It’s a parcel of land with a rich history.
To the Kaurna people it sits adjacent to Karrawirra Parri – the Red Gum Forest River – and it served as an important gathering and trading spot.
After colonisation the area was cleared for farming, and in 1866 the Torrenside Brewery – later called the Southwark Brewery and eventually the West End Brewery – was erected.
Thebarton Cottage, adjacent the brewery, was the residence of Colonel William Light.
The next incarnation of this riverside parcel of land will be the Thebarton project, and the community is being asked to have its say on the billion-dollar development.
The project is aiming to produce a world-class, vibrant, climate-resilient, mixed-use community on 8.4ha of land bound by Port Rd to the east, the Karrawirra Parri (River Torrens) to the north and Holland St to the west.
The draft master plan will now be shown to the community for feedback, which will help refine and guide the final plan.
The Thebarton project plans to produce:
- 1000 homes and 20 per cent affordable housing
- significant areas of public space as part of an enhanced Karrawirra Parri (River Torrens) linear park
- an integrated street, cycle, walking and public transport network
- a diverse range of medium-to-high density properties boasting parklands, river or city views
- sustainable buildings in a biodiverse ecological setting with 30 per cent tree canopy coverage
- 6 Star Green Star Communities rating.
More than 4000 jobs are expected to be produced during construction, with upwards of 300 people working in the precinct on an ongoing basis.
Renewal SA Chief Executive Chris Menz said the project was a significant opportunity and the agency was “looking to bring a rich mix of housing, complemented by places to work, visit and enjoy that will redefine this site, and the suburb, for future generations”.
“We want to create a genuine sense of place, with close connections to the River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri), the nearby Parklands and city and the long, enduring history of the area, with a particular focus on recognition of the site's immediate history and historical as being key to the Kaurna peoples,” Mr Menz said.
“We want to take the community along for this journey, which is why this next stage of consultation is so significant.”
An engagement drop-in session will be held at the Education Development Centre, corner of Port Rd and Milner St, Hindmarsh on Thursday 5 September from 4-7pm. Community members can also share their views until Sunday 22 September online by clicking here.
Meanwhile, work is happening at pace at Prospect Corner, a new housing development 7km from the Adelaide CBD, which is set to become a buzzing, city-fringe community.
Kennett Builders has been engaged as the contractor to deliver 100 affordable rental apartmen
ts on the site (pictured below), at 250B Churchill Rd. The overall site will comprise 55 per cent affordable housing.
Homes in the new apartment buildings are planned to be offered as affordable rentals that will allow tenants to pay rent at under 75 per cent of the market rate.
At the same time, the construction of 108 townhouses is underway with the pouring of four concrete slabs and a further four to be poured beginning this week.
Sustainability and affordability are the focus of these townhouses, with the two and three-bedroom homes all designed to target a 7 Star Nationwide House Energy Rating and support the state government’s goal to be carbon neutral in operation by 2050.
Leaping onto the Prospect housing ladder is Adelaide auditor and first-home buyer Yenny Lee who has bought an off-the-plan two-bedroom townhouse.
Lee, 27, is currently living in a shared house in Marden and is keen to move into home ownership.
“I have always wanted to buy a house. I was living in Alice Springs until last year before I came to Adelaide for work,” he said.
Mr Lee spent his school years in Alice Springs before heading to Melbourne for university and then finally to Adelaide where he works for a major consulting and financial service group.
“Location was key for me to buy a home along with the chance to get the train to work in the CBD. It’s only a few stops.
“The budget was primary too and this was in my price range. And it has a garage and a backyard, though I’m not a gardener.”
Mr Lee hopes to be in his new home by the third quarter of 2025.
