Billionaire Lang Walker launches Riverlea satellite city north of Adelaide

Work is about to begin building a new community north of Adelaide, which has long been the brainchild of a billionaire property developer.

Property billionaire Lang Walker is declaring confidence in South Australia’s future as he launches a $3bn satellite city north of Adelaide, at Buckland Park.

Fourteen years after first announcing the project, Mr Walker’s company will to­day start construction at the 12,000-home Riverlea estate, the nation’s largest masterplann­ed community.

Previously known as the Buckland Park development, it will have homes for 30,000 people, shops, a business hub, 50ha of lakes, 420ha of open space and four schools. It is predicted $3bn will be invested over 20 years and 10,000 jobs created during the development.

Mr Walker also expects work to start mid-year on his 27-storey Festival Plaza tower in the CBD.

In an exclusive interview with The Advertiser, Mr Walker, one of Australia’s wealthiest people, said the 14 years taken to turn Riverlea’s first sod had “not dampened my enthusiasm for SA”.

“From a Walker Corp point of view, we’re very, very happy to invest in SA – I think it’s got a good future,” he said.

“I guess this is a testament to me pulling the wallet out of my pocket and saying: ‘We’re doing it’ … so SA – we’re really confident.

“The other thing that gives me a lot of confidence is migration.

“If the economy is kicking out of COVID, I presume the government of the day is going to say: ‘Well, let’s start the immigration program back again’.

“That is going to be a big thing for SA.”

Concept image of the entrance to Walker Corporation’s Riverlea development.

Mr Walker – rated as Australia’s 14th-richest person with a $4.52bn fortune – revealed significant progress at the $600m Festival Square development, bounded by Parliament House, the Festival Centre, Adelaide Casino and King William Rd.

“Things are moving fast at Festival Square and it’s exciting to see we are now built back up to ground level with our (1560-space underground) carpark almost complete and our (27-level office ) tower will be under way by the middle of the year,” he said.

“As the economy bounces back post-COVID, we are seeing a real increase in companies looking to get workers back into modern, environmentally sustainable, efficient workplaces.”

Mr Walker said the March 2020 opening of the $867m Northern Connector, linking the South Rd Superway and Port Wakefield Road, had been an integral kickstart to Riverlea, about 35km and 35 minutes’ drive from the centre of Adelaide.

The former Labor state government approved the development’s first stage in 2014.

But the project faced sustained criticism over flooding risk, with the University of Adelaide’s Professor of Planning and Property, Jon Kellett, in 2016 arguing the estate should be scrapped after the nearby Gawler River broke its banks and inundated the area.

Mr Walker said the flood-risk debate had triggered extensive internal company discussion and work on solutions, particularly the 50ha lake system.

Concept image of a planned school at Riverlea.

Asked if the housing project had taken too long to get to this stage, he said: “Great things take time and this will be perfect.”

Planning Minister Vickie Chapman said Riverlea represented a generational investment in our state’s future.

“It signifies confidence in the SA market,” she said.

A boardwalk planned for Riverlea