RAH, Rundle Mall, Victoria Square, Skycity Casino: Adelaide’s grand plans and how they look now
THE State Government and City Council have unveiled some spectacular artist impressions of planned developments over the past decade. But how does the 2017 reality match the vision?
BUILD it and they will come.
Well, at least that’s what the artist impressions would suggest.
In the wake of the Adelaide City Council unveiling Stage 2 of its Rundle Mall upgrades to Gawler Place, The Advertiser takes a look back at the projects we have been promised and the results that were delivered.
We also gaze into the crystal ball at upcoming multimillion-dollar projects which have been announced among stunning imagery and where they currently stand.
VICTORIA SQUARE
IT looked like something out of a Utopian future but the grand plans for Victoria Square came up well short of the vision Adelaide was originally sold.
Adelaide City Council finally had a $100 million vision. It included a cafe, gardens, event stage and the realignment of the tram track.
What we got was the council forking out $28 million just to get stage one over the line.
And since then it has had to rip up and replace benches and faulty pavers, replant dead turf and worry about sunburn because of the lack of shade.
MARION CULTURAL CENTRE PLAZA
PLANS for a revamp of the Marion Cultural Centre plaza were downgraded from a $7 million stage, screen and waterplay space to a few trees, purple planter boxes and orange chairs.
Council spent some $325,000 on consultants and a design competition for the Diagonal Rd site — a process that began more than four years ago.
RUNDLE MALL
THE $30 million Rundle Mall redevelopment was announced in 2012, saying it would bring a mix of dining and cafe stores and exclusive brands to the Mall.
Plans included hard-wearing paving, a covered event theatre in Gawler Place and more trees.
What we received was a lot of hard-wearing paving and infant trees but many readers were disappointed with the mall, citing a lack of shade and too much concrete.
NEWPORT QUAYS
NEWPORT Quays was meant to be the development at Port Adelaide that would attract investors, converting 50 hectares of industrial waterfront into housing, marinas and shops.
The project was first announced under the Liberal Government in 2001 but was approved by Mr Weatherill in 2002 when he was planning minister.
Principal developer Urban Construct began legal proceedings in 2012, seeking $100 million in damages after the State Government axed the consortium’s contract to build 1500 apartments on the Port River in 2011.
The total cost of the project was expected to be $1.5 billion, but only 415 apartments were built.
STILL COMING.....
ADELAIDE CASINO
THE long-awaited $300 million luxury riverside redevelopment of the Adelaide Casino continues to edge closer.
The redevelopment of the Casino hotel and gambling complex will become a keystone feature of Adelaide’s new multi-billion riverside strip.
It comes alongside the revamped Festival Centre entrance, a 1560-space underground carpark and two-storey building for restaurants, bars, cafes and shops on northern side of Parliament House.
Work on upgrading Adelaide Festival Centre has started and the Festival Theatre will be closed for five months to allow pivotal structural work to go ahead.
Development approval for the Casino redevelopment was received more than a year ago.
OLD RAH SITE
A LUXURY hotel, commercial complex, multistorey apartments and a 2ha extension to the Adelaide Botanic Garden are centrepieces of a $1 billion redevelopment of the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site
Five heritage buildings will be retained along North Tce — the most easterly to be used as part of the hotel, which also includes a modern extension fronting the garden.
It was recently been revealed by The Advertiser developers want to spend $195 million on a contemporary art gallery and underground concert hall, then lease them back to the State Government.
