Festival Plaza car park to open as office tower work looms
SA’s biggest underground car park is set to open this week as the developer behind it gears up to start work on a new 40,000sq m office tower at Festival Plaza.
SA Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Festival Plaza’s new underground car park will open to the public on Wednesday, while its developer says work on a new 40,000sq m office tower is just “weeks away”.
With 1560 spaces across five levels and 60,000sq m - the equivalent of 10 football pitches - the structure is the biggest underground car park in South Australia.
Its completion comes close to four years after developer Walker Corporation started construction at the Festival Plaza site.
The 24-hour car park offers an early bird rate of $13, and will be available to the general public, and to customers and staff of SkyCity Adelaide, which has a lease over 750 of the spaces.
It’s part of the long-awaited Festival Plaza development – being branded Festival Square by Walker Corporation – which also includes a 27-storey office tower between Adelaide Casino and Parliament House and a three-level, premium retail and entertainment precinct.
Walker Corporation chief executive David Gallant said work would soon start on the next phase of the project.
“Logistically this car park is perfectly positioned for people to secure their vehicle while coming into the CBD to watch some live sport, catch a show, enjoy a bite to eat at the casino or all day parking while attending their office,” he said.
“We are just weeks away from beginning the next exciting phase, an incredible office tower development, which we look forward to announcing soon.
“It will be the number one place to do business in Adelaide, where you can also enjoy the best retail and food precinct.”
At the opening of the car park on Tuesday, Walker Corporation construction manager Ben Hamilton would not comment on speculation Flinders University had signed on as an anchor tenant for the tower.
He said construction would soon start on a revamp of the public square on top of the car park, with further announcements about the office tower to be made soon.
“Construction (on the office tower) will start soon and we’ll make that announcement soon - about the tenants and the tower - that will happen soon,” he said.
SkyCity Australia chief operating officer David Christian said the car park was the “final piece of the puzzle” in the $330m expansion of Adelaide Casino, which opened in December.
“These car parks are on the doorstep of the reinvigorated Riverbank precinct, allowing our customers to safely and conveniently park right next door to our stunning new property.”
Walker Corporation is committing $450m to the Riverbank project, while the state government is contributing $213m towards upgrades to the Adelaide Festival Centre and the public realm.
The Festival Centre’s largest venue, Festival Theatre, will close for up to seven months from mid-July, to allow a concrete slab around the southern side of the complex to be strengthened as part of the Festival Plaza project.
It will also allow for internal upgrades to the building, including the refurbishment of dressing rooms and green rooms.
Adelaide Festival Centre chief executive Douglas Gautier said the new car park was an important part of the Festival Plaza redevelopment, which would become a new “gateway to the Riverbank arts and entertainment precinct”.
More than 1200 workers and 30 local businesses were engaged by Walker Corporation and construction partner Built during the car park build, while 30,000 cubic metres of concrete were poured.
Built SA general manager Chris Bate said his team worked “around the clock” to complete the project, while also navigating the challenges posed by COVID-19.
SA icon tells: ‘Why my beloved 91-year-old shop is done’
There aren’t many living South Australians who can remember a time when Heather Jaffer’s store wasn’t a part of the landscape. Read why she’s now closing its doors.
Why Star’s secretive Macau backer is betting big
A secretive investor is friends with Star’s two Hong Kong-based partners, sources say, which could give gaming regulators a new headache if he keeps buying up shares.