Adelaide City Council to hold last-ditch meeting on Gawler Place upgrade blowout
ADELAIDE City Council will hold a confidential meeting in a final attempt to fix the Gawler Place upgrade, after the project blew its budget by millions of dollars.
ADELAIDE City Council will hold a confidential meeting in a last-ditch bid to solve the Gawler Place upgrade impasse after a budget blowout of millions of dollars.
Lord Mayor Martin Haese told The Advertiser councillors would meet tomorrow — two days before the council goes into caretaker mode — to try to revive the redevelopment.
“We haven’t resolved it this year but we are hoping to before the council enters into caretaker.”
The issue was discussed at a council meeting on Tuesday, but no solution was found.
As part of the 2011 Rundle Mall masterplan, in 2016 $7.85 million was set aside by the council to transform Gawler Place — one of the most heavily pedestrian trafficked streets in the CBD — into a vibrant laneway with trees and street furniture.
It was to be raised to a single level, featuring a mixed-use footpath for pedestrians, cars and cyclists in a project council staff estimated would provide a $37.8 million annual windfall for Rundle Mall.
In July, the upgrade was put on hold after the council said the construction was far more challenging than anticipated.
The project had come in “substantially over budget” and construction was stalled to find alternative proposals.
The council said it wanted to ensure a “desirable outcome for all users of the street.”
The Advertiser had been told that the blowout — chiefly due to complexities around underground services — means that the $7.85 million originally earmarked for the redevelopment now would only be able to complete half of the Gawler Place upgrade.
Options open for the council tomorrow include “spending big” to deliver the full project or again put it on the shelf and leave it as one of the first decisions for the new council.
Long-time champion of the upgrade Cr Natasha Malani said it was a crucial project for the city and the council should do all it can to deliver the project.
“I believe it is council’s core role to deliver public realm infrastructure and upgrades,” she said.
“It’s the most important job for the council, it brings people to the area and encourages the private sector to come on board and spend money of their own.
“This project would create significant private investment in the city.
“It’s my view that the council should continue to deliver the project and not compromise on quality.”
Mr Haese said the meeting would be confidential because it involved contracts.
