McDonald’s, KFC, new OTR for Mount Barker as vacant Heysen Boulevard land up for sale

As the town’s population explodes, two new fast-food giants will open up – as well as another OTR, and the first new pub in the area for 150 years.

Mount Barker will welcome a new McDonald’s, KFC and OTR service station in one of the fastest-growing areas, it’s been revealed.

Advertising for nearly 1.3ha of land along the under-construction part of Heysen Boulevard in Mount Barker South reveals the fast-food and servo giants are all planning outlets in what will become another business district for the Adelaide Hills town.

It would be the second McDonald’s and KFC in Mount Barker, and the fourth OTR in a 6km radius – Mount Barker has two, while Littlehampton is home to one.

Built opposite the land will be the Heysen Tavern, which was first announced in 2021 and is going through final planning approvals, long-time Mount Barker real estate agent James Sexton said.

Mr Sexton said the land was zoned as a local activity centre.

About 1.3ha of land along Heysen Boulevard in Mount Barker has hit the market near the new Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

About 1.3ha of land along Heysen Boulevard in Mount Barker has hit the market near the new Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

“It could be retail, it could be medical, we’ve got the provision for that,” Mr Sexton said.

He said the aerial images of the site revealed the huge development coming as thousands of homes continue to be built in the expanding Hills town.

“We wanted to let people get a picture, because a lot of people don’t know what’s coming,” he said.

He said the two fast-food restaurants and OTR had planning approval, and the tavern would be the first new pub in Mount Barker in more than 150 years.

“It’s been 155 years since a new hotel application has come through for Mount Barker – there were 1500 people 155 years ago, now there’s 45,000 and it still takes this long,” he said.

The land, just south of the Amblemead Estate, is near multiple other housing developments and the new Mount Barker South Woolworths, which opened a year ago.

About 1.3ha of land along Heysen Boulevard in Mount Barker has hit the market near the new Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

“That Woolies is 30-40 per cent above budget and they’re expecting it to hit $1m a week turnover come summer,” Mr Sexton said.

“They’ve also put in wider-than-Australian standard carparks and extra carparking and it’s one of the most energy-efficient shopping centres in Australia.”

The vacant land fronts on to Heysen Boulevard, the major interconnector that loops through the entire 1300ha of Mount Barker’s growth area.

In August last year, the state government announced $5m to help connect Heysen Boulevard because developers hadn’t been able to build a rail crossing – leaving a gap in the road.

Last week, the Department of Transport said site works this month included asphalting and kerbing, new pedestrian pathways on both sides of the road, setting up signalling and rail commissioning and landscaping.

The level crossing is expected to be open late this year.

“It was one of those strange things where the crossing land was owned technically by the federal government and leased to the Stream Ranger (heritage train), so the developers could build only up to their side – so there’s this railway line where no one could build,” Mr Sexton said.

“So the state government stepped in with council and that’s currently being built.”

Mr Sexton, who has been in real estate in the Mount Barker area for more than 30 years, called the development of the town “completely, utterly staggering” since the 2010 rezoning.

“The council has really done a good in co-ordinating and controlling things despite having no help from the state govt back when the rezoning happened,” he said.

The ad for the land says only around 14 per cent of Mount Barker’s current housing supply has been developed and there’s more than $4.5bn worth of new housing zoned and ready.

Mount Barker is forecast to hit a population of 64,838 by 2046.