Council project unlocks potential for new housing
An exciting project to repurpose under-utilised commercial buildings by converting them into residences is gathering momentum within the Adelaide CBD.
The City of Adelaide’s Adaptive Reuse City Housing Initiative (ARCHI) has identified the potential for at least 150 city buildings to become new housing stock.
The scheme, established in partnership with the State Government, aims to help property owners by providing expert advice, guidelines and financial incentives to transform existing buildings.
Launched last year, one of the project’s biggest champions is Adelaide Lord Mayor Dr Jane Lomax-Smith, who has been chairing a working group examining adaptive reuse.
“Adaptive reuse involves taking commercial buildings like shops and converting unused space such as upper floors into residential accommodation,” says the Lord Mayor.
“Council staff conducted an audit by literally walking the streets to identify buildings within the CBD which could be suitable.
“So far, four projects have been completed with another dozen or so in the process of seeking approvals and grants.
“In our current housing crisis, even small numbers are important in addressing the housing supply challenge.”
The ARCHI Incentives Scheme offers up to $25,000 to part fund the professional advice and documentation required for the development approval process, and up to $50,000 for construction works.
The scheme supports the full spectrum of housing outcomes, from rental and student accommodation to co-housing (self-contained dwellings with shared spaces and facilities) to owner-occupier.
Since launching, the scheme has been expanded to include heritage-listed buildings, those five stories or higher, plus major projects that will deliver 20 or more dwellings.
Project manager Ellen Liebelt says interest is steadily growing in the scheme, one of the first of its kind operating in Australia.
“Our goal is to increase housing outcomes, so