[COM] Victoria Square Upgrade - $24m

[rubegoldbergdevice]

This may not be "the place to be"by the time Adelaide's makeover is complete, but it will certainly be on the list of places to be, and that's important. Adelaide doesnt want to be a one dimentional city with one central location, in fact its precisely the sort of city that it is currently trying to move away from!

Couldn't agree more. The CBD is slowly growing southward, so it makes sense to create a southerly counterpoint to the likes of Elder Park and the rest up there. I don't believe anymore that Vic Sq will ever be "the place to be" in Adelaide, but putting it at least on the list of places to be would be a major leap for it. It is difficult to impossible to get a city to entirely refocus itself on a different geographical location; that's a cultural thing. At least when Vic Sq becomes a decent place to be, it will get a chance to develop its own culture and go from there.

I've said many times here before that no one REALLY knows what the square is actually for, as it is not and has never been the central civic space. This is one of the reasons that I like this design. It acknowledges an ambiguity in the space's function, which I suspect could be the key to it's success ultimately. I think it's as good as it's gonna get for the present. Plus I think the design allows for a possible future closing of the east-west road. That would be reasonably easy to do here and would create a third space that could be explored in a design sense. Flexible, practical and aesthetically pleasing. Good outcome.

The problem with Light's or Kingston's (or whoever the fuck's plan it was) is that it was conceived on way too large a scale. The South Adelaide grid is surprisingly huge overlaid on the comparable areas in the other capitals (though Sydney is almost there). I think having North Adelaide over the river also contributed to the pull towards a northern centre for the city. Whilst elegant and broadly functional, I think "Light's Vision" was a triumph of form over function ultimately, because of it's scale.

BTW Adelaide already has a "Fed Square" thang of its own. All it would take to bring it together is a coordinated marketing exercise. One day it will dawn on people what it is.

[SRW]

On the other hand, I have concerns about the pit-like nature of the events lawn....

Seems like a valid concern for larger events, such as TDU and Classic Adelaide that might be a bit cramped, and the Solar Challenge that currently
enters VS from the north, where the 3 Rivers fountain will obstruct, together with the sunken lawn. Not things that cannot be overcome, of course,
but worth some thought.

For what it's worth, my concern was more for the day to day usefulness of the space than with its occasional events usage.

Also, FYI, the masterplan has a mock up of how the space will function during TDU and other large events.

[omada]

by rubegoldbergdevice » Wed May 12, 2010 6:06 pm:

BTW Adelaide already has a "Fed Square" thang of its own. All it would take to bring it together is a coordinated marketing exercise. One day it will dawn on people what it is.

I presume you mean the Festival Centre Plaza area, behind Parliament House? If so, all that area needs is some funky little bars and restaurants, something to make the area "active". Lets hope all these concerns will be addressed in the River Precinct plan.. but thats a whole other story.. sorry thread

[UrbanCircus]

Hi Guys,

Here's a flythrough video of the square. On the Adelaide City Council Youtube Channel.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AdelaideCityCouncil

Cheers.

[Straze]

This article is from the City Messenger.

Victoria Square rebirth to fuel jobs, tourism boom

REVITALISING Victoria Square will boost the precinct’s population and visitors by 20 per cent - and create up to 2300 jobs - a new study reveals.

The economic study obtained by the City Messenger has found the new-look square will generate significant economic, tourism and employment benefits for both the city and state.

It comes as City Council this week released detailed plans for the $100 million square overhaul, featuring a concert area, public gardens, big screen TV and giant arbours.

The study, carried out in February by council-commissioned consultants SGS Economics and Planning, compared the benefits of the project versus no redevelopment over the next 30 years.

Some of its key findings included:

* Annual visitors to the square will rise from 21 million now to 26 million;

* Permanent residents living near precinct will rise from 980 to 1170;

* Up to 2300 new jobs will be created by 2014 through the regeneration, boosting the state’s economy by up to $86 million a year at its peak;

* 10 per cent more people will come to SA just to visit the square;

* A 5 per cent growth in SA’s population because of the project.

The study, which also explored how the city could become more vibrant, concluded the project will generate “significant activity” in the state’s economy and create “significant jobs”.

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison said the findings showed the project would benefit the entire state, not just the CBD.

“We don’t just do these projects to feel good, we look at them very carefully for their economic effects,” he said.

“Because Victoria Square is in the heart of the city, there’s a very strong economic multiplier for the investment made in the square.”

Work on the project will begin in stages from mid next year, with the first phase involving an open space area for large events in the square’s northern end.

The council has set aside $24 million for the project in its 2010/11 draft budget, while the State Government has contributed $2 million for a final engineering and design study, due by December. The rest of the money is expected to come from State and Federal government grants, as well as private investors.

Public consultation began this week, ending on June 7, however the plan has already received early backing from Adelaide’s business community, including Central Market traders.

Central Market Traders Association spokesman Mark Gleeson said the overhaul would give the square a “really vibrant, European feel”.

Mr Gleeson, who runs Providore, said traders were pleased roads surrounding the square would not be closed other than on special events.

Property Council of Australia (SA branch) executive director Nathan Paine also praised the overhaul, but warned construction must start “immediately”.

