Walker Corporation to begin work on Festival Plaza tower

After close to a decade of debate, delays and controversy, work is finally set to begin on Walker Corporation’s office tower at Festival Plaza.

Walker Corporation says it is finally ready to begin construction of its 27-storey office tower at Festival Plaza after close to a decade of planning, debate and delays.

In a major milestone towards the start of work at the iconic site, the developer has appointed national construction company Built to deliver the 40,000sq m tower.

Work will begin on-site in mid-October.

After that, fit-out work for tenants is expected to commence in August next year ahead of completion of the building in November 2023.

Walker Corporation executive chairman Lang Walker said the broader Festival Plaza redevelopment, including the tower and public square revamp, would create more than 1000 construction jobs over the next two years, and inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the state’s economy through local procurement of materials and labour.

Artist’s impression of Festival Tower. Supplied by Walker Corporation

“We’ve fine-tuned Festival Tower with our customers front of mind and we are excited to award Built the building contract to begin construction of what is set to become a landmark tower,” he said.

“They are an experienced Tier 1 builder who have successfully delivered many transformative projects around Australia, including four award winning commercial buildings at our acclaimed Parramatta Square development in Sydney.”

Mr Walker declined to comment on speculation Flinders University had signed on as an anchor tenant for the tower, but said tenants had been secured for a little more than 20,000sq m of floor-space. He said the first three tenants would be revealed by the end of the month.

Earlier this year the developer applied to change part of the tower’s use from “office” to “educational establishment”.

Artist’s impression of the lobby area inside Festival Tower. Supplied by Walker Corporation

The tower, to be built between the Adelaide Casino and Parliament House, was first approved by the state’s planning body in 2016, after the former Labor Government in 2012 gave Walker exclusive rights to develop the precinct.

A series of design changes and delays ensued, before the latest plans were approved by the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) last November.

As well as the office tower, the project will include a three-level retail complex opening up to the revamped public square.

A five-level, 1646-space underground car park opened in May.

Mr Walker said the tower would become one of Adelaide’s greenest buildings when completed, and the city’s tallest “all-electric” office building.

Walker Corporation’s office tower and a revamp of the public square will transform the Festival Plaza precinct. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

“Festival Tower is setting the new benchmark for environmental sustainability, going fully electric to plug into South Australia’s growing renewable power resources and shift away from fossil fuels,” he said.

“The building will also be targeting 6 Star Green Star and 5.5 Star NABERS, making it one of our most ambitious projects to date.”

Walker is committing $450m to the transformation of Festival Plaza, while the state government is contributing $253m towards upgrades to the Adelaide Festival Centre, the public square and other areas around the Riverbank precinct.

Local SA contractor Outside Ideas has spent the last three weeks on-site, delivering the next stage of the Festival Plaza public realm upgrade.

Built managing director Brett Mason said the project would reshape the Adelaide skyline and promote the state as a leader in green buildings.

“We’re excited to continue our commitment to green building practices, and to deliver a project which sets the standard for sustainable and future-thinking buildings,” he said.

Artist’s impression of Walker Corporation’s office tower at Festival Plaza. Supplied by Walker Corporation