[PRO] Festival Plaza Tower 2 | 149m | 38 Levels | Office

[rev]

I once suggested on here that the whole riverside precinct needed to be knocked down with the exception of parliament (old & new) and the railway/casino building, and started from scratch.
Now that what was an underused & unmaintained eyesore for public space is being redeveloped into a second office tower (and a decent looking proposal it is), people think it's a good idea to knock down things like the riverside centre and build a new office tower there instead.

If only government had the bold vision to properly redevelop the whole area. We'd still have that public space in it's entirety.

The saddest thing isn't losing part of that public space, but that even third world and developing countries are able to redevelop entire precincts instead of the mishmash hodge podge dogs breakfast of a riverside redevelopment we've been served.

This is exactly right. We were told riverside would be activated in a step-by-step process. If I hear the word "activated", I instantly assume activity. Penang (Adelaide's sister city) was able to reactivate their "old-town" and public spaces through the arts and food scene through simple policy changes and beautification. In Adelaide's case, apart from Adelaide Oval, I dont think much has changed much around our public space in terms of activity. I can't imagine another tower will do anything for the night life when working hours don't change. I can't help but wonder if all that was needed was a relaxing of red tape and allowing sole-trader activity to "activate" this space into a night market or something simple with these "riverbank redevelopment" stages coming later. Instead, what we've got is a cold uninviting space from some corporate back-alley deals.

East End Cellars are setting up a new bar on the northern side of the Festival Tower which should bring in some extra nightlife once it's open. It remains to be seen what other hospitality venues will pop up in the years to come, but your suggestion of night markets is a fantastic idea.

One thing I think that needs to be addressed is that the whole area feels like a heat island when it's anywhere near 30 degrees. The lack of trees and shade only compounds the issue.

One bar wont make much of an impact (hope I'm wrong).
Someone mentioned something about game days at AO and how it would impact this area.
Doubtful. It's all feels and is so disconnected from Adelaide Oval.
In hindsight, with this plaza redevelopment half complete now, the foot bridge is not in an ideal location.
Nothing that's been done, has been done in conjunction with, or with anything else in mind to come. It's yet again another typical Adelaide hodge podge mishmash dogs breakfast of random developments.

[Nort]

In hindsight, with this plaza redevelopment half complete now, the foot bridge is not in an ideal location.

For quickly getting people between the oval and the train station and rest of the city it's a great position. Wouldn't really want the majority of foot traffic being directed through the plaza given it's a lot smaller than it once was.

[Nort]

A lot of people seem to forget how bleak and boring the original festival plaza was with its painted concrete cubes and the camouflaged car park exhaust stack and the leaky car park. It was even more boring in winter.

I loved the Hajek Plaza, but it was compromised from the start (gardens and water features abandoned, and the original plan of tiles changed to paint), left to rot for decades, and then had that awful redevelopment which separated it from the Festival Centre save for a small bridge.

Yep. It was decrepit and definitely did need a major overhaul/replacement, but that's only because it was allowed to decay away and neglected for years (almost certainly intentionally to allow redevelopment). With occasional cleaning and repainting, working water features, and more vegetation planted it could have been an amazing, iconic, and well-loved and used space to this day.

[HiTouch]

A lot of people seem to forget how bleak and boring the original festival plaza was with its painted concrete cubes and the camouflaged car park exhaust stack and the leaky car park. It was even more boring in winter.

I loved the Hajek Plaza, but it was compromised from the start (gardens and water features abandoned, and the original plan of tiles changed to paint), left to rot for decades, and then had that awful redevelopment which separated it from the Festival Centre save for a small bridge.

Yep. It was decrepit and definitely did need a major overhaul/replacement, but that's only because it was allowed to decay away and neglected for years (almost certainly intentionally to allow redevelopment). With occasional cleaning and repainting, working water features, and more vegetation planted it could have been an amazing, iconic, and well-loved and used space to this day.

I don't think the old design was practical in terms of being a gathering spot. I remember it being uneven and unfriendly for pedestrians passing through. I remember my grandma tripping over a step and grazing her knee there after going to my school presentation at the Festival Theatre. The unhuman friendly design was probably why it wasn't used for public events. In saying all that, today's design isn't an improvement.

[claybro]

I loved the Hajek Plaza, but it was compromised from the start (gardens and water features abandoned, and the original plan of tiles changed to paint), left to rot for decades, and then had that awful redevelopment which separated it from the Festival Centre save for a small bridge.

Yep. It was decrepit and definitely did need a major overhaul/replacement, but that's only because it was allowed to decay away and neglected for years (almost certainly intentionally to allow redevelopment). With occasional cleaning and repainting, working water features, and more vegetation planted it could have been an amazing, iconic, and well-loved and used space to this day.

I don't think the old design was practical in terms of being a gathering spot. I remember it being uneven and unfriendly for pedestrians passing through. I remember my grandma tripping over a step and grazing her knee there after going to my school presentation at the Festival Theatre. The unhuman friendly design was probably why it wasn't used for public events. In saying all that, today's design isn't an improvement.

Agree strongly with this. The area around Festival Centre was heavily used in the 70's when the center was still new, but the plaza never really was practical. Looked ok from a nostalgic 70's point of view, but was way too hot in summer, cold and windswept in winter, and too many obstacles for any decent amount of useable space. The new design at least has more shade and greenery, and less obstacles if you discount the two giant towers, which at least will create more ground activation.

[Spotto]

The owner of 2KW has come out against the new tower because it’ll block the view from their rooftop bar.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/whtuFr ... tid=WC7FNe

[Will]

The owner of 2KW has come out against the new tower because it’ll block the view from their rooftop bar.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/whtuFr ... tid=WC7FNe

How ridiculous and entitled.

[abc]

The owner of 2KW has come out against the new tower because it’ll block the view from their rooftop bar.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/whtuFr ... tid=WC7FNe

How ridiculous and entitled.

not at all

his asset has been devalued because of a commercial project which apparently is being allowed to proceed on public land

[A-Town]

Views are a privilege and not a right.

[abc]

Views are a privilege and not a right.

if you pay good money for a beachfront property, then the government decides to close the beach, that's the equivalence we're dealing with here

[timtam20292]

@abc Oh please

As others have said, so entitled. Hopefully this is nothing more than a nuisance and won’t impact the project.

[Nort]

Generally in these situations yeah, but it's a great example of how this development is being given public land to build an office tower on, and being given an advantage over other businesses with their development that has had the rules changed for it and no-one else got a chance to compete on.

[Nort]

Good InDaily piece on this.
https://www.indaily.com.au/news/notes-o ... ion-square

[abc]

Good InDaily piece on this.
https://www.indaily.com.au/news/notes-o ... ion-square

I would call this corruption.

[I Follow PAFC]

CBD skyscraper to ‘obliterate’ views from iconic Adelaide bar.
A planning tete-a-tete has kicked off over plans for a mega 38-storey development, with views from one of the CBD’s most iconic venues set to be wiped out. SUBSCRIBE for the full story
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sou ... 76b03b11c6