COM: [Walkerville] DTEI Building > Hotel | 11lvls | $106m

[Omicron]

Good points, Omnicron. However, I suggest that in this case the pressure in the market for well-situated housing - which units in this building certainly would be - will overcome any aesthetic objections to the Brutalist style. In fact, as long as they don't paint the concrete exterior, the maintenance portion of the strata fees will be kept to a minimum!

In this case, the conversion will probably be so fundamental that you'd never know what style the building originally was, anyway.

[Will]

From the Messenger:

Hotel, apartments for Transport SA building

newsLocal News13 Apr 10 @ 05:00pm by Chloe Kennedy


WALKERVILLE’S Transport SA building is set to be transformed into an Indigenous Art-themed hotel and apartment complex.

Melbourne-based Asian Pacific Building Corporation CEO Will Deague today said the company had bought the Warwick St office tower from the State Government for about $12 million.

The company’s plans for the site include 300 residential apartments, 100 hotel rooms, gallery space, restaurants and shops.

It will also have tennis courts, a swimming pool and a gym.

Mr Deague said the ten-storey development would use the shell of the existing building, in a similar way to the revamp of the former Hotel Adelaide on O’Connell St, North Adelaide.

The new hotel will be called Art City and become part of the company’s Art Series Hotels, designed around an artist or art-genre.

Adelaide architects tectvs, who are responsible for the Air Apartments on Greenhill Rd, are designing plans for the complex.

Mr Deague said construction of the hotel would start early next year and be finished by mid 2013, subject to planning approval.

The office tower was put on the market last November under the government’s plan to move 860 transport staff to a new office in the city.

[Will]

From the Advertiser:

THE former Transport SA building at Walkerville is set to be reborn as a $60 million residential and hotel complex.




Artists impression of the proposed redeveloped Transport SA building at Walkerville

Melbourne-based Asian Pacific Building Corporation wants to convert the building into 436 rooms, including 336 apartments, 100 hotel suites and 32 serviced offices.

With an indigenous art-theme, there would also be a gymnasium, café and restaurants, galleries, swimming pool and tennis court.

APBC chief executive officer Will Deague said the project would signal a potential future extension of the CBD area.

"We saw the site advertised and as we have done a very similar project in Melbourne, and specialise in the refurbishment of this style of building, we then investigated the location and came to the realisation that it is one of the premier suburbs in Adelaide and couldn't miss out on the opportunity."
.
The apartments will cost buyers from $299,000 to $1 million plus and will be available in November 2012.

The building was purchased from the State Government for about $12 million.

[AtD]

Interesting external fire stairs. I would be surprised if they got though approval.

[rogue]

Interesting external fire stairs. I would be surprised if they got though approval.

They are part of the existing building. As this project is essentially a refurb, they will probably stay.

[Xaragmata]

Interesting external fire stairs. I would be surprised if they got though approval.

As rogue noted, they are existing:



Print edition of Adel Independent says two levels will be added - shown in the render overhanging the fire stairs - giving 11 levels.
No basement due to groundwater, and asbestos to remove. New owners are in talks with owners of the adjoining "Hole", according to AI.

There is a teaser in InDaily http://www.indaily.com.au/ with a video promo for the print edition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmUlnd-_klE

[AG]

From the Independent Weekly:

Deagues' plan to transform Walkerville
KEVIN NAUGHTON
17 Apr, 2010 04:00 AM
The Deagues are coming to town.

Controversial Melbourne property developers David and William Deague are set to unveil plans for a 300-residential-apartment and 100-room, five-star boutique hotel complex in Walkerville.

It’s the latest chapter in a six-year messy saga of starts and stops, lawsuits and settlements, plans and pauses involving the State Government, Walkerville Council and private developers.

The involvement of the Deagues adds a couple of colourful characters to the story – characters the likes of which Adelaide has not seen for some time.

David Deague, chairman of Asian Pacific Building Corporation, and his helicopter-flying son Will, chief executive of APBC, are due to meet Walkerville Council’s mayor and officials at 2.30pm today.

Their plans – to refurbish the vacant Department of Transport building sold by the Government last year for an undisclosed sum – are estimated to cost more than $100 million.

The Deagues have also revealed they are in talks with the developer of an adjacent project, known locally as The Hole – a $55 million shopping centre and apartment complex that began with excavation of the site and then stalled in early 2009 due to financial problems.

“We met with him, we offered to buy it, but he’s knocked us back,” Will Deague said this week.

“But we still would like to have that site as part of our plans and the car parking issues we have.”

The proposed 10-storey development, with a working title “Art City at Walkerville”, is the latest venture by APBC in its Australia-wide Art Series Hotel ventures.

In 2009, the Deagues started building six hotels in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, named after and featuring the work of eminent Australian artists. Some of the art displayed in the hotels comes from the family's private collection.

David Deague has been collecting art for 30 years and in 2001 spent more than $1 million taking 10 artists to paint in South Australia’s iconic outback town of William Creek. John Olsen and David Larwill were among the painters and will have Art Series hotels named after them.

