[SWP] Festival Plaza Tower 2 | 160m | 38 Levels | Office

[A-Town]

Sounding pretty likely that the Premier's office and other Govt agencies housed in the State Administration Centre in Vic Square will move to the new tower.

Adelaide’s first skyscraper may get ATO boost

Walker Corporation is hoping to lure the Australian Taxation ­Office to a second tower at its Festival Plaza office precinct in Adelaide, after joining the race to build the city’s first skyscraper.

The ATO is considering a ­potential move from its current home in Adelaide’s City Central precinct, sounding out the market for 19,000sq m of space to accommodate 2000 staff.

The tax office is understood to be considering its options – including a potential relocation, or a lease extension with funds house Charter Hall at its current building on Franklin Street, which it has occupied since 2012.

However, with the ATO looking for a 10- or 15-year lease from August 2027, the timing could pose a challenge for Walker Corporation. The developer has indicated it could have its new tower ready by mid-2027, subject to planning approvals and final tenancy agreements, but that ­appears a tight timeframe given it is yet to secure an anchor tenant.

Other corporate occupiers in the mix include accounting firms EY and PwC, which have later lease expiries that would allow Walker Corporation more time to complete the project.

With few large corporate tenants in the Adelaide market, industry sources say a government precommitment may be needed to get the project off the ground.

“There’s no doubt that Mali (South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas) is pro tower two – and there’s a bit of scuttlebutt around town that it (state government) might finally make the move from State Administration Centre,” one industry source said.

“It’s looking more likely that the project will hinge off a government precommitment – dealing with private tenants in Adelaide is a bit like herding cats: everyone is too small in their own right.”

After launching designs for the 160m second tower proposed for Festival Plaza last week alongside Walker Corporation managing director David Gallant, Mr Malinauskas said the state government had made no commitment to the building.

“I’ve made very clear to ­Walker Corporation from the very outset that this is a project that needs to stack up without any (state) government commitments,” he said.

“We’ll keep our options open because we’re out in the market with government ­office space all the time – and that’s a competitive process. If Walker Corporation wants a state government tenancy they’ll have to demonstrate they’re offering a value-for-money proposition.”

However, Mr Malinauskas ­acknowledged that State Administration Centre – which opened in 1968 and currently houses the offices of the Premier, Treasurer and their departments – was an ageing building, and there was some “logic” to moving to a new tower adjacent to Parliament House.

Walker Corporation’s second tower at Festival Plaza would include close to 50,000sq m of space across 38 levels, including 30 levels of office space. It is expected to accommodate about 5000 office workers and another 100 retail workers in lower-floor restaurants, cafes and bars.

The first tower in the precinct was completed last year and is home to Flinders University, ­Deloitte, Westpac and a number of smaller tenants.

Mr Gallant said the developer was in talks with several “blue-chip” corporate tenants.

“In addition to that, it is also the commonwealth that is looking at investing into South Australia off the back of your growth,” he said.

“We’ll have some larger tenants – some tenants that will be 10,000sq m to 20,000sq m – but also we’ll have smaller tenants that have 30 to 40 employees. That’s a good mixture for making a vibrant place where you’ve got large companies and small companies coming together.

“I think we will see the building fully committed before completion – we hope to make some announcements in the next few weeks with some of the major tenants that we’re working with.”

https://www.realcommercial.com.au/news/ ... QFKsMEPWiQ

[Ben]

also LOL

“I’ve made very clear to ­Walker Corporation from the very outset that this is a project that needs to stack up without any (state) government commitments,” he said.

[SRW]

also big LOL if the big four consulting firms end up towering over parliament.

[gnrc_louis]

So predictable.

As an aside, I hope they turn the State Admin Building into luxury apartments - a great MCM office building.

[AndyWelsh]

From Instagram:
“Early works are well underway with @deltagroupaustraliawide on our second tower at Adelaide Festival Plaza with two of South Australia's largest cranes arriving onsite.
To enable demolition, the team has installed over 1,500 props and steel beams to support the existing structure, all while carefully managing works within the state's largest operational car park. Having recently lodged our Development Application, we're excited to see this bold, iconic new tower take its place in Adelaide's future skyline.”




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[Patrick_27]

From Instagram:
“Early works are well underway with @deltagroupaustraliawide on our second tower at Adelaide Festival Plaza with two of South Australia's largest cranes arriving onsite.
To enable demolition, the team has installed over 1,500 props and steel beams to support the existing structure, all while carefully managing works within the state's largest operational car park. Having recently lodged our Development Application, we're excited to see this bold, iconic new tower take its place in Adelaide's future skyline.”




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Again, corruption at its finest. Early works and crane arrivals at a site for a PROPOSAL that hasn't even been APPROVED. Submitted or not, likely to get approved or not; they're obviously working off of a presumption that SCAP and the state government will allow this to go up which shows just how floored our planning process is.

[HiTouch]

LOL I personally love this.

I also really hope the big 4 consultancies share the space with government departments. Also with a big 4 bank.
Patrick this is clearly not corruption though, it's "policy streamlining".

It means I can call the council and tell them I'm digging a hole in a nearby park to put up a shed that both the council and the local butcher could use if they wanted and one guy representing the council could say yes if he can store his lawnmower as well.

