Turn Grote St into city gateway, Integrated Design Commission says
Bill Marles on Grote St. Picture: Luke Hemer Source: adelaidenow
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GROTE St should become a cultural and culinary boulevard combining the best of North Tce and Gouger St, a report says.
The Integrated Design Commission's draft Place Shaping Framework says the city's main east-west thoroughfare has the potential to become a grand gateway into the CBD.
The report follows years of calls from the Grote Business Precinct traders' group for an upgrade of the western end of the street.
"Grote St is significant because it is the only 40m wide grand boulevard of (Colonel William) Light's plan," the report says.
"Grote St could potentially rival North Tce's cultural boulevard, as well as replicate the restaurant precinct along Gouger St, but with a greater mix of land uses including commercial interspersed with residential."
A mix of new buildings with renovated historic ones would allow Grote St "to grow into the grand boulevard it was planned to be", the report says.
"This would make it an appropriate gateway for the main vehicle access into the city for residents arriving from the western suburbs, and for visitors arriving from Adelaide Airport and interstate rail (from Keswick)."
Integrated Design Commissioner Tim Horton said Grote St could, over time, become home to university buildings, libraries, small theatres and a swimming pool to cater for a growing city population.
"We have the potential to create a new magnet, a new anchor for the city," he said.
The report says the large Australia Post building at the western end of the street, which is still in use, would be an ideal site for a "landmark development to help define the western gateway to the city", including housing for city workers and students.
Grote Business Precinct former president Bill Marles said an upgrade of the western half of the street, including new footpaths and lighting, was needed to attract investment from businesses.
"If people want to invest in an area they like to go where they feel welcomed, where they feel they can make a difference," he said.
The eastern end of Grote St, from Victoria Square to the Central Market, was upgraded in 2007 with new footpaths and median strip.
A $1.1 million upgrade extended the streetscaping to Morphett St in 2009/10, but only after lobbying from traders when the City Council wanted to shift the funding to Rundle Mall.
The western half of the street has remained largely unchanged since the 1980s.
Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood hoped the council would fund a street upgrade to West Tce within five years.
"Clearly as the prime entrance from what is now an excellent airport where we're getting increasing international connections, it's very important," he said. "It's really just a matter of money."