The first Melbourne hotel, The Cullen, named after Archibald Prize winner Adam Cullen, opened in Melbourne’s fashionable Prahran in December.

Will Deague said the Walkerville development would be part-residential and part-hotel.

“There will be 300 residential apartments and then there’s the 100-room, boutique five-star Art Series Hotel,” the younger Deague said.

“There will also be tennis courts and a gymnasium on the western side of the development.

“We’ll be adding two storeys but not going any higher than the air-conditioning plant on the current roof. We’ll also have to dig down to accommodate the development’s car parking requirements.

“We hope to get all the approvals in place and start construction by February or March 2011.”

But Walkerville Council might be a bit nervous about the prospect of another massive hole when the adjacent hole is still undeveloped.

The proposed Holcon development of Walkerville’s town centre hit a snag when the State Government backed down from a commitment to sell off the northern carpark on Walkerville Terrace, behind the Department of Transport building. The matter ended up in the Supreme Court, the parties settled and the Government then handed over its carpark while upgrading the southern carpark.

Shortly after, the State Government sold the building.

Full details of the various settlements and sales have never been released.

The Council was kept in the dark about who bought the building, with State Infrastructure Minister Pat Conlon refusing to reveal the name of the purchaser until June this year for reasons of “commercial confidentiality”.

“I doubt if they got much for it,” Walkerville Mayor David Whiting said.

“They were touting $30 million, but the asbestos in the building and the fact it hasn’t got a basement due to groundwater issues put it in a different price bracket, in our view. We offered them $10 million.”

Finally, last week, the Deagues revealed themselves as the purchasers and asked to meet Walkerville Council.

[AtD]

I like how the 'Tiser has "the vacant Department of Transport building sold by the Government last year for an undisclosed sum" and in the first page we have "It sold for $10m"

[rubegoldbergdevice]

This looks a bit crap as it is. Would be good if they could do what happened on Greenhill Road with the Air Apartments. That one is quite a stunner really. What we're seeing here is like the shitty refurb of the Queen Vic Hospital. Hopefully we're looking at a very basic render.

Walkerville seems to have a low self esteem and yet is the equivalent to South Yarra or Toorak. Walkerville Terrace should be much more awesome than it is. It has always seemed confused as to its identity.

[AtD]

It doesn't help that the local council area is barely the size of a postage stamp.

[stumpjumper]

That's a good point about Walkerville's low self-esteem.

With no disrespect to Walkerville Mayor David Whiting and the CEO Kiki Magro, Walkerville should consider investing in a little extra horsepower and experience in dealing with the likes of Deague Sr and Jr.

That way, there is more chance of a quality result, and of achieving the fairly ambitious program the developers have outlined. Having sweated over Rust Cottages, the council should be just as fussy about what happens with the Hole.

If the Deagues are interested, the council is in a perfect position to extract guarantees from the developers of the Hole about what is built there. The entire precinct - the former Highways Dept building, the carpark surrounding it and the one across the river, the 'Hole', the nearby commercial premises and the river - is by any standard an impressive locality.

Both the locality and the prices the market will pay for the product would support a high standard of design and finish.

Lets hope that this site doesn't fall victim to the usual Adelaide disease of a minimal, conservative redevelopment.

It will be interesting to see how parking is handled. There was at one stage a Bailey bridge across the river connecting the (presumably leased) carpark on the southern side of the river to the site. That has now been replaced by a footbridge. Will the 'Hole' be used for parking? The master plan will show that, provided it's not 'commercial in confidence'.

On that point, what justifies the secrecy about the purchaser of surplus government property? What is 'commercially confidential' about it?

[stumpjumper]

[AG]

I wonder if the car park on the opposite side of the river from the current building is in Walkerville council or NPSP council territory (The right half of the photo that stumpjumper posted is in NPSP while the left is Walkerville). If it's in the latter and the developers decide to do something with that bit of land, things could become rather interesting and complicated. There's certainly a lot that could be done with that large plot of land.

[Vee]

This looks a bit crap as it is. Would be good if they could do what happened on Greenhill Road with the Air Apartments. That one is quite a stunner really. What we're seeing here is like the shitty refurb of the Queen Vic Hospital. Hopefully we're looking at a very basic render.

Agree.
There is a huge gulf between the end products of the two major refurbishments. Air Apartments provide a really good model of what is possible in this space and I must admit I was sceptical that the ex-ETSA building would transform into such an elegant building. It makes a positive contribution to its surroundings.

At the opposite end of the scale, the multi-story ex-QV Hospital has FAIL (or possibly SAD) written all over it.

This is a great opportunity to transform the excellently located ex-DTEI building. It could be a stunner too with imaginative design and dollars.
I remain hopeful (for now).

[skyliner]

It has to be an improvement on the Brutalist design mate - in that we can be happy. I like the new dsign - hope it eventuates.

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