Initial work starts on Walker Corp’s $500m Festival Plaza Riverbank office tower

WORK on the 23-storey Riverbank office tower, the heart of the $500m Festival Plaza redevelopment, has begun — with a finish date of the end of 2019.

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• Adelaide SkyCity Casino expansion to begin in weeks
• November 2016: Festival Plaza ‘will become Adelaide’s new heart’
• October 2017: Walker about to reveal tenants for Festival Plaza
• August 2017: Walker Corp yet to spend any money on Festival Plaza
• March 2016: Go-ahead for Festival Plaza redevelopment

THE $500 million Adelaide Riverbank precinct has been given a further boost following this week’s announcement that expansion work on the Adelaide Casino will begin next month.

Sydney construction tycoon Lang Walker, chairman of the Walker Corporation, says initial work on his 23-storey office tower — a centrepiece of the redevelopment — is also now on track.

“We have started demolition and excavation works and believe it will be an 18-month project taking us to the end of 2019,” he said.

An artist impression of the office tower from 2017.

“It will be a terrific asset to reactivate the whole of the Riverbank, which will be of great benefit to the state. We are achieving high levels of interest from commercial tenants.”

An underground car park and 4000sq m premium retail and entertainment precinct are expected to complement the tower.

Last June the state Labor government put out a market call for two high-end CBD premises of 12000sq m and 16000sq m respectively, a leasing remit that would be comfortably met by the proposed 40,000sq m building.

An artist impression of the Festival Plaza development.

However a senior state property identity is urging caution. Property Council (SA) executive director Daniel Gannon said there is almost 220,000sq m of vacant CBD office space, almost 50 per cent higher than the historic average.

“This vacant space represents more than 10 Adelaide Oval playing surfaces,” he said and believes the built environment has to continue to evolve and mature.

“Adelaide shouldn’t knock back new building stock, but our policymakers should as a priority focus on solving challenges around demand, growth and how to reposition ageing and empty office buildings.”