Thebarton (former West End Brewery)

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.

This landmark parcel on Port Road will be reactivated into a $1 billion modern community, catering for new homes, hospitality, retail and government tenancies. Situated just two kilometres from the CBD and on key transport links and corridors, our vision will include abundant areas of public open space, incorporating the state heritage-listed Riverbank Garden as part of an enhanced Karrawirra Parri (River Torrens) linear park. This project will set new benchmarks for urban development, while also revitalising the city’s west end.

Further benefits from the high-level vision for the former brewery site include:

• creation of an estimated 4,000 FTE jobs during construction, plus about more than 150 new, ongoing retail and hospitality jobs
• investment of around $1 billion in public and private construction, and development value, over the life of the project
• significant areas of public open space as part of an enhanced River Torrens linear park, incorporating the State Heritage-listed Riverbank Garden
• continuous celebration of the site’s history and heritage with the possible adaptive reuse of high-profile heritage buildings such as the Walkerville Brewhouse, and activation of the area around Colonel William Light’s first Adelaide home, as well as deep recognition of Kaurna culture.

Adoption of a government-led model will unlock widespread opportunities for private sector participation at various stages, including throughout planning, design, civil works and building and construction activities.

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 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 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.