[Jaymz]

LOL I personally love this.

I also really hope the big 4 consultancies share the space with government departments. Also with a big 4 bank.
Patrick this is clearly not corruption though, it's "policy streamlining" .

Haha yeah, then the Big 4 could do regular audits and miraculously find everything is fine and dandy...... every single time

[rev]

Maybe the 'political' themed posts should be in the SA Politics thread guys? and we can keep this thread to the actual construction progress as it unfolds?

[Nort]

Maybe the 'political' themed posts should be in the SA Politics thread guys? and we can keep this thread to the actual construction progress as it unfolds?

Either this tower is some special transformative thing as they keep trying to spruik, in which case it's relevant, or it's just a big standard office tower construction, in which case the questions around it are controversial enough to be worth discussing.

[HiTouch]

Oh definitely mine is definitely not political, it's more critiquing the bizarre process of digging a hole before any construction approval. Streamlining seems to be the buzzword of choice these days.

[claybro]

I’m a bit confused over the angst on this development.
1. It has not been pristine open parkland for over 150 years
2. It has had previously a very ordinary public bath complex there, and some other rather ordinary buildings adjacent
3. After the baths, it was a hot barren wasteland, albeit with an interesting modern sculpture.
4. Apart from the odd festival pop up, it was never frequented by the public
5. The new development still allows the public to access the ground level hospitality, and adjacent much improved public realm
6. Many hundreds of the public will use the building each day.

So it took a private developer to be gifted land to get this off the ground … so what.
The whole northern side of North Terrace now has public buildings… and I don’t see everyone flagulating over such architectural wonders as the cheese grater, various uni and medical buildings.. which afterall have taken up “ public space”.
For me, when visiting Adelaide, one of the most transformative street vistas in the time I have been gone is the Western end of North Terrace. It’s turned a dark dingy hole of a strip.. into a light bright vibrant strip.

[VinyTapestry849]

I’m a bit confused over the angst on this development.
1. It has not been pristine open parkland for over 150 years
2. It has had previously a very ordinary public bath complex there, and some other rather ordinary buildings adjacent
3. After the baths, it was a hot barren wasteland, albeit with an interesting modern sculpture.
4. Apart from the odd festival pop up, it was never frequented by the public
5. The new development still allows the public to access the ground level hospitality, and adjacent much improved public realm
6. Many hundreds of the public will use the building each day.

So it took a private developer to be gifted land to get this off the ground … so what.
The whole northern side of North Terrace now has public buildings… and I don’t see everyone flagulating over such architectural wonders as the cheese grater, various uni and medical buildings.. which afterall have taken up “ public space”.
For me, when visiting Adelaide, one of the most transformative street vistas in the time I have been gone is the Western end of North Terrace. It’s turned a dark dingy hole of a strip.. into a light bright vibrant strip.

Damn right. Don't know what everyone's problem is.

[Patrick_27]

I’m a bit confused over the angst on this development.
1. It has not been pristine open parkland for over 150 years
2. It has had previously a very ordinary public bath complex there, and some other rather ordinary buildings adjacent
3. After the baths, it was a hot barren wasteland, albeit with an interesting modern sculpture.
4. Apart from the odd festival pop up, it was never frequented by the public
5. The new development still allows the public to access the ground level hospitality, and adjacent much improved public realm
6. Many hundreds of the public will use the building each day.

So it took a private developer to be gifted land to get this off the ground … so what.
The whole northern side of North Terrace now has public buildings… and I don’t see everyone flagulating over such architectural wonders as the cheese grater, various uni and medical buildings.. which afterall have taken up “ public space”.
For me, when visiting Adelaide, one of the most transformative street vistas in the time I have been gone is the Western end of North Terrace. It’s turned a dark dingy hole of a strip.. into a light bright vibrant strip.

It's the scale and purpose. I agree that the site needed a makeover/rethink but that should have been a process that involved the Adelaide Festival Centre and general public. Instead, we have a property developer, who prior to this showed zero commercial interest in Adelaide and SA, taking a government handout in the form of public land (be it a barren site or otherwise) and we had no say in it. Had Walker come out with mixed use plans for a contemporary art gallery for the site, or better the long-awaited concert call and his commercial asperations (which in hindsight should have been a condition for his use of this site) then perhaps my opinion might be different. But the reality is, nicely designed building or not, it's going to be utterly appalling to see the logos of upwards of six private businesses looming over a pubic plaza and our parliament building.

And just to clarify, the site originally was that of the SA government's Printing Offices which was extraordinary, the baths were (roughly) where the entrance to the AFC foyer is and even then they weren't initially ordinary they suffered from a facade 'makeover' in the 40s.

[rev]

Maybe the 'political' themed posts should be in the SA Politics thread guys? and we can keep this thread to the actual construction progress as it unfolds?

Either this tower is some special transformative thing as they keep trying to spruik, in which case it's relevant, or it's just a big standard office tower construction, in which case the questions around it are controversial enough to be worth discussing.

Not saying the questions are worthy of discussing, I agree it's shady, but maybe this isn't the right thread.
This is going to be the city's first official 'skyscraper', regardless of how it came about, topics of political corruption perhaps belong in the politics thread, since this development is now obviously happening (approvals pending or othwerwise).