Crows lose Bowden base bid to Melbourne developer
https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/01/27/ ... developer/
NEWS
The Adelaide Crows’ second bid for a new city base has been rejected, with the State Government this afternoon announcing that Melbourne-based MAB Corporation had been chosen to develop the former gasworks site at Bowden.
Treasurer Rob Lucas said that MAB Corporation had won out over the AFL club to remediate and develop the vacant, 5.8 ha former industrial site just north of the CBD with its “intergenerational” proposal “while also reducing the State Government’s liability and therefore the risk to taxpayers”.
The MAB proposal for the site – part of which has been designated a Heritage Quarter – includes a 120 room hotel, piazza, cafes, restaurants and bars: an “integrated commercial and retail offering that will generate unprecedented levels of entertainment, economic activity and social vibrancy”.
MAB Corporation also has proposed to build 120 affordable housing apartments, 305 market sale apartments and up to 200 build-to-rent and aged care apartments and 1,180 car parks.
Around 1.5 hectares or 25 per cent of the total site would be set aside for public open space under the plan.
The government said there would be 11,500sqm of commercial and retail space featuring an “Employment Hub” and the developer would also restore and reopen former gasworks buildings and tunnels.
The former gasworks site on Chief Street in Bowden once produced the gas to light Adelaide streets during the 1800s, with its southern end listed as a state heritage place.
It was purchased by the State Government in 2010 and is part of the wider $1 billion Bowden apartment and townhouse development.
Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2022.
The Adelaide Football Club was one of four local and interstate bidders short-listed by government agency Renewal SA to develop the site.
The club, which is currently based at West Lakes, has been looking for a home closer to the city since AFL matches moved to Adelaide Oval.
It initially proposed bulldozing North Adelaide’s Adelaide Aquatic Centre and building a new $65 million training and community complex at the park lands site.
But it later withdrew its bid after suffering an economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May last year, the club announced it had joined forces with Melbourne developer Pelligra to pitch a new clubroom, office and housing development for the gasworks site.
At the time, it was reported that the Crows had proposed purchasing the land from the government for a small fee, under the condition that it would cover the costs of remediation and upkeep.
The club is also considering a building a training and administrative facility at Thebarton Oval.
Building its base at Thebarton would put the Crows in a share arrangement of a modern community football precinct with the SANFL and Adelaide Football League. The club would be in a lease arrangement with the City of West Torrens for 42 years (by a 21-year agreement with an extension for another 21 years).
But the Crows are uneasy with the uncertainty on how much land is taken from the site for the South Road tunnels, access to the site during the major road upgrade and how long Kings Reserve, needed for a second training ground, is used as a storage and soil dumping site for roadworks.
Lucas said this afternoon that the final decision on the gasworks site was his.
“The recommendation was clear from the evaluation team, the board made the recommendation and ultimately it was up to me to make the final decision,” he said.
Lucas said “a lot of (MAB Corporation’s) proposal is based on many of the contaminants being removed from the site, rather than building an oval over the top”.
“I’m sure when they make public statements the Crows will be disappointed with the final decision; I saw no other reasonable decision to make,” he said.
” The Crows obviously indicated they still had two options to consider. The Thebarton option is still open to them. It is up to the Crows to decide their next option.”
For people who never would catch a train?