City Deal SA’s ‘once in 100 years opportunity’ to become global startup hub
Every other state in Australia has had one before us — but now it’s Adelaide’s turn to seal a coveted City Deal with the Federal Government. But what does this mean for businesses and workers?
SA Business
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- THE LOCATION: City Deal to transform old RAH into space site
- EXPLAINER: So what is a City Deal anyway?
- REACTION: What readers think of Space Agency in Adelaide
- ANALYSIS: How Adelaide’s bid came out on top
The City Deal announced on Tuesday is a once in 100 year opportunity and has the potential to transform Adelaide into “a City of Entrepreneurs to the world” to rival the likes of Paris as a global startup hub, according to SA’s chief business leader.
Business SA chief executive Nigel McBride described it as an “opportunity in a 100 years”.
“To create a convergence of science, ideas, art, technology and culture at Lot Fourteen, in the middle of the CBD on what is already our scientific and cultural boulevard is something unique to Adelaide,” he said.
“We don’t want to be Melbourne or Sydney, we’ll be a City of Entrepreneurs to the world.”
Lot Fourteen could be Australia’s Station F, he said, referring to the world’s biggest startup campus in Paris, France.
About 1000 people are expected to be working at the CBD site by next year — half that number are already on site, including SA Pathology and new tenants Chamonix IT Solutions and Myriota.
Chamonix co-founder Geoff Rohrsheim said being located at Lot Fourteen has already enabled great collaboration between the foundation businesses and he was very excited about the latest developments.
“The space agency itself will open up opportunities but probably more importantly, the agency will attract space and defence companies from all over the world.
“That will help make Lot Fourteen the place to be and provide incredible opportunities for the companies co-located here.”
Besides Chamonix IT Solutions, related businesses Exposé, SecMatters and Cortex Interactive are also sited at Lot Fourteen.
Myriota co-founder Dr Alex Grant said South Australia can now well and truly say that it is at the “epicentre of future space growth”.
“We anticipate that the agency’s move to Lot 14 will be a trigger for the innovation neighbourhood to showcase itself as a hub for Australia’s burgeoning space industry.
“Companies like Myriota are truly reflective of South Australia as the home of deep space technology, and we applaud the government for seeing the impact that we are having on Australian industries including agriculture and defence.”
Early next year, a further 300 people will join the site with the University of Adelaide’s Australian Institute of Machine Learning.
Another 40 more businesses are looking at establishing business operations at the old RAH site soon.
In a nutshell, the City Deal means the federal and state governments will now be on the same page to make Lot Fourteen, or the former Royal Adelaide Hospital site, an innovation and cultural hub.
Already, it will be home to the Australian Space Agency with SA outbidding other states to host the federal agency tasked with tripling the space industry by 2030, lifting its revenue to $12 billion and creating 20,000 jobs.
Lot Fourteen is set to include an Innovation Incubator, Startup and Growth Hub, an International Centre for Tourism, Hospitality and Food Services and National Gallery for Aboriginal Art and Culture.
Undoubtedly, universities and business leaders will be brainstorming ideas with SA chief entrepreneur Jim Whalley who brings in his decidedly “non-government flavour” to the running of Lot Fourteen.
“Personally, I am excited to work alongside the Australian Space Agency both figuratively and literally—as it will be housed with the Office of the Chief Entrepreneur at Lot Fourteen,” Mr Whalley said.
“One of the key focuses of our recently-launched model for entrepreneurship, FIXE, is to inspire individuals, groups and organisations to embrace the spirit of entrepreneurship.
“I can’t think of anything more inspiring than cutting-edge space technology in our own backyard, and seeing South Australia acknowledged as the nation’s epicentre for innovative development and big, bright, bold ideas.”
SA’s three major universities, led by University of Adelaide vice-chancellor Professor Peter Rathjen, have called for the City Deal to link innovation activity at the Tonsley and Mawson Lakes precincts to plans for Lot Fourteen.
While those plans take shape, existing businesses in Adelaide will draw on the confidence and vibrancy created by the announcement to push forward with their own ideas.
More of today’s space agency coverage
EDITORIAL: SA had hopes raised and disappointed before — but this feels different
THE HISTORY: 50 years ago, we were Space Centre. Now we will be again
SA optimism shines through in latest survey
While the perils of this pandemic continued to swirl around them in states like Victoria and overseas, South Australian business owners were surprisingly feeling somewhat confident about the road ahead.
SA business confidence on the mend
SA business confidence made a comeback in the June quarter, exemplified by a Lonsdale family-owned business that employs 500 staff and has its eye firmly on the future of manufacturing in Australia.