Quintessential Equity signs 10-year lease for new Innovation Hub at Lot Fourteen

A spectacular building will house the $20 million Innovation Hub on North Terrace after the company picked to develop the centre officially signed on.

The company chosen to develop the Entrepreneur and Innovation Centre (EIC) at the Lot Fourteen tech and start-up precinct has signed a 10-year lease for a $20m Innovation Hub within the centre.

Property private equity company Quintessential Equity has also worked with Cox Architecture and received approval to vary the design of the 16-storey, 41,000 square-metre facility EIC — the linchpin of Lot Fourteen, North Terrace’s former Royal Adelaide Hospital site.

The building will incorporate a series of twisting and interconnected floorplates, a faceted facade, public atrium and landscaped podium roof terrace.

The Innovation Hub will be located across two floors of the EIC. Image: Cox Architecture

The hub, which will occupy the ground and first floors, will include an open activated area for events and collaboration, as well as indoor and al fresco dining venues.

Quintessential Equity executive chairman Shane Quinn said it would be “the centrepiece of the EIC” and an opportunity to attract and retain world-class talent.

“Embodying the office and workplace of the future, the EIC will be a powerful generator of jobs of the future — and this dedicated hub will be a place where ideas, research and entrepreneurship can thrive,” he said.

“The revised design is more functional and accessible as we focus on collaboration and the provision of a healthy and engaging work environment.”

The company is already managing a strong level of inquiry from interested tenants in hi-tech sectors.

The Australian Space Agency, Australian Space Discovery Centre and Mission Control and Australian Institute for Machine Learning are already based at Lot Fourteen, and Amazon earlier this year revealed it would establish an office on the site.

The federal government has committed up to $20m for the establishment of the hub through the Adelaide City Deal, which is a 10-year agreement between the federal and state governments and the City of Adelaide.

Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said the hub aims to foster entrepreneurship, innovation and the exchange of ideas.

“The Adelaide City Deal continues to support the growth and revitalisation of the city, boosting South Australia’s skilled workforce and backing industries at the forefront of innovation and cutting-edge technologies,” he said.

Premier Steven Marshall said the hub would create “hundreds of jobs for decades to come”.

“We’re very excited to start developing plans for the Innovation Hub, with next steps to determine the process for finding an operator for the space,” he said.

The state government will next year seek expressions of interest for a suitably-qualified partner organisation to operate and manage the Innovation Hub.

Construction on the $400m EIC is scheduled to start mid-next year, with tenants expected to move in from 2024.