[COM] Festival Plaza Tower 1 | 115m | 27 Levels | Office

[Nathan]

$253.5 million transformation of Adelaide’s Festival Plaza gains approval after nearly a decade of waiting
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sou ... 4dacb719c0

Work will start this month on a $253.5 million transformation of Adelaide’s Festival Plaza, including escalators from the Riverbank footbridge and major landscaping – eight years after the project was first proposed.

Planning approval was granted this week for the project’s publicly funded component, which involves a substantial revamp of the square bordered by Parliament House, the Festival Centre, Casino and King William Rd.

The State Commission Assessement Panel approved design, revealed by The Advertiser in April, includes dual escalators at the Adelaide Railway Station’s northern entrance, linking the plaza with the lower-level southern end of the Riverbank footbridge, space for large events, a “misting” water feature and free wi-fi access.

The long-awaited construction is part of a $600 million project, which also includes a planned 27-storey office tower and a 1560-space underground carpark being built by Sydney-based Walker Corporation.


An artist’s impression of Adelaide Railway Station’s northern entrance, connecting to the Riverbank footbridge and Festival Plaza via dual escalators.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Stephan Knoll said Festival Plaza’s public area would become a world-class events and open public space for all South Australians to enjoy.

“The Festival Plaza public realm will become the premier open and events space in the heart of the Riverbank precinct that will continue the area’s transformation,” Mr Knoll said.

“This project has been a long time coming and we are finally going to see shovels in the ground later this month on some parts of the plaza with further works to ramp open over the course of the rest of year.

“Construction of the Festival Plaza public realm will be staged to align with the other major components of the redevelopment.”

The construction’s first stage will involve landscaping on Station Rd, between the plaza and Casino, in time for the October opening of the Casino’s $330 million expansion, including a hotel.

The Railway Station’s northern entrance, which will include vaulted ceilings and shops, is expected to be reconnected permanently to the Riverbank by early next year.

Most of the Plaza work is scheduled to finish late next year.

Walker Corporation has previously indicated a green light for the plaza’s public component would enable similar landscaping on top of the carpark, now under construction, and a go-ahead for the office tower and premium retail/entertainment precinct – the latter within a three-level complex fronting the plaza.


The approved design for Festival Plaza.

The former Labor government in 2012 gave Walker Corporation exclusive rights to develop the precinct and in 2016 signed a development agreement for the carpark and Plaza, expiring in 2026.

Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor said the “exciting” project would further improve the Riverbank precinct for the whole community.

“The Festival Plaza redevelopment is the type of project we need and welcome in the city at this time as we recover from the impacts of COVID-19,” she said.

“I’m particularly pleased our arts community will benefit from a new public space that’s designed to host performances, events and festivals.”

[ChillyPhilly]

Those escalators...why?

[Jaymz]

Those escalators...why?

More to the point, why are we still hashing out the details of this project 10 years after it was proposed? The casino has been built, the gigantic hole in the ground for the car park has been dug. Weird

[Spotto]

Those escalators...why?

Almost certainly for accessibility compliance. Without them you’d either have to go through the railway station concourse or go the long way around the Festival Centre via KWR and Elder Park. Not everyone can use stairs.

[Patrick_27]

Those escalators...why?

They're awful, aren't they? I had hoped we'd never see outdoor escalators again in Adelaide's public spaces after they were removed from Rundle Mall but alas.

[Patrick_27]

Those escalators...why?

Almost certainly for accessibility compliance. Without them you’d either have to go through the railway station concourse or go the long way around the Festival Centre via KWR and Elder Park. Not everyone can use stairs.

There's a public access elevator just inside the new station entry (just past the archway).

[SRW]

I'm fine with escalators because I'm not gonna begrudge inclusive accessibility standards. For symmetry and logical movement though, I do wish the up and down were separated by a central set of stairs themselves divided into up/down (if only Adelaideans understood pedestrian etiquette).

[ChillyPhilly]

Those escalators...why?

Almost certainly for accessibility compliance. Without them you’d either have to go through the railway station concourse or go the long way around the Festival Centre via KWR and Elder Park. Not everyone can use stairs.

There's a public access elevator just inside the new station entry (just past the archway).

There's also a public elevator just to the west.

[Nort]

Those escalators...why?

They're awful, aren't they? I had hoped we'd never see outdoor escalators again in Adelaide's public spaces after they were removed from Rundle Mall but alas.

There are already outdoor escalators up from North Terrace to the Convention Center.

[CDJ]

Almost everything in the Advertiser/Adelaide Now article is wrong, as usual. If their 'journalists' bothered to actually walk past the site, they would have been aware that Hansen Yuncken have been working on the public realm for the last 6 months. It's bizarre how poorly informed a supposed news outlet continues to be.

[Ben]

I think the advertisers motto is don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story/headline.

[Joelmark]

Seven News Adelaide has a good little story on the current works on their Twitter feed - was on Thursday's news I guess too. Was actually nice to see the Lord Mayor and the Infrastructure Minister spruiking the end result. I kind of wish there was a bit more engagement with the public about the works - more posters, viewing platforms, tours of the outside perimeter of the site, more website updates, etc. Regardless of the debate up until now the whole area will undoubtedly be better and more activated after completion.

[I Follow PAFC]

Seven News Adelaide has a good little story on the current works on their Twitter feed - was on Thursday's news I guess too. Was actually nice to see the Lord Mayor and the Infrastructure Minister spruiking the end result. I kind of wish there was a bit more engagement with the public about the works - more posters, viewing platforms, tours of the outside perimeter of the site, more website updates, etc. Regardless of the debate up until now the whole area will undoubtedly be better and more activated after completion.

7NEWS was taken inside the changing face of the Festival Plaza as it undergoes a major facelift.

The design has recently changed and we are being told it will now be bigger and better than first thought.
https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSAdelaide/ ... 617054652/

[jimbly]

Has anybody seen any images with the top of the Walker Tower shown?, it always seems to be cut off to not overwhelm the space - just co-incidence I guess?

[ChillyPhilly]

Seven News Adelaide has a good little story on the current works on their Twitter feed - was on Thursday's news I guess too. Was actually nice to see the Lord Mayor and the Infrastructure Minister spruiking the end result. I kind of wish there was a bit more engagement with the public about the works - more posters, viewing platforms, tours of the outside perimeter of the site, more website updates, etc. Regardless of the debate up until now the whole area will undoubtedly be better and more activated after completion.

7NEWS was taken inside the changing face of the Festival Plaza as it undergoes a major facelift.

The design has recently changed and we are being told it will now be bigger and better than first thought.
https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSAdelaide/ ... 617054652/

There wasn't anything wrong with the first/original designs, so I'd be wary.