Sensational-Adelaide.com

Port development hit by global crisis
Russell Emmerson
From: The Advertiser March 30, 2010 5:33PM

THE global financial crisis has "stuffed" interest in the Newport Quays development and delayed the growth of Port Adelaide, Toop and Toop real estate agency head Anthony Toop says.

Mr Toop told the Property Council's Invest SA conference yesterday that apartment sales waned as credit was cut following the global slowdown.

The move prevented Newport Quays developer Urban Construct from proceeding to stage four of its $1.5 billion development.

Mr Toop, who handles secondary sales and rentals at Newport Quays, said stage four contained the cafes and restaurants it needed to develop its own social life - and the open-ended delay had robbed Port Adelaide of the next phase of its development.

"Newport Quays needed stages three and four to develop the critical mass needed to change the market for the Port, but because it got caught up in a whirlwind, it came to a screaming halt after one or two years," he said.

"Stage four was the trigger point for the infrastructure, and it has been the infrastructure that has been missed the most - the cafes, the restaurants, the supermarkets.

"With Newport Quays it has clearly stuffed (interest in the Port Adelaide area) up, but it can be rekindled."

Urban Construct said the observations were an "unsubstantiated false statement" and that Newport Quays remained one of the state's most successful developments in an area identified for its high growth potential.

Marketing manager Diep Romeo said a new cafe, Portobello, opened in January and the development itself was 98 per cent occupied.

Urban Construct is expected to announce a new stage for Newport Quays over the next couple of days but Ms Romeo would not confirm whether this was stage 5, a new development on the other side of the river.

Mr Toop, who was elected to the Port Adelaide Football Club board last year, said the Government's proposed light-rail link between the city and Port Adelaide could reignite development.

He said pressure from under-supplied housing markets and growing activity on the Le Fevre Peninsula - including the growing defence presence at Outer Harbor - provided the ingredients for a new start, but the Government needed to commit to the extension to underwrite the future of Port Adelaide and Newport Quays.

"Until they show commitment at a political level, you don't think (the expected benefits) are going to flow," Mr Toop said. "Port Adelaide is going to be waiting to develop its potential."

Dock One revamp

newsLocal News31 Mar 10 @ 09:09am by Heather Kennett



An artist's impression of Newport Quays first stage of Dock One precinct



A WATERFRONT park and a 9.5m wide promenade form the centrepiece of a $110 million Newport Quays residential development of Port Adelaide’s Dock One.

With 275 two and three storey townhouses planned, the Dock One precinct is expected to bring 500 new residents to the Port town centre. The 3.5ha site bounded by the southern edge of Dock One and Wauwa Rd, St Vincent and Jubilee streets will become the third stage of the $2.1 billion waterfront revitalisation project when work starts later this year.

The 1923 former Customs Clearing house, known locally as the Radio Shack, has been quarantined from the development as negotiations continue between the developer, council and the State Government over its fate.

Newport Quays Consortium spokesman Todd Brown said the decision to build on the Port Adelaide side of the Port River reflected difficulties in sourcing finance for larger precincts and a desire to speed up revitalisation of the town centre.

“It’s been recognised there is a need for more people in the Port and this will deliver 500 to 600 new residents over a 18 month to two year period, which will be a fantastic boost for local businesses,” he said.

Mr Brown said the “most sensitive” planning aspects of the proposed townhouses including height, density, scale and bulk complied with the Port-Enfield Development Plan, so he did not anticipate similar hold-ups that saw the eventual rejection of the Stage 2B proposal.

Stage 2B, on the other side of the Port River near the already complete Stage 1 and 2 precincts, was originally expected have begun last year.

However the developer’s planning application was rejected in 2008 by the State Development Assessment Commission, on the grounds that several proposed high-rise buildings exceeded the height limits allowed under the council’s development plan.

“We have had a very lengthy and collaborative approach to working this stage up with the stakeholders,” Mr Brown said.

“Although the assessment stage is still be had, certainly we are reasonably confident most of the issues have been addressed in our meetings leading up to this.”

He said a development application for Dock One would be lodged with the Development Assessment Commission in mid April, involving the demolition of the seven storey vacant former Marine and Harbor’s building.

Mr Brown said the homes were designed to be “more affordable” than previous stages, to give a wider market an opportunity “to buy into the development”.

Will wrote:I think bringing the ship 'City of Adelaide' to Port Adelaide is an excellent idea, as if done correctly could become a significant tourist attraction in the Port.

Considering that it only costs $1 million to bring it here, surely such a venture could be funded by the local council. I recall reading that the mayor of Port Adelaide has said that he wants the port to be the "museum capital of Australia". Bringing the City of Adelaide here, would surely be evidence that he and the council are not just speaking but doing.

DTEI web page - up dated January 29th 2010
http://www.infrastructure.sa.gov.au/coa ... light_rail

http://www.the-port.com.au/pccg/role.cfm
from The Port: It's Happening: A range of major projects in and around Port Adelaide is underpinning its revitalisation, including:

Adrian Sykes, Strategic Infrastructure Executive Officer, City of Charles Sturt, 5/4/10:

stumpjumper wrote:Too bad if you'd bought property at Newport Quays on the basis that the light rail would be arriving sat your doorstep.

stumpjumper wrote:I just wanted to post the news that the light rail (tram) to the Port is definitely off for the time being.

A long wetlands will be built down the centre of Port Road.

Traders back Dock One plan

newsLocal News07 Apr 10 @ 10:01am by Heather Kennett


PORT traders and heritage groups have backed plans for the latest stage of the Newport Quays waterfront redevelopment.

Last week’s release of plans for the Dock One precinct which will see 275 two and three storey townhouses, a waterfront park and promenade built adjacent the commercial district of Port Adelaide was seen as an important driver of the town centre’s rejuvenation by local traders, real estate agents and heritage groups.

Port Adelaide Enfield Chamber of Commerce president Vaughan Martin welcomed the momentum it would bring to the five-year-old redevelopment project and the increase in Port Adelaide’s residential population.

“It’s a very positive step in bringing more resident’s to the area ... and it will be a boost for local businesses,” he said.

Choosing to develop a smaller, medium-density stage rather than a higher density, larger precinct “would appear to be very sensible,” in light of last year’s economic downturn, he said.

Former chair of the Port branch of the National Trust of SA Tony Kearney whose group was a vocal critic of the rejected Stage 2B plans slated for construction last year also endorsed the Dock One plans.

“It looks like they are referencing materials, finishes and the scale of the neighbouring heritage precinct,” he said.

“The buildings are not so homogenous with changing scale, shape, texture form and height so it should look like something developed over time ... like it grew organically rather than just plonked in.”

Port Dock Brewery owner John Cowled said local traders would benefit from the stage being located on the Port Adelaide side of the river.

“Unquestionably it will increase turnover for all traders whether it is the workers on site during construction or once completed when the residents move in there’s no losers here,” he said.

Port Adelaide Toop and Toop sales partner Troy Tyndall said the release of the plans was an ideal antidote to last year’s stalling of activity and the Global Financial Crisis.

“This will put confidence back into the overall development, it will help to get some momentum back and bolster confidence in the Port precinct even further,” he said.

The Newport Quays consortium said it would lodge a development application later this month, with work likely to start before the end of the year.