The end of the year is often something of a race to the finish line; when the available days seem to disappear from the diary more quickly than usual and there’s a sense of urgency to complete tasks against a fast-shrinking timeline.
However, it’s also important to pause and take stock of what’s been achieved.
Last year, we launched our Renewal SA Strategic Plan 2020-23, a blueprint to guide our focus on driving economic growth in South Australia through property development and urban renewal projects of scale.
18 months on, and I believe we have a lot of which we can justifiably be proud. In that time, Renewal SA has:
- Unlocked eight major developments, creating around $2 billion in future opportunities;
- Stimulated $680 million of private sector capital expenditure;
- Secured the sale and future development of 257,600m2 of industrial land; and
- Generated more than $400 million in Gross State Product and supported more than 3000 jobs.
We have been able to make some significant announcements that underline our focus on partnering with the private sector.
The partnership with Villawood Properties as the developer for Oakden is a landmark for South Australia, both in terms of the 1500 new dwellings to be built and the long-term economic benefits generated, while the transformation of The Royal Hotel site in Kent Town is being enabled through an innovative partnership between the State Government and Flagship Group. We were also able to announce Quintessential Equity as the development partner for the $400 million Entrepreneur and Innovation Centre at Lot Fourteen.
In mid-2020 we set up and resourced a dedicated Major Projects and Pipeline division to drive future developments. Over the past year, we have released 60 hectares for the delivery of a 1000-home sustainable community at Aldinga, we started the process to choose a developer for the former Gasworks site at Bowden, and we acquired both former Kaufland sites at Forestville and Prospect and turned them into significant opportunities for the development market.
The Prospect site is significant, as it includes a minimum 55% component for affordable housing. Along with other projects, this will build on the 346 affordable housing opportunities delivered over the past 18 months.
The HomeBuilder Grant was a key driver in our ability to exceed our sales targets at Playford Alive, The Square and Bowden, with the latter project enjoying huge acceleration through the last year following a strategic decision to realign our objectives in line with market trends.
This is just a quick snapshot of what has been a busy and exciting period for Renewal SA, all of which we’ve tried to encapsulate in our Strategic Plan Key Achievements document.
As a team, we share a common goal to help positively shape the social and economic future for all South Australians by delivering transformational property and urban renewal projects. This is what motivates us every day.
We are proud of what we have achieved so far against the goals we set ourselves and of the development pipeline being created for South Australia.
However, maintaining momentum takes a relentless commitment to strategy, effort and teamwork.
Have an enjoyable and safe festive season and I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress in the New Year.
Con Tragakis, Presiding Member