Minimum building heights proposed for West Tce in Adelaide CBD to spur housing and development
It’s a strip of servos and car dealerships right now – but one day it will be a line of glittering apartment towers, with a bustling lifestyle in a new plan.
West Tce would be transformed from a strip of car dealerships and servos into a series of glittering housing high-rises under new plans to stop underused city sites being “wasted”.
In a bid to revitalise the “stifled” 10-lane city thoroughfare, the state government wants to introduce minimum building heights to stimulate the area, create more CBD housing options and turn it into a boulevard with retail, cafes and new life.
Along with its agreement with Adelaide Airport to cut arduous restrictions for building heights for large parts of the CBD, the government has a second prong to the change – it wants to dump the outdated ‘pyramid’ rule that has governed the city’s skyline for decades.
Right now, while there are largely few height limits in the middle of the city, restrictions come into force toward the city fringes.
Meanwhile, the city building height code amendment’s investigations will also examine minimum building heights on parts of West Tce to “ensure that sites are not wasted by underdevelopment”.
The area south of Gouger St will not be part of minimum height requirements.
As well as more housing options opposite the parklands, the government wants development across premium anchor sites for residential districts behind West Tce.
Adelaide City Council had earmarked West Tce as the next area for huge residential potential in its 2036 City Plan.
“I welcome this renewed focus on West Tce, as it’s an opportunity that we are yet to fully grasp,” Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith said.
“Further investment and more quality residential development along this important thoroughfare will not only help create a more vibrant precinct but it will also ultimately result in making a ten-lane highway safer for pedestrians and cyclists.”
The actual minimum height for West Tce will form part of the investigations into a code amendment process – but Adelaide does have some minimum heights already.
Anything along Greenhill Rd from Anzac Hwy to Fullarton Rd is four floors, as are parts of the Southwark development along Port Rd.
Currently, West Tce developments over three storeys spark the lengthy airport process but under the change, projects up to 20 levels would be given airport pre-approval, cutting red tape.
Under the landmark agreement with Adelaide Airport, flight paths and airport operations will be unaffected.
The change will allow for pre-approval of 10 to 15 extra floors across the northern part of the CBD – for buildings of up to 60m in a western zone, 96m in the central CBD and 134m in the east.
Planning Minister Nick Champion said West Terrace had huge potential to “anchor” the central living district in the city, but it needed the state government and city council to curate development.
“Our work is on lifting the lid on West Terrace, but we also want it to be a beautiful boulevard that will allow developers to go build an extra 17 storeys before going through an approval process with the airport,” he said.
“We need to make sure these developments maximise the potential of their prime location.”
