Drakes to open supermarket at Lightsview as part of $30m new shopping centre in northeast

It’s been 15 years in the making but some 5000 residents in a major suburban centre will finally get a new place to shop.

Renato Castello

@Rencastello

less than 2 min read

December 4, 2021 - 6:15PM

SA News

Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.

A $30m shopping centre, anchored by a South Australian-owned Drakes supermarket, will cap off the development of one of Adelaide’s largest masterplanned suburbs.

The 3800 sqm centre on the corner of Folland Ave and Fosters Rd, Lightsview, which will also feature a 103-space childcare centre and eight specialty shops, is expected to generate up to 150 jobs when completed in 2023.

SA firm Lofty Property Group will develop and own the centre which will be the final commercial piece in the 100ha Lightsview development which began in 2006 and has grown to include 2000 homes and more than 5000 residents.

It will be built opposite the existing Northgate Shopping Centre, which includes a Woolworths’ supermarket, but is not in the footprint of the Lightsview estate.

Lightsview is a partnership between the state government’s property arm Renewal SA and WA developer Peet, which has invested $250m over 15 years into the suburb which rose from paddocks in Adelaide's north east.

Peet’s state manager Mark Devine said all housing blocks have been sold and care and control of the suburb’s infrastructure, such as roads and parks, would be handed over to Port Adelaide Enfield Council within six months.

“The project has certainly been successful in every measure, in terms of the community outcomes, in terms of time frames and in recognition of design excellence, affordable housing and sustainable design,” he said.

“Lightsview played a key role in terms of shaping housing development in Adelaide, when it was started 15 years ago townhouses and terraced homes weren’t a predominant housing product.”

An aerial view of the Lightsview housing estate, looking south, in 2010. Folland Avenue separates the development from Northgate, to the north.

Renewal SA general manager project delivery and property, Todd Perry, said Lightsview had become a “gold standard” in residential developments and “creating communities”.

“This development has transformed the public’s thinking around density and residential urban design and provides a replicable model for future successful urban infill projects both here and interstate,” he said.

He said the development had provided 18 per cent affordable housing.

The suburb has however been criticised for having a lack of off-street parking for residents and inadequate public transport.

Drakes Supermarkets director John-Paul Drake said the Lightsview outlet would open in late 2023. The company has more than 50 stores across SA and Queensland.