“Adelaide needs this redevelopment to start quickly to avoid this becoming yet another potentially great plan only gathering dust on a bureaucrats shelf,” he said.

A public discussion on the masterplan will be held next Thursday (May 20) at Town Hall, from 11am to 2pm.

For more details visit victoriasquareadelaide.com

[Ben]

* A 5 per cent growth in SA’s population because of the project.

Love how they expect 80,000 people to move to Adelaide becuase of this development. WTF. Where did they pull this from.

[jk1237]

* A 5 per cent growth in SA’s population because of the project.

Love how they expect 80,000 people to move to Adelaide becuase of this development. WTF. Where did they pull this from.

Sounds silly at first, but a project like this has the potential to end once and for all - the rustbelt tag associated with Adelaide. Adelaide still has an image problem to people in power in the eastern states, so something like the Vic Sq development could encourage millions of further investment for the rest of the city, like what Kennett did with Melbourne

[SRW]

For a clearer idea of what's proposed, here's the masterplan without trees:

[Xaragmata]

For a clearer idea of what's proposed, here's the masterplan without trees:

Looks good, but a potential for tram - pedestrian conflict with ped crossings starting / finishing on the tram tracks. At the least, pedestrians waiting for
the lights are likely to obstruct trams ... at the worst ... a job for the Coroner.

[SRW]

Some other tiddly bits gleaned from the longer masterplan Prince George found:

• Traffic speeds to be reduced through the Square
• Roadway through centre of the Square to be raised to pavement levels and similarly surfaced
• Only buses will be able to right turn through the Square
• Private vehicle entry will be via left-turn only
• Taxi bank in south-western corner to be relocated to Gouger Street
• Arbours/verandahway to have colour changing LED system
• Possibility to augment heating and cooling requirements of adjacent buildings via geoexchange under Square

[skyliner]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the brown repreesenatative of covered walkways? If so, will be interesting as to traffic height restrictions across the square.

Secondly, as Ben said - a 5% increase of pop as a result of the square - even all the state in not growing at that rate P.A. And 10% more people coming to SA to see the square!!! I do agree it will give Adelaide a better image however.

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[SRW]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but is the brown repreesenatative of covered walkways? If so, will be interesting as to traffic height restrictions across the square.

According to the masterplan, the Arbours will continue across the roadway requiring a column free span of 16m and minimum traffic clearance of 5.5m.

[Aidan]

Are you sure this has anything to do with Light's plan? It seems highly unlikely to me, as mains water was introduced just 20 years after the City was founded. I always understood the drift to be mainly due to the railway station location. The parliament location is also a significant factor.

Light got it right when he located the City away from the river. As well as the risk of flooding, buildings by the river would be more prone to earthquake damage.

Once we get a subway, the heart of the City is likely to move back to Victoria Square, though the northern side of the City will probably always be more densely developed than the southern side.

As I understand it, Light's vision was for King William St and Grote/Wakefield Streets to be not only grand boulevards, but the main commercial streets of the city. Grote/Wakefield Streets' distance from the water supply meant that both the commercial and residential part of the city to fill up first, was Rundle/Hindley Streets. By the time reticulated water arrived 20 years later, these streets (especially Rundle) were already established as the commercial heart of the city, and after 150 years, Grote/Wakefield has not been able to reclaim that title.

Of course it wasn't able to reclaim the title - by then the railway station on North Terrace had opened, so that end of the City was easier to et to than the centre. But more important is what happened since then - do I need to remind you of what the court building used to be?

Subway? What subway?

The one we desparately need!

And why will it bring the commercial heart of the city to Victoria Square? Do you not think that there would be a station convenient to the current commercial heart of the city, and if there is, why would that heart move?

Of course there would be a station convenient to the current commercial heart of the City - the idea is to augment what we have, not replace it! For many decades the central and southern parts of the City have been underdeveloped. By providing good transport to more of the City, the rest of the City would become more densely developed, so the heart would move back towards the centre.

[Wayno]

You know, it just dawned on me HOW BIG the usable VSQ space will be when this is done. Using my Google Earth ruler, and assuming 3 car lanes all around (12m) & outer footpaths (10m) the central square will be 120m x 300m (notwithstanding the 20m wide road running east-west through it's guts).

That's 18 x 1/4 acre housing blocks. Each half of the square (amphitheatre end, garden end) is as wide as Adelaide Oval (turf) and 2/3rds as long! Quite the oasis!

Certainly puts the cost and magnitude of the redevelopment into perspective ($1800 per square metre based on $100m budget and overall VSQ size of 160m x 350m).

[rubegoldbergdevice]

by rubegoldbergdevice » Wed May 12, 2010 6:06 pm:

BTW Adelaide already has a "Fed Square" thang of its own. All it would take to bring it together is a coordinated marketing exercise. One day it will dawn on people what it is.

I presume you mean the Festival Centre Plaza area, behind Parliament House? If so, all that area needs is some funky little bars and restaurants, something to make the area "active". Lets hope all these concerns will be addressed in the River Precinct plan.. but thats a whole other story.. sorry thread

Hell no! That stinky, hideous little area needs sticks of dynamite and a total rethink.

No, what I mean is somewhere that already has all the attractions of Fed Sq. It just needs to market itself that way.

It's just been done up too