Sensational-Adelaide.com

Port Adelaide Football Club boss David Koch wants the area to be Australia’s ‘Silicon Valley’

The Port Admiral Hotel, which has been closed for years. Picture: Tait Schmaal. But can the area become like this ...


TECHNOLOGY giants Google, Apple and Microsoft should be lured to Port Adelaide to drive new investment and transform the area into Australia’s ‘Silicon Valley’, according to Port Adelaide Football Club president David Koch.

Mr Koch has called on the State Government to headhunt one of the world's global tech firms to establish a base at the Port which he said would create jobs, drive property investment, and give the area’s struggling economy a much-needed boost.

TELL US: What can be done to rejuvenate the Port?

Mr Koch said the Port must look at new investment and said he would be going “hell for leather” to get companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft to set up a base at the Port.

“There are elements of what we are doing at Port Adelaide Football Club which can be done on a regional scale,” Koch told the Sunday Mail ahead of Sunday’s Showdown.


the gleaming reality that is Silicon Valley, California.

But we need a big blockbuster idea (and) there is no reason why Port Adelaide cannot become like a Silicon Valley.

“You can have the best bars, cafes, shops and restaurants you like, but you need something that will create jobs and get people to live, work and play in the area.

“Everything else will come — housing, restaurants, retail and property.”

His comments come as the Port, an economy defined by empty shopfronts and boarded up buildings, is reeling from the closure of Penrice’s chemical plant at Osborne with the loss of 95 jobs.
Uncertainty also surrounds the future of the area’s national defence contracts, which employ thousands of people in and around Port Adelaide.

Mr Koch, who grew up on the Le Fevre Peninsula, said what made US cities such as San Francisco and Boston attractive places to do business were government tax breaks and concessions to help start-up companies flourish.

“Boston has global industry (and) history, which is a tourist asset, and high-class education pairing learning with industry,” he said.

“We need to wire-up Port Adelaide to make it the best area to cater for technology companies.”

The urgency for new industry in the Port has also arisen from a parliamentary report last month that found cancer rates in across the Le Fevre Peninsula were 36 per cent above the state average, largely due to the presence of heavy industry.

The State Government has developed a Port Adelaide Precinct Plan, which sets out a 20-year vision for the future development of the waterfront and town centre, including taller building heights, a new public marina along the length of the southern side of the Port River and a marine services precinct at Fletcher’s Slip.

It has predicted the plan would bring an extra 4000-8000 people to Port Adelaide, create 1500-2000 permanent jobs and 1000-1500 construction jobs and generate between $1 billion and $2 billion in investment.

A Government spokesman said luring a global company to SA was not on the agenda “at this time”

Yesterday Fisheries Minister Leon Bignell floated the idea of establishing a South Australian Fish Market at Port Adelaide, modelled on the successful Sydney Market, which trades more than 14,500 tonnes of national and international seafood each year.

Can tech giant Apple be lured to invest in Port Adelaide?

Mr Bignell, who visited the Sydney Fish Market on Saturday, said he wanted to work with the fishing industry and Port Adelaide-Enfield Council to discuss establishing a “central market by the sea”.

“What you have is a mix of retail, wholesale and restaurants (in Sydney). I’m very impressed with what I have seen,” Mr Bignell said.

“South Australia has some of the freshest seafood in the world and we should be making the most of promoting ourselves.”

Mr Bignell said a South Australian Fish Market at Port Adelaide would make the region a vibrant tourist destination.

“We are well served by the (Adelaide) Central Market but this could be something that will add to that,” he said.

The Torrens Island Fish Market at Gillman currently trades only on Sundays.

Business SA chief executive officer Nigel McBride has backed Koch’s calls to attract technology companies to Port Adelaide and said the Sate Government needed to put the region on the map.

Mr McBride has called for further cuts to the cost of doing business and said the Government needed to open the Port by building a tramline and upgrading the Outer Harbor train line.

“When combining all costs of doing business, including utility charges, South Australia is still the most expensive place to do business in Australia,” Mr McBride

“(Port Adelaide) can become another Fremantle, but to provide an example the cost of land tax for a $1 million site in SA is $9446 compared to $1680 in WA.

