Walker Corp’s Adelaide Skyscraper Waved Ahead

Walker Corporation’s plans for a 38-storey skyscraper on the site of a three-storey plaza in Adelaide have been greenlit by the State Commission Assessment Panel. 

It will be Walker Corp’s second tower next to Parliament House in Adelaide’s Festival Plaza, neighbouring its 29-storey Festival Tower completed last year.

While the SA Government said the approval made the tower, at 161m, the city’s first skyscraper to win approval, it was actually the second. The commission approved Pelligra and the Freemasons’ Keystone Tower of 183m last July. 

Walker’s first Festival Tower has 40,000sq m of commercial space while the second will have 47,000sq m of office space.

The Johnson Pilton Walker-designed scheme also has 1000sq m of ground floor and level one retail along with 3000sq m of function space across three levels plus a rooftop restaurant.

Walker Corp entered into a partnership to redevelop Adelaide’s Festival Plaza in 2014 and it has had multiple incarnations.

Tower two designs initially showed a smooth glass facade and angular roof but that was redesigned after multiple meetings with the Design Review Panel in the past year.

▲ Renderings of previous designs for the site in Festival Plaza (left) and the unsuccessful skyscraper design from 2024.

The approved pleated design tower is to rise at Lot 602 King William Road/North Terrace, a 3500sq m site just north of Parliament House and east of Festival Tower. 

The skyscraper had been endorsed by the Premier, Peter Malinauskas, but drew criticism from independent and Greens members of parliament, who said Adelaide was turning into “Gotham City” or “Legoland”.

However, the original three-storey plaza “would have completely blocked Parliament House” while the new cantilevered tower has an 800sq m smaller footprint.

The commission granted planning consent providing Walker Corp starts the project within two years and has it completed within three years.

▲ Renderings of the approved  Walker Corp skyscraper.

SA planning minister Nick Champion said the skyscraper would transform the skyline and set a benchmark for sustainable, world-class development in Adelaide.

“The refined plans ensure that we preserve the visual integrity and heritage of Parliament House while delivering a vibrant, activated public space that all South Australians can enjoy,” Champion said.

“Festival Plaza Tower 2 will not only be our tallest commercial building, but it will also become a defining symbol of a city that is embracing a confident, modern future.”

It will become the largest all-electric commercial building in Adelaide, with the largest solar array of any commercial building in the city and will be carbon neutral by 2028, according to the plans.

The site is to be home to up to 5000 office workers and support 100 retail positions across its lower-level restaurants, cafes and bars, driving more than $1 billion in yearly economic activity.

Adelaide’s falling office vacancy rates, strong return-to-work numbers and improving fundamentals are driving the commercial sector. 

Last week Centennial made its largest office acquisition to date, acquiring a $50.5-million 11-level asset at 63 Pirie Street.

Office plans are also rising at Rundle Mall—Precision Group last month filed plans for a 31-storey tower with 26 levels of offices.