingly impossible for them to find this, with Adelaide's rental vacancy rate the lowest in the country, at 0.83%. As anyone who frequents this forum will have noticed, despite the extreme demand, the supply response from developers has been extremely muted, with very few new proposals coming forward.

On the migration point though, abc should be corrected in that the Federal Government has not dramatically increasing planned migration at all. In fact what has happened is that a large number of people who had deferred plans to come to Australia because of COVID restrictions suddenly arrived on various temporary visas (like student visas, tourist visas etc) which are not part of the planned permanent migration intake. The planned permanent migration intake has remained fairly stable.

[crawf]

Some of the comments being thrown around by Frank Pangallo and the Greens is the type of commentary that has long held back this city. Comparing this development to Gotham City, Legoland, Ghost Tower etc is embarrassing and scare mongering. I get the location is controversial, though it's only a mere 13 metres taller than the current tallest and will be surpassed by the Keystone tower. It's also interesting to hear the media say 'one of the tallest' and not the 'tallest'.

Re the comment "Ghost Tower".. If there is no demand for office space, then why would Walker Corp be planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a development like this. Adelaide does have the highest office vacancy rate in the country, though so much of it are old and run down office buildings which no one wants to work in and is unable to meet today’s standards. So many should be converted into apartments, short term accommodation or just simply knocked down. The Da Costa building would be a great candidate for conversion into some snazzy apartments.

Hearing the Premier speak today and throughout this week, you can really sense how much passion he has for this city and a strong advocate for economic growth. We have gone from having the weakest State Premier to the strongest in the country. Mali even mentioned how much of an eyesore the Stamford Plaza is when viewed from the riverbank and Adelaide needs to "grow up". It's a shame he wasn't in office during the first tower proposal, because I feel the design could of been much different. Whilst the location/height of Tower 2 is controversial, it will do far more ground level activation than some cheap tacked on retail box proposed by the Libs. Bring it on.

What purpose is a larger plaza going to serve? It will sit empty 99% of the year. We have half a redeveloped Victoria Square, that sits virtually empty most of the year outside of major events, despite being surrounded by apartments and office buildings. We have how many 'squares' that barely get used for much.

The focus for a main pedestrian plaza, should be Victoria Square. Smack bang in the middle of the city square mile with loads of potential and will drive investment surrounding the square.
It will also one day be home to an underground railway station in the future.

Hopefully it's also a catalyst for the government to finally redevelop the actual riverbank appropriately and get rid of those ridiculous gum trees on the northern banks blocking out the view of Adelaide Oval.

I kinda like the trees. Though a restaurant/bar pontoon on the northern banks overlooking the city would look great and be an instant attraction especially on weekends.

Not really. Malinauskus has been good for PR, but the positive trends were well in place right back to the Weatherill era with increased investment and better image. SA then did really well through COVID under Marshall, by keeping the virus out and allowing things to function much as normal, unlike the total disfunction we saw in places like NSW and Victoria.

I agree about the Weatherill era, he was a great Premier. Rebuilding Adelaide Oval in particular has been the most transformational project for this city in decades.

Though not sure what you consider things to function as normal under Marshall. South Australia had some of the most ridiculous and confusing restrictions in the country, hell we were one of the last jurisdictions to allow dancing if not the last. And let's not forget about the embarrassing fiasco over the pizza box strain.

[Jaymz]

agree about the Weatherill era, he was a great Premier. Rebuilding Adelaide Oval in particular has been the most transformational project for this city in decades.

I don't think this is true, Adelaide Oval and the push towards renewables was kick-started by the Rann/Foley government. I feel that the Weatherill Govt. brought nothing new to the table. In fact, I would argue they were quite dysfunctional.

Anyways, back to the topic. I think the new tower looks fantastic. A quick poll in The Advertiser article was around 66% in favour of the development, 34% against. Of course, the majority of the comments were very negative, the usual soapbox kinda stuff.