Tapangka on Franklin

The multi-million-dollar development of the former Adelaide Bus Station on Franklin Street will be known as Tapangka and is envisaged to be delivered as Adelaide’s first carbon neutral precinct.

Renewal SA will act as master developer of the site after being chosen as the successful proponent by the Adelaide City Council in 2023.

Tapangka will deliver a new standard of inner-city living with two mixed-use towers and a central signature building. The signature building will be carbon neutral in operation and achieve a 6 Star Green Star certified rating. It will deliver commercial floor space combined with a place of learning, entertainment, culture, and community.

1000-plus new residents will call Tapangka home, with 392 apartments being delivered alongside a 200 plus-key hotel. The project will also introduce institutional build-to-rent apartments into the city’s CBD. Across the two towers, a minimum of 35% will be offered as affordable housing, including apartments for rent and purchase.

At completion the site will include over 5,500m² of commercial floor space and over 1,200m² of retail space. A network of tree-lined laneways or ‘eat streets’ will spill out onto the footpaths between Franklin and Grote streets, offering casual eateries and sit-down restaurant options both day and night.

This development will be a significant contributor to the city and state economy. During the construction period, Tapangka is expected to generate 1,300-plus jobs and contribute more than $161 million of Gross Value Add to the state.

Renewal SA settled on the site in February 2024 and immediately released a Request for Offer to the market for a consultant to lead the critical development of a sustainability strategy for the project, expected to be completed by August 2024. It will be developed simultaneously with the project initial Master Plan ahead of community engagement occurring in the second half of 2024.

Renewal SA agreed with the City of Adelaide for the site and buildings to retain current operation including car parking to support the Adelaide Central Market redevelopment while planning work is completed for the project.

Renewal SA has committed to sharing the learnings from its journey to carbon neutrality with the broader development sector and community as part of the Tapangka project.

Renewal SA’s bold vision for Tapangka puts the human experience at the heart of the built environment and aims to create a lifestyle offering that positions it as one of the most vibrant and inclusive residential developments and precincts in the state.

This new approach to city living is inspired by the experience of going on a journey: a journey of reconciliation, a journey of home ownership, a journey towards sustainability and a journey of partnership. In Kaurna language, this experience is known as Tapangka.

Tapangka sits on land of Tarndanyangga – the place of the red kangaroo dreaming – this link to Kaurna heritage will be celebrated in Tapangka’s development, from its planning and design to its on-going cultural life.

Renewal SA will incorporate and celebrate First Nations culture as part of its delivery approach for the site and will engage the Kaurna community as part of its commitment to reconciliation and to ensure Culture and Country are appropriately interwoven into the project.