Initial designs have been unveiled for a 12-storey residential tower to be built along Third St, opposite the popular Plant 3 and 4 hospitality and retail precinct.

Designed by architectural firm ARM, it will feature 80 affordable rental apartments - which will be a mix of studio, one and two-bedrooms - and four Torrens titled warehouse lofts, which will face Second St and be offered for sale.

The landmark project is being delivered by Renewal SA and will be operated long-term by a community housing provider, which will manage tenants of the rental apartments.

Specialist disability accommodation will also form part of the offering.

A new 221-space public car park will be built on the building's lower levels, helping to ease traffic congestion for residents and visitors to Bowden.

The development will also feature four ground floor retail outlets, a garden terrace on the seventh floor for residents, and the reconstruction of Field Lane to connect Third and Second streets as a key pedestrian route between Plant 3 and 4 and the Bowden Train Station.

Site preparation will commence in the coming months, with new residents scheduled to move in by the start of 2026.

Renewal SA Chief Executive Chris Menz said the development would become a "positive legacy for the precinct".

“It takes active measures to help ease the state’s current housing situation via the delivery of 80 affordable rental apartments in a market that is becoming more challenging for everyday working South Australians; it provides multiple opportunities to add to Bowden’s curation of retail spaces; and it provides provision for a permanent public car parking solution for the Bowden community," Mr Menz said.

"The building has also been designed for maximum adaptability, including a dual key arrangement for studio and two-bedroom apartments to become three-bedroom apartments, and an ability to retrofit some of the carparking levels into housing should future demand require it."

For more information, visit the Bowden website.