Walker Plots First Retail Centre at $3bn Estate

Walker Corporation has lodged plans for a seven-building retail precinct at the heart of its $3-billion Riverlea housing development, which is shaping up to be South Australia’s largest master-planned community yet.

Plans for the $80-million retail precinct have been fast tracked following a surge in housing lot sales across the 1200-home masterplanned estate in north-west Adelaide in recent months.

Pending development approval, construction of the retail precinct, which will include a childcare centre, supermarket, cafes, medical services, a pilates studio and a gym, is expected to begin later this year. The first tenants are expected to take up occupancy in the first half of 2023. 

Lang Walker, the sole shareholder of Walker Corporation, said the decision to bring forward the precinct’s initial retail centre was made after the company notched up sales of 700 house and land packages in just over 12 months—double what had been anticipated.

“Young couples and families are moving from well-established suburbs, wanting to bring a focus on wellness and health with them and that passion aligns perfectly with our grand vision for Riverlea,” Walker said.

“The north is changing fast and these families, who are finding it difficult to buy a two-bedroom unit in the southern suburbs, are realising they can get a four-bedroom house on a large block with room for kids and a dog for a great price at Riverlea.” 

Walker’s Riverlea project, which was in planning for almost 15 years before its launch in early 2021, could take at least two decades to build out.

The greenfield project encompasses more than 1300ha of land, which the developer patiently accumulated through a series of deals. 

The project has faced sustained criticism over flooding risk after the nearby Gawler River broke its banks and inundated the area in 2016.

▲ The estate is in Adelaide’s north-west growth corridor, about 35 minutes from the CBD thanks to the recently completed Northern Connector road project.

Walker said the flood-risk debate had triggered extensive internal company discussion and work on solutions, particularly the 50ha lake system.

The masterplanned estate is now being constructed by 13 builders on behalf of Walker Corporation and upon completion will include four retail precincts, 420ha of open space and 50km of bicycle and walking trails.

At the time of its launch, house and land packages, ranging in size from 300sq m to 1000sq m, were available from $310,000.

Walker said Adelaide’s affordability compared to Sydney and Melbourne had remained one of the main drivers for the developer’s sustained lot sales.

“One of the pleasing trends we are witnessing is a movement to Riverlea from suburbs right across Adelaide,” Walker said.

“This trend is seeing people from the south now looking towards the north for their new home.”

Adelaide is fast becoming one of Australia's most desirable capital cities after notching the fifth-highest increase in house price values in 2021.

The city’s house prices surged by 25 per cent last year, with the median price now $590,000, following a peak-to-trough fall in values of -0.2 per cent at the onset of the pandemic.

The masterplanned estate is one of a number of high profile projects Walker s currently undertaking.

Walker’s interests stretch from office towers in Sydney and Melbourne to a 30,000-lot land bank of greenfield housing across Australia, three extensive housing estates under development in Malaysia, and Kokomo, a high-profile private island resort in Fiji.

The developer is also well advanced on its $2.7-billion Parramatta Square redevelopment, which includes four towers, premium-grade office space, a multi-level retail podium and civic building, as well as a university campus.