“It will not happen overnight but if the State Government works with business, Port Adelaide can become a thriving district for tourism and industry.”

Property Council of Australia acting director Lino Iacomella said a global employer paired with an extension of the tramline down Port Rd would provide certainty for developers looking to invest in Port Adelaide.

— with Valerina Changarathil



NEED TO SPEND MONEY TO UNLOCK THE PORT’S GREAT CHARM

By Duane Schultz


MONEY needs to be spent to turn Port Adelaide’s rich maritime history in to one of South Australia’s major tourism draw cards, cafe owner Steph Taylor says.

Ms Taylor has been running organic cafe Red Lime Shack in St Vincent St since 2012 and said foot traffic on the weekends was vital to the survival of her business.

DRAWCARD: Cafe owner Steph Taylor wants the Port to be the go-to place to unwind and explore on weekends. Picture: TAIT SCHMAAL

She backed AFL club president and successful businessman David Koch’s bold vision to transition the Port from industry town to a technology hub as it would lure people to work, live and play in the area.

“We need to become a go to place to unwind and explore on the weekend,” said Ms Taylor, who also organisers the Sunday food market at Hart’s Mill.

“I value David’s comments and vision.”

Ms Taylor said the area’s disconnect from the city was a major stumbling block and extending the tram down Port Rd to Semaphore was needed.

The area also needed to be marketed along the same vein as the Barossa Valley and Flerieu Peninsula.

The State Government last week announced it was putting off its plan to extend the city’s tramline to the Le Fevre Peninsula for another four years.

“The tramline is a no brainer, we need it,” she said.

“What can be done immediately, which doesn’t require a lot of money, is to turn the Port into a cycling city.

“We’ve already got a bike loop path and we just need to attract the backpackers and cycling enthusiasts.”




YOUNG FAMILY WANTS THE PORT TO THRIVE

By Hannibal Rossi


JADE and Ben Jones moved from Broken Hill to Exeter and have fallen in love with the area.

Mr Jones, 32, who took up a role as an environmental scientist with AGL at the Torrens Island power station in January and his wife moved to Exeter in December with sons Cooper, 2, and Lennox, nine months.


Certainly we chose our home firstly for its proximity to my work but we’ve just fallen in love with the area,’’ he said.

“Semaphore Road with all its pubs, cafes and restaurants is great but we also love the character homes in the area.

“It’s got everything we need at our stage in life,’’ he said.

Mr Jones, said the Northern Expressway made it easy to get to his parents home at in the Barossa Valley.

“Having lived in Fremantle for eight years too, we can see the great potential of the Port to become a major attraction in the same way,’’ he said.

“I think it just needs a few more trendy eateries and pubs to get more people there.’’

Mrs Jones, 33, said she has enjoyed getting down to Semaphore Road by day and the Esplanade.

She has been impressed with the playground facilities, the Hart Street markets and the Green Monkeys play group for preschoolers.

“Everyone’s quite open and friendly round here, it’s a great lifestyle,’’ the stay-at-home mum said.

“I think if you get more food and drink options at the Port on the water, people will come and it will thrive.’’

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger ... 6970160675

Developers seeking more State Government action before committing to Port Adelaide projects

DEVELOPMENTS worth nearly $30 million are in the pipeline for the heart of Port Adelaide but developers are demanding more State Government action before they invest in the region.

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MessiahAndrw wrote:I really hate the use-tax-subsidizes-to-attract-jobs. Most often, you end up building all this infrastructure (water, power, telecommunication, roundabouts and road widenings) so someone can build this huge unwalkable suburban office campus;


Often on cheap land, where everyone has to drive to.. But of course, it's in a tax subsidy zone so the businesses aren't usually paying any kind of local taxes for all the infrastructure they're using, and all of the jobs they are stealing from tax-paying businesses. That's how everyday business and city planning works in the US, and now they're all broke and have littered their landscape with suburban office blocks and warehouses, and killed off their urban cores. Let's not do that.

