ABC to Anchor Tapangka Cultural Hub in Adelaide CBD

The Adelaide arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation will move from its headquarters in the city’s inner north to anchor the Tapangka redevelopment site in the CBD.

Renewal SA acting chief executive Shane Wingard said the national broadcaster would relocate to an arts and media hub that would also house the State Theatre Company, State Opera and Country Arts South Australia—all currently based at the ABC’s site at Collinswood.

Wingard said the hub on Franklin Street would be integrated into the broader Tapangka precinct, which is planned to include a mix of highrise housing alongside commercial, public and civic spaces.

“This will provide a solid economic boost to the city, with hundreds more workers expected to support nearby businesses and services, including the redeveloped Adelaide Central Market precinct,” he said.

Renderings by project architects Woods Bagot show a multi‑storey, light‑filled building with active frontages integrated into the streetscape.

Woods Bagot director Rosina Di Maria said the design would foster “extended activation and activity, attracting diverse users to the precinct on a daily basis”.

▲ The Tapangka media and cultural hub will be home to the ABC and other cultural institutions.

The hub will be on the south‑eastern portion of the 0.68ha Tapangka site, adjoining Andrew Street, and include galleries, studios and rehearsal spaces.

The move follows the ABC’s announcement last year that its Collinswood base was nearing the end of its operational life, prompting a feasibility study into relocation options. The ABC employs more than 200 staff at Collinswood, about 4 km north of the CBD.

The Collinswood facility has been the broadcaster’s home since 1974.

ABC managing director Hugh Marks said the Tapangka location was fit for purpose and suited to a modern public broadcaster.

“Moving to new state-of-the-art facilities central to the CBD and co-locating with government arts organisations offers enormous benefits to the broader arts community and our staff, audiences, and the creative sector,” he said.

Tapangka will rise on the site of former Adelaide bus station, which Renewal SA bought from the City of Adelaide in February 2024.

In the language of Adelaide’s Kaurna people, Tapangka means ‘going on a journey’.

▲ The ABC building at Collinswood was opened by then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1974. Its future may include a conversion to housing.