A fully affordable apartment complex in Bowden, just north of Adelaide’s CBD, has reached its highest point of construction, with work now underway on the finishing touches for 70 new homes.
Kennett Builders recently poured the concrete slab and completed the roof structure of the top level of community services provider UnitingSA’s Uniting on Second building, located within Renewal SA’s Bowden precinct.
PhD students Harry and Erin will be among the first residents to move into Uniting on Second next year and are excited to call Bowden home.
“The building is really starting to take shape and we’re now one step closer to moving into our new home. We can’t wait,” Erin said.
The couple, both in their early 20s, purchased a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment last year.
“Opportunities for first-home buyers, especially PhD students, are usually limited to fixer-uppers far from the CBD,” Harry said.
“Being able to buy a modern, environmentally conscious apartment in such a central location almost felt too good to be true.”
Harry and Erin will move into their new home in early 2026.
The $30 million development comprises seven storeys rising from a 1,174sqm site on Bowden’s south-western edge and is set for completion in early 2026.
It includes 46 affordable rental apartments, with the remaining 24 sold privately to eligible essential workers, first-home buyers and lower-income households through HomeSeeker SA.
Renewal SA Acting Chief Executive Shane Wingard said he was pleased to see such strong progress in a short timeframe.
“Construction started just over a year ago, and now it has topped out,” he said.
“It’s been fantastic to see the pace at which this important development has risen from the ground.
“I look forward to its completion, with an abundance of new residents adding to the dynamic and diversity of this amazing precinct.”
Kennett General Manager Anthony Carbone said he was pleased to be working on such an important project.
“Together, we are creating housing that transforms lives and strengthens communities,” he said.
“This development sets a new benchmark.”
As part of the build, which broke ground in May 2024, 1,500 cubic metres of concrete has been poured, 400 precast panels installed, and 100 tonnes of steel erected to date.
Specific materials used during construction are marked with QR codes, creating a digital bank which catalogues precast panels, structural steel and solar panels to be re-certified and reused at the end of the building’s life.
This material bank, championed by Kennett has been endorsed as a leadership challenge by the Green Building Council of Australia and Uniting on Second is the first project in Australia to implement the strategy.
Bowden was the state government’s first higher-density urban infill project, commencing in 2008 on the old Clipsal and Origin Gasworks sites.
Kennett is now gaining pace on internal fit out across every floor, with brickwork on the façade to begin soon, creating an aesthetic that reflects Bowden’s industrial history.
The Uniting on Second development was identified via an Expression of Interest process undertaken by Renewal SA in August 2023.
The project was successful in securing funding under Round One of the Federal Government’s Housing Australia Future Fund Facility (HAFFF), which provided loans and grants for projects that increase the supply of social and affordable housing across Australia.
Jenny Hall, Chief Executive Officer of UnitingSA said they were uniquely positioned to deliver these kinds of housing projects.
“Access to safe and affordable housing gives people the foundations they need to build better lives,” Ms Hall said.
“That is why what we’re doing here matters so much.
“We’re not just about constructing buildings, we’re very much about building communities where people can thrive.”
The 5-Star Green Star-rated, all-electric building features a communal rooftop alfresco and garden area, bicycle storage and carparking.
Uniting on Second fronts Gibson and Second Street, neighbouring the award-winning Nightingale Bowden building and the Outer Harbour Greenway.
Bowden is surrounded by open green space, easy links to public transport and a variety of amenity.
It’s a two-minute walk from Bowden Train Station, five minutes from the Port Road tram, and is 2.5km from Adelaide’s CBD, which for residents, reduces the reliance on cars and promotes the affordability of the building and wider precinct.
The first privately owned apartments at Uniting on Second went on sale in October 2024, with the final ones sold in May 2025.
Expressions of interest for the affordable rentals, which will be offered to eligible tenants at 75% of market rate, will open closer to building completion.
Residents will begin moving into the building in early 2026.