SA’s urban eyesores – the unsightly buildings that blight our neighbourhoods
Every suburb has them: Eyesores and neglected buildings that blight the landscape. Some are worse than others – and some have been sitting derelict for a long, long time.
National
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After five years of talk and inaction the State Government announced this month that it was going to finally tackle an eyesore of epic proportions.
An abandoned wave generator, marooned a kilometre off Carrickalinga beach on the Fleurieu Peninsula, will be partially dismantled and sunk to create an artificial reef.
Infrastructure Minister Stephan Knoll said the local community would be “delighted” with a “win-win” solution, creating a recreational fishing ground and delivering a cheaper alternative than the $8 million estimate to fully remove the 3000-tonne concrete edifice.
But the Carrickalinga Ratepayers Association is not delighted.
Its president Kim Baker said it’s a job half-done and that the remaining structure – to be left 1m below the water’s surface at low tide – will be a boating and safety hazard.
The government is expected to begin work removing the generator next year.
In light of this ‘win-win’ or perhaps ‘win-lose’, announcement The Advertiser casts its eye over other eyesores that have blighted neighbourhoods, angered residents and frustrated authorities.
UNFINISHED HOUSE
9 Gold Coast Drive, Carrickalinga
Spare a thought for the citizens of Carrickalinga. Not only have their pristine sea views been ruined by a rusting and abandoned wave generator, they have also had to contend with a land-based eyesore. On the esplanade of this beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula getaway is an unfinished house that has blighted the landscape for four years and been centre of running dispute between its former owner Stephen Marks and Yankalilla Council. Mr Marks built the house higher than approved, won a court compromise to reduce the height marginally but was then threatened with forced sale over unpaid council rates. That threat was halted when financier Bendigo Bank took possession of the property this year. The residents group, and the council have written to the bank as recently as last week asking what plans it has for the building. The Advertiser asked the same question. The bank’s head of public relations Simon Fitzgerald said: “We won’t be making any comment”.
BELL’S PLUMBERS SHOP
Payneham Road, College Park
If there is a display model for weak heritage laws, then this 135-year-old state heritage-listed building fits the bill.
It was built for a South Australian premier and allowed to fall into ruin by a former national sprintcar champion Philip March who in 2017 added a conviction for heritage neglect to his life achievements.
It was a historic moment as March, who copped a $26,000 fine, became the first property owner found guilty of such an offence in SA.
March transferred ownership of the building to a Panamanian based company Omega Exploration in what Environment court Judge Jack Costello ruled was “clearly designed” for him to avoid fixing up the property.
And it appears to have worked. Nobody has taken ownership of the crumbling relic, which has survived two fires, the latest in August last year. Environment Minister David Speirs said a year ago that the government had no intention to compulsorily acquire the building. His position was unchanged when contacted this week. Omega Exploration’s director Jesse Tolley, grandson of Riverland identity Ian Tolley, lives in London.
See how Bell’s Plumbers Shop has changed (1983 image courtesy Denise Schumann)
DAVAAR HOUSE
318 South Tce, Adelaide
The 173-year-old heritage-listed mansion was supposed to be renovated and upgraded as part of a $35 million apartment redevelopment on a prime city location.
Instead the house is a conspicuously egregious example of heritage vandalism and poor regulatory oversight of development.
Plans approved by the state’s planning commission promised landscaped gardens – instead the sad-looking building is ensconced in concrete preventing future planting. Two giant metal vents adorn this bleak landscape, purging fumes from the carpark. The builder Salvatore Sgherza went bust leaving the building unfinished but not before parts of the building, including a fence, were torn down without approval.
Non-bank lender CEG Direct Securities took control of Davaar House in May 2018 and has been trying to sell it for more than $2 million.
EMPEROR LIVING
Cnr Main St and Metro Parade, Mawson Lakes
Not just another apartment complex, this eight-storey property was billed as the tallest building in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. But after numerous delays, a licensing investigation and a feud with a contractor over alleged unpaid bills builder Frank Barbaro has shelved construction of the $30 million high-rise, which Salisbury Council approved more than three years ago. The sales office opposite the construction site is up for lease. In May The Advertiser reported that investors were being given refunds. The newspaper made multiple unsuccessful approaches to interview Mr Barbaro about his plans for the abandoned block on a major gateway into Mawson Lakes.
OLD BIANCO SITE
Adjacent Kilkenny Train Station
The site has been derelict for more than a decade serving as a sore point for neighbouring residents and a perfect canvas for graffiti vandals. The asbestos-riddled warehouse has been at the centre of lofty ambitions by owner Peter Gregg to redevelop the property into a housing estate.
Last July the Charles Sturt Council gave Mr Gregg permission to fund an investigation into rezoning the former industrial site for residential and mixed-use development.
His redevelopment ambitions have met resistance from neighbouring glass manufacturer O-I Glass who have concerns that a high-density housing could imperil their operations and 360 jobs. In 2014 then planning minister John Rau blocked Mr Gregg’s rezoning plans.
DISCOUNT PETROL STATION
646 Marion Road, Ascot Park
This derelict servo is an unedifying relic of a bygone era when petrol cost less than $1 and ‘super’ was still on the menu.
It was part of the cheap petrol chain by Adelaide’s Discount Petrol King Mick Skorpos. The bowsers stopped pumping petrol 13 years ago and nothing has happened on site apart from Mr Skorpos cleaning graffiti at the behest of Marion Council following complaints. Twice it gave him the resources to do the clean-up. In August 2018 the council declared the site a local nuisance under the Local Nusiance and Litter Control Act. Under proposed rezoning plans out for consultation the petrol station would sit within a new employment zone facilitating potential redevelopment of the site for commercial purposes.
BALHANNAH RAILWAY STATION AND SIGNAL CABIN
Junction Road, Balhannah
Built in 1883, closed to service in the 1960s, added to the state heritage register in 1987 and left to rot and decay thereafter under successive state governments, in particular DPTI who own the building. Evidently the state heritage branch has had no interest or influence in protecting the forgotten structure which appears beyond repair. Unlike Philip March whom the government relentlessly pursued for criminal neglect, this heritage horror will likely go unpunished and makes a mockery of heritage protection for buildings deemed to be of state significance. DPTI provided a noncommittal response about the building’s future.
“A heritage architect, local council and various potential stakeholders have been consulted as to the future upkeep and potential use of the buildings,” a spokesman said. “It is anticipated that further outcomes will be clarified in 2020.”
CEMENT HILL
Scholefield Rd, Seacliff Park
The 7.8ha former industrial site has been vacant for decades but Marion and Holdfast Bay councils are working together to rezone the disused property for shops, houses, apartments and open space. Rezoning of the former quarry and concrete manufacturing site has been on the books since 2012.
The councils are sifting through public submissions and a draft rezoning plan is expected to be submitted to Mr Knoll in January.
The location of Cement Hill, perched in the Hills Face Zone with sweeping views across the coast, could make this a significantly sought-after piece of real estate.
Residents have however raised concerns about community consultation during the rezoning process and how any rezoning will fit into proposed reforms of the state's planning system.
SHARE YOUR EYESORE: Do you have a neighbourhood nightmare? We’d like to hear from you. Let us know in the comments below or email urban development editor Renato Castello
Originally published as SA’s urban eyesores – the unsightly buildings that blight our neighbourhoods
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