#COM: Walkerville Town Centre | $55m

[Will]

From the Messenger:

Holcon settlement

18Feb08



Artist's impression of Walkerville Tce and town square for the town centre redevelopment, 2005.

Artist's impression of Walkerville Tce and town square for the town centre redevelopment, 2005.

WALKERVILLE'S $55 million Town Centre redevelopment will go ahead after the State Government, Walkerville Council and developers Holcon agreed to an out of court settlement this week.

The City Messenger understands the settlement, reached on Monday night (February 18) means the government will directly sell Holcon a car park on Walkerville Tce, on which the development hinges, for $4.7 million on August 1.

The car park land had been at the centre of seven months legal wrangling between the three parties, which included a Supreme Court writ from Holcon seeking up to $25 million in damages from the council.

Holcon will start the $55 million town centre project in August; it includes a five-storey apartment building with 46 apartments, a shopping centre and basement and roof-top parking.

The Development Assessment Commission approved the development in January 2007.

The legal battle started last July after the Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) withdrew from selling the car park bounded by Warrick St and Walkerville Tce.

The council was to buy the land, for $4.7 million, and on-sell it to Holcon to develop the town centre.

However, DTEI claimed the council failed to find suitable replacement parking for its 800-plus Transport SA staff believed to be a condition of sale.

Now, Transport Minister Pat Conlon's media spokesman Matt Clemow said DTEI would use the sale proceeds from the northern car park to modify its southern car park ``to maximise existing'' parking.

Additional modifications will be made to the western compound car park and the northern private road to further maximise space,'' he wrote in an emailed statement.

Mr Clemow also said the council has offered land it owns in Fuller St and its depot to be developed into a car park. He said work on the new car parks would begin next month.

The three parties will all pay their own legal bills.

Holcon director Stephen Connor said he was ``very pleased'' with the result.

``We intend that construction will commence in August this year,'' he said.

A further condition of settlement is that the council will upgrade the streetscape from Walkerville Tce to Stephen Tce and Victoria Tce.

Walkerville Mayor David Whiting said he was ``pleased'' the court action had been dropped and a settlement was reached.

``The process has taken an enormous amount of council time and energy and it will be good to move on from this and focus ... on the community,'' he said.

By LOUISE RUSSELL & KASIA OZOG

[AG]

Great news for Walkerville. This is the sort of development it needs to get it kickstarted to give the town centre some life.

[Brando]

Great news for Walkerville. This is the sort of development it needs to get it kickstarted to give the town centre some life.

Thanks AG. Do you know of any links for the development or real estate links mate?
Done a quick google search to no avail.

[AG]

Great news for Walkerville. This is the sort of development it needs to get it kickstarted to give the town centre some life.

Thanks AG. Do you know of any links for the development or real estate links mate?
Done a quick google search to no avail.

I couldn't find any links regarding the development from Holcon's point of view, but I did find a letter on the Walkerville Council website that is of interest (dated 20/2/08): http://www.walkerville.sa.gov.au/webdat ... ebsite.pdf

[Omicron]

Well, this seems like a nice development. I haven't a clue as to the area, but good luck to them!

[AG]

This is roughly the location of the development, along the eastern side of Walkerville Terrace south of Smith Street.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&g ... 9&t=h&z=18

[Brando]

^^^^ Thanks mate, i'll keep an eye on this. Location, Location,Location.....

[SDC]

Thanks for your positive comments on the project. It's nice to hear that kind of support.

The development will be constructed between Warwick Street, Walkerville Terrace and Victoria Terrace on the southern side of Walkerville Terrace. The site is currently a car park. The new town square and retail shopping complex will front Walkerville Terrace and the residential apartments will overlook the River Torrens linear park fronting Victoria Terrace.

Marketing of the residential apartments hasn't commenced. If you wish to register your interest, please feel free to email [email protected]

Cheers.

[Omicron]

Large carparks along the Torrens are such a waste, so it's nice to see something beyond asphalt and white lines.

I should hope, of course, that these new apartments are not to be straight-edged cream and grey boxes.

[AG]

The one thing I've never liked about the Transport SA site in Walkerville is the complete inefficient use of space around the building. In particular, the carpark on the northern side of the Torrens River that links into Holton Court in St. Peters is a waste of what could potentially be good parkland space for recreational uses. It's good that this new development at least forces DTEI to use what space it has better but it still could do better than this.

[crawf]

Thanks for your positive comments on the project. It's nice to hear that kind of support.

The development will be constructed between Warwick Street, Walkerville Terrace and Victoria Terrace on the southern side of Walkerville Terrace. The site is currently a car park. The new town square and retail shopping complex will front Walkerville Terrace and the residential apartments will overlook the River Torrens linear park fronting Victoria Terrace.

Marketing of the residential apartments hasn't commenced. If you wish to register your interest, please feel free to email [email protected]

Cheers.

Welcome to the site SDC, are you able to give us more details on the town square and shopping complex?

[Faulkick]

I've been looking for information on this development for a couple of months now, ever since I heard that apparently it has stopped due to the world economic crisis, this was partially backed up by the fact that I don't think I've seen any construction workers down there, or anything moved in over a month now.

I only heard this through my mum who heard it from her friend, whose husband told her it... Her husband is one of the high people up in one of Adelaide's big crane businesses, but I am really hoping that it has not been canned, as Walkerville Tce badly needs more shops to give it a better atmosphere.

I've heard many times that there is going to be about 12 smallish shops/ stores there, with one big supermarket- Woolworths.

One thing that worries me, is that once again Woolworths are going to run another business out of.. Business - the IGA that is across the road is going to lose a LOT of it's sales, and even the Foodland up the top of Smith street (Collinswood Foodland, on NE Road) is going to lose a decent percentage of it's business.

http://www.realcommercial.com.au/commer ... te/5442505

[Wayno]

Her husband is one of the high people up in one of Adelaide's big crane businesses...

he drives a crane?

yes, we like new development, but sometimes forget about the impact on the little guy...

[Faulkick]

Her husband is one of the high people up in one of Adelaide's big crane businesses...

he drives a crane?

yes, we like new development, but sometimes forget about the impact on the little guy...

I'm not 100% sure whether he is an owner or just one of the bosses, but I meant high as in power, not height. But yes, I do see what you did there!

That wasn't the important part, was just a minor detail, but trying to show that the news came from someone who could quite possibly known.

[fishinajar]

One thing that worries me, is that once again Woolworths are going to run another business out of.. Business - the IGA that is across the road is going to lose a LOT of it's sales, and even the Foodland up the top of Smith street (Collinswood Foodland, on NE Road) is going to lose a decent percentage of it's business.

This is the "natural" order of things. Old smaller outdated centres are pushed out by larger new centres. But relax, boutique shops or apartment/townhouses will quickly snaffue any unwanted Mainstreet sites. Its called redevelopment, sometimes this happens quickly and noticably, sometimes its a gradual progression. I for one am a fan of it.