[U/C] 42-56 Franklin Street | ~78m | 17lvls | Office

[jk1237]

oh dear me great one DAC

from this weeks Messenger

MOVES are afoot for a multi-million dollar office tower at Telstra’s former telephone exchange building on Franklin St, following the approval of an adjoining 10-storey carpark.

The site’s owner, Tritan Corporation, has started the ball rolling on The Atrium office tower after its plan for a 575-space carpark was approved last week by the Development Assessment Commission (DAC). The project went before the DAC because its value is more than $10 million.

Tritan Corporation director Greg Molfetas said the carpark would cater for both the public and the 2000-plus workers planned for The Atrium, likely to be developed by Melbourne-based property giant Grocon.

Mr Molfetas said the carpark design would be finalised in the next four months, although the company is still negotiating with tenants for the office tower. “We’ve got a two-edged sword here if we don’t get the tenants the carpark is a second option,” he said. “We’re fairly confident we’ll find tenants but we’re still going ahead with the carpark as stage one of the development.”

DAC chief planner Roger Freeman said the carpark was approved subject to several mainly landscaping conditions. A joint application by the Tritan Corporation and Moritz Group to bulldoze the old telephone exchange for a $44 million, 17-storey building with six levels of carparks plus ground-floor shops, was approved by Adelaide City Council in 2007.

The telephone exchange was later demolished but the site remains still empty. Grocon, which was set up by Luigi Grollo in the 1950s, has built such major developments as Melbourne’s Crown Casino and the Melbourne Convention Centre.

[jk1237]

so a 575 carpark for a building of just 2000. This will again caus more oversupply of carparks, lowering parking fees more, thus encouraging people to drive into the city more and take less PT. Again, we have government departments acting in complete conflicting extremes, one aparently wanting to double PT use by 2020, one approving huge carparks to encourage car use. WTF

[AtD]

Not happy Jan!


Why did the DAC go against its own recommendation?

[skyliner]

You know, I read today in the AFR about Copenhagen (Denmark) getting all cars out of the CBD - al fresco cafes proliferated everywhere and pedestrian numbers increased markedly. Push bikes accounted for 15% of the traffic and people the rest. VERY interesting. The time frame for this to occur was not long either. It can be done - but as others have strongly inferred, allowing this and other car parks will only make vehicular traffic worse. I don't quite get this - considering the purported idea from powers that be that they are wanting a pedestrian friendly city.

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[rhino]

What area does Copenhagen CBD cover? With regard to banning cars from the Adelaide CBD, what is considered to be the CBD?

[omada]

I think Melbourne's CBD will eventually go down the same path as Copenhagen's, there is already a plan to remove cars from Swanston street, so only the tram and people will use this "piazza". Unfortunately, despite a numerous studies and experts advise (and indeed our own submissions), the council do nothing to make the CBD people friendly, and as such it remains entirely dysfunctional.

[skyliner]

What area does Copenhagen CBD cover? With regard to banning cars from the Adelaide CBD, what is considered to be the CBD?

unfortunately Rhino there was nothing about thios in the article - I wondered about these things too and have no idea I would'nt imagine too big given the history it has from the middle ages.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[AtD]

What tripe. Another setback for a liveable Adelaide.

http://www.dac.sa.gov.au/index.cfm?obje ... 0F2030D46A

[Prince George]

Don't worry, AtD, because now they have to put in some landscaping and collect rainwater. Perhaps the topic's title could change to reflect this? I'm thinking "8lvls | Carpark + landscaping + rain-water tank"

The Advertiser chose to swap positions about the council on this one, and ran this story. Interesting to compare with the Freedom Apartments coverage, for example.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 5853800932

Car park approved in secret session

A MULTI-STOREY car park in Franklin St has been given the green light by the State Government's Development Assessment Commission - despite Adelaide City Council and the commission's own staff saying it is a bad idea.

Adelaide City Council had previously refused to support the $11.9 million application, citing more than 10 reasons including increased congestion around the area and the lack of demand for the 575 car parking spaces.

The commission's staff agreed with council's comments and recommended the commission reject the application. However, the commission, which presides over all city development applications in excess of $10 million, made the decision to approve the eight level car park in a closed session.

In the last Development Assessment Panel meeting, Adelaide City Councillors Ann Moran and Ralph Clarke attacked the DAC for its decision.

"There was an abysmal lack of reason as to why they ignored us and their own staff," Mr Clarke said.

"It's absolutely ridiculous," she said. "There's no rhyme or reason to their decision making.

"Whatever the criticisms of our development assessment panel, our decisions are made in public meetings. DAC operates under a veil of secrecy."

Panel presiding member Shanti Ditter said she believed planning decisions should be transparent.

No reason was given for the application's approval against the advice of council and the commission's staff.

DAC chief planning officer Gabrielle McMahon said it had considered all relevant policies.

"The commission heard from both council and the applicant," Ms McMahon said, "and made their decision based on all the relevant policies and representations."

[Pants]

FWIW...

[AtD]

Title updated.

[stumpjumper]

For anyone interested in tracking the development:

42-56 Franklin St
DA 020/0035/09
Ambito Pty Ltd, Pinako Pty Ltd
Greg Molfetas

[iTouch]

the adelaidenow commentors are eating this up as fast as an american eats a big mac

[Hippodamus]

congratulations Adelaide, we have officially become the city of carparks!!

officially more car parking spaces per capita than any other Australian capital city. now that's something to be proud of everyone

[Will Derwent]

I've got to be honest here people, I don't see any problem. More and cheaper parking attracts more people, high end consumers don't generally use PT no matter what, and offering the developer a way to get some sort of return after purchasing a big block right before a downturn sounds better than arbitrarily denying anything other than a rolls royce development. At least then they might have more capital to invest somewhere else.

And whether there is currently enough demand for car parks is not the business of the ACC - who I might add currently own and operate a whole bunch of car parks, including topham mall right nearby. If a private developer can compete and undercut the ACC, then good for consumers and good for the company. If they can't outcompete the ACC, there's more car parks at the same price. If nobody wants the car parks at all, then the developer loses money and it's nobody elses business.