Thebarton (former West End Brewery)

Renewal SA is seeking to transform Thebarton into a new urban neighbourhood in Adelaide, offering a rich mix of housing, complemented by places to work, visit and enjoy.

This landmark parcel on Port Road will be reactivated into a $1 billion mixed-use community, featuring retail, commercial, hospitality, and community spaces. Situated just two kilometres from the CBD and near major institutions like the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the future Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and Adelaide Biomed City, the site is bordered by the Adelaide Park Lands and Karrawirra Parri / River Torrens. The project vision is to create abundant areas of public open space, incorporating the state heritage-listed Riverbank Garden as part of an enhanced River Torrens linear park.

Nestled on the city’s edge, Thebarton combines the charm of its historic character with the convenience of a modern, connected urban hub. With direct access to key transport links and proximity to employment centres, cultural, and sporting attractions, the development will seamlessly integrate Thebarton’s rich heritage—including the Walkerville Brew Tower, the foundations of Colonel William Light's Theberton Cottage, and First Nations culture—into a harmonious blend of historical and contemporary design. This fusion of history and modernity will create a vibrant, sustainable community, and the site is poised to become Adelaide’s next landmark destination.

The project will generate significant economic benefits, creating 4,000 jobs during construction and over 150 ongoing retail and hospitality roles. Additionally, the adoption of a government-led model will unlock widespread opportunities for private sector participation at various stages, including planning, design, civil works, and building and construction activities.

The project vision for Thebarton is seeking to deliver:

• A minimum of 1,000 new dwellings of which 20% are affordable
• More than 15% public open spaces including rejuvenated Karrawirra Parri / River Torrens
• Integrated street, cycle, walking and public transport, including new shared use path connecting with the Park Lands under Port Road
• Sustainable buildings in an ecological setting with a target of 30% tree canopy
• Revitalised heritage Walkerville Brew Tower, Theberton Cottage foundations and riverbank
• Community mobility hub to provide a precinct wide approach to car parking and to support affordable dwelling options and potentially accommodate community uses and event spaces
• 6 Star Green Star Communities rating including water sensitive urban design.

Renewal SA bought the former 8.4-hectare West End Brewery at Thebarton from Lion Beer Wine & Spirits Pty Ltd (Lion) in 2023 and will now act as master developer to create a mixed-use community, targeting 1,000 new homes and incorporating at least 20 per cent affordable housing.

Global design firm Arup, creative force behind many of the world’s most sustainable and innovative precincts including Battersea Power Station in London and Mixity in Amsterdam has been selected as the principal urban design consultant to master plan Thebarton.

The award-winning consultancy will lead the transformation of the Port Road parcel, with an expert team of Australian and South Australian-based companies including Breathe Architects - responsible for the highly successful Nightingale project at Bowden, as well as Australia’s most awarded landscape architects TCL.

Renewal SA will be inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from suitable development partners, for more information visit development opportunities.

Renewal SA is committed to ensuring that key stakeholders and the local community are engaged as part of the master planning process for the development of the former West End Brewery site.

Following on from the Code Amendment community engagement in mid-2023 which highlighted the community's ideas and aspirations for the site, a draft master plan was developed. Renewal SA invited the local community to provide their feedback on the draft master plan in September 2024. The information provided to the community and engagement report can be found in the Resources section below.

Consistent and meaningful engagement with stakeholders and the local community will continue to support the development of the former West End Brewery site. Renewal SA will incorporate and celebrate First Nations culture on the site and will continue to engage the Kaurna community as part of its commitment to reconciliation, and to ensure Culture and Country are appropriately interwoven into the project.

The West End Brewery closed in June 2021, marking the end of 135 years of brewing operations on the famed site. Beer was first brewed there in 1886 by what was then known as the Torrenside Brewery.

There are areas of heritage significance on the site and there will be thorough consideration given to preserve and highlight historic structures, which include:

• Walkerville Brewhouse (including Copper Kettle, currently in storage)
• footings of Colonel William Light’s cottage
• Riverbank Garden.

The remnants of Colonel William Light’s homestead were discovered during demolition works at the old West End Brewery following its closure in 2020. The footings have been preserved in line with advice provided by conservation specialists, International Conservation Services, which has worked in consultation with archaeologists and Heritage SA.

The master plan will feature the brewery’s former Electricity Transformer building and the plaque depicting the site of Colonel Light’s cottage (currently in storage), which are Local Heritage Places.