It's a race to the bottom. Anytime you hear the word 'subsidize' or 'incentive' - run!!

A much better policy is economic gardening - setting up the right conditions (low start-up costs for small businesses) to 'grow' local, resilient jobs in a diverse fine-grained economy, rather than to attract jobs from a handful of big businesses. Because, just as fast as a big business moves to your area, it can leave.

An Australian-first online story map containing more than 2,000 photos through history has been unveiled by the the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Council.

The images capture more than a century of the city's history, from the very first Port Adelaide Magpies premiership team, to an unknown daredevil biker's fiery stunts during centenary celebrations in 1956.

The council's geographic information services officer, Georgie Cassar, said the story map was developed to liberate the pictures from the local library's extensive photographic history collection.

"The story map features some of the earliest known photos of the port, trade and business pioneers as well as aerial imagery that captures in fascinating detail the breadth of the city's urban sprawl and recent infrastructure renewal," Ms Cassar said.

Photos on the story map are sorted into collections – such as buildings, people and places – and embedded in the map according to the location in which they were taken.
Users can choose an image by clicking on its location on the map or by browsing through the collections.

Future of Hans Ehmann’s $16 million Quest apartments along Port River in doubt after plans thrown out for second time


Fisherman's Wharf Markets, Port Adelaide, where the proposed apartment complex would be built Picture: Walls Chris Source: News Limited


THE future of a $16 million serviced apartment complex at Fisherman’s Wharf is under a cloud after detailed plans were rejected for a second time.

The state’s Development Assessment Commission refused to grant developer Hans Ehmann building consent at its August 14 meeting.

It said the complex did not keep with the historical theme of the waterfront and the building’s five-storey height would obstruct views of the State Heritage-listed Birkenhead Bridge.

Mr Ehmann did not return calls this week.

Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson said the project would give the Port a boost but its design needed to complement the area’s heritage.

Victorian company Quest, which manages apartments in every capital city, has agreed to be the tenant of the new building and would service the planned 61 apartments.

Quest general manager Andrew Weisz said the company still wanted to invest in Port Adelaide.

“It’s a question for the developer themselves about this particular project, but it is a great site and we would be keen to get involved,” Mr Weisz said.

“We have always said that we want to be in Port Adelaide (and) it is just a matter of when.”

The project was announced in September and traders labelled it a kick-starter for Port Adelaide’s rejuvenation.

The original designs were knocked back last year and amended in July. Changes included more carparking, alterations to the facade and a bigger setback from the water.

Port Adelaide Enfield Council’s heritage adviser Flightpath Architects said in a report for the commission the new plans were “inferior to the previous design” and should not be approved.

St Vincent St trader Mike Retter said the project would have provided a boost to the area.

“The central population of Port Adelaide is too small so it is hard to develop a mainstreet-style shopping experience and getting foot traffic is essential to the rejuvenation,” Mr Retter said, who operatesruns video shop Film Buff Central.

“But I see both sides. I get just as obsessed with preserving the history but we can’t let that obsession get in the way of writing a future for the area.”

St Vincent St cafe owner Steph Taylor, who also runs the Wild at Hart markets, said serviced apartments were not the answer and the wharf should be preserved for events.


http://www.news.com.au/national/south-a ... 7038764467

PeFe wrote:From News.com.au

Future of Hans Ehmann’s $16 million Quest apartments along Port River in doubt after plans thrown out for second time


Fisherman's Wharf Markets, Port Adelaide, where the proposed apartment complex would be built Picture: Walls Chris Source: News Limited


THE future of a $16 million serviced apartment complex at Fisherman’s Wharf is under a cloud after detailed plans were rejected for a second time.

The state’s Development Assessment Commission refused to grant developer Hans Ehmann building consent at its August 14 meeting.

It said the complex did not keep with the historical theme of the waterfront and the building’s five-storey height would obstruct views of the State Heritage-listed Birkenhead Bridge.

Mr Ehmann did not return calls this week.

Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson said the project would give the Port a boost but its design needed to complement the area’s heritage.

