Housing Minister Nick Champion backs 20-storey residential apartment tower heights for Glenside

Apartment towers of up to 20 storeys are proposed for Adelaide’s inner east and the new “super” Housing Minister wants to talk about more.

Increasing building heights and density along major urban corridors is being proposed by newly minted “super” Housing Minister Nick Champion as he moves to allow towers of up to 20 storeys in a 1.2ha parcel of inner-eastern Glenside.

In his first significant action since being promoted in a ministerial reshuffle on Monday, Mr Champion wants to raise maximum building heights in the land tract from eight storeys, or 29m, to 20 storeys, or 73m.

Stressing no final decision had been made, he said the Glenside area had been identified as a key strategic infill site, because of proximity to parklands, shops, major roads and public transport.

Concept image of proposed Glenside development. Supplied

The nearby Air Apartments tower, the former ETSA building on the corner of Fullarton and Greenhill roads, is 14 storeys high.

“It’s important as a community we have thoughtful conversations about increasing building heights and densities in strategic sites, such as major urban corridors,” Mr Champion told The Advertiser.

Concept plans for the proposal, by developer Cedar Woods, show three to four residential towers but there is no indication of how many apartments would be in the proposed 20 storeys.

Concept image of the proposed Glenside development. Picture: Supplied

The proposed buildings are within the existing 16.5ha Glenside development area, which is projected to deliver 1000 homes and an estimated $400m of investment.

The concept plans show the buildings of up to 20 storeys within an area bounded by Tea Tree St, Blue Gum Drv, Mulberry Rd and Lomandra Ave, which is to the east of Fullarton Rd and south of Greenhill Rd.
Mr Champion said he had asked the developer for plans to mitigate potential impacts, such as overshadowing and privacy, after initiating a planning code amendment.

“There is also the requirement to justify the increase in height in relation to existing corridors and the need to focus on housing diversity and affordability,” he said.

“As part of the code amendment process, further investigations will be undertaken on traffic and social impacts before it opens for community consultation later in the year.”

He said the planning system was currently assessing 34 active residential planning code amendments, which had the potential to create more than 23,000 homes.
Premier Peter Malinauskas on Monday handed Mr Champion a “new super portfolio”, declaring housing was “top of the list” of “some big challenges” faced by the state at a “critical juncture” in history.

The expanded Housing portfolio includes SA Water, Plan SA and the Office of Regional Housing.

Originally published as Housing Minister Nick Champion backs 20-storey residential apartment tower heights for Glenside