Vision to fix ugly railyards
PAUL STARICK, CHIEF REPORTER
November 27, 2006 01:15am
Article from: The Advertiser
AN influential property industry leader is urging the redevelopment of Adelaide's "unsightly" railyards, predicting offices and waterfront homes worth $500 million would be constructed.
Knight Frank South Australian managing director, Don Crouch, said the railyards, west of the Morphett St bridge, were a vast area of land with access to a rundown area of the River Torrens.
"No other capital city in Australia has such a large area of land so close to the city that has not been developed," he said. "Property in Adelaide's CBD is confined and land values are spiralling. Surely the time has come to take a fresh look at the area and how it can be redeveloped for the benefit of the city and its visitors." Mr Crouch said city river frontage was a prime development spot in almost every other Australian city.
He pointed to Melbourne's Southbank development - a mix of offices, restaurants, shops and housing - as an example of what might happen at the railyards.
But he stressed any redevelopment should not erode the parklands on the Torrens' southern bank.
Rather, Mr Crouch said a redevelopment would "provide a perfect opportunity to beautify this section of the river".
"For some of the land, the best use may well be parklands or a major recreational facility," he said.
Previous debate about the railyards site has included the prospect of building a Telstra Dome-style sports arena.
Mr Crouch said development in the 1980s of the SkyCity Adelaide casino, Hyatt Regency hotel and Adelaide Convention Centre had demonstrated the viability of building over railway tracks.
Given the success of these developments, he said, it was now time to consider the options west of Morphett St.
"We need to consider whether the 20 or so tracks that meander across the yards are really necessary and what kind of development would be the most appropriate for the area," he said. The old Adelaide Gaol could be incorporated into any development, he said, and even the previous suggestion of a whitewater rafting course downstream from the Torrens weir re-examined.
Mr Crouch said the redevelopment would be a long-term project which would require input from state, federal and local governments.
But Property Council of Australia SA executive director Nathan Paine said there probably were plenty of opportunities for commercial development within the CBD. "We recognise that there is a fair chunk of space there that's being under-utilised," he said.
"The question is, taking a look at the future development of the city and where we want it to go, whether this is the most appropriate place to go."
Lord Mayor Michael Harbison did not return several calls from The Advertiser.
State Government ministers, including the Premier Mike Rann, yesterday declined to comment on the proposal.