Victorian company Quest, which manages apartments in every capital city, has agreed to be the tenant of the new building and would service the planned 61 apartments.

Quest general manager Andrew Weisz said the company still wanted to invest in Port Adelaide.

“It’s a question for the developer themselves about this particular project, but it is a great site and we would be keen to get involved,” Mr Weisz said.

“We have always said that we want to be in Port Adelaide (and) it is just a matter of when.”

The project was announced in September and traders labelled it a kick-starter for Port Adelaide’s rejuvenation.

The original designs were knocked back last year and amended in July. Changes included more carparking, alterations to the facade and a bigger setback from the water.

Port Adelaide Enfield Council’s heritage adviser Flightpath Architects said in a report for the commission the new plans were “inferior to the previous design” and should not be approved.

St Vincent St trader Mike Retter said the project would have provided a boost to the area.

“The central population of Port Adelaide is too small so it is hard to develop a mainstreet-style shopping experience and getting foot traffic is essential to the rejuvenation,” Mr Retter said, who operatesruns video shop Film Buff Central.

“But I see both sides. I get just as obsessed with preserving the history but we can’t let that obsession get in the way of writing a future for the area.”

St Vincent St cafe owner Steph Taylor, who also runs the Wild at Hart markets, said serviced apartments were not the answer and the wharf should be preserved for events.


http://www.news.com.au/national/south-a ... 7038764467

Seems like a bit of a wasted opportunity to me, serviced apartments would be a good start to repopulate the area.

eKwatee wrote:Adelaide is on the verge of an economic collapse and they knock back development to conserve a view of a crappy bridge. Unfortunately Adelaide whole heatedly deserves where were headed....

crawf wrote:

eKwatee wrote:Adelaide is on the verge of an economic collapse and they knock back development to conserve a view of a crappy bridge. Unfortunately Adelaide whole heatedly deserves where were headed....

If you want to see a city heading towards collapse look overseas, Adelaide is far from collapsing. The State Government in recent times has been very progressive in supporting developments in the Adelaide CBD, which is why I'm quite surprised they have knocked back a five-storey building because it would obstrute the views of a bridge.

Considering how much Port Adelaide desperately desperately needing some loving and how much Port Adelaide is very unattractive area, the State Government should be supporting developments like this at all cost. Rejecting buildings at five levels is just going to signal investors that Port Adelaide is still closed for business.

Also 'not keeping with the historical theme of the waterfront', what exactly is historic along the waterfront?. Yes there is Harts Mill and a couple of other historic items, but the whole area is just one big wasted eyesore. I'd say Port Adelaide is one of the ugliest suburbs in the metro area, yet it's the suburb with the most potential.

bva wrote:

crawf wrote:

eKwatee wrote:Adelaide is on the verge of an economic collapse and they knock back development to conserve a view of a crappy bridge. Unfortunately Adelaide whole heatedly deserves where were headed....

If you want to see a city heading towards collapse look overseas, Adelaide is far from collapsing. The State Government in recent times has been very progressive in supporting developments in the Adelaide CBD, which is why I'm quite surprised they have knocked back a five-storey building because it would obstrute the views of a bridge.

Considering how much Port Adelaide desperately desperately needing some loving and how much Port Adelaide is very unattractive area, the State Government should be supporting developments like this at all cost. Rejecting buildings at five levels is just going to signal investors that Port Adelaide is still closed for business.

Also 'not keeping with the historical theme of the waterfront', what exactly is historic along the waterfront?. Yes there is Harts Mill and a couple of other historic items, but the whole area is just one big wasted eyesore. I'd say Port Adelaide is one of the ugliest suburbs in the metro area, yet it's the suburb with the most potential.

Some seriously kneejerk reaction comments here. It is very rare for DAC to block any scheme at present (particularly with the new case management team being formed). This must be a very average design and I support any push to ensure a beter quality outcome for the port and protection of key vistas that will be important once the area is more developed.

Will wrote:I had a look at the plans on the DAC website, and it was a VERY bland design. It looked like a pre-fabricated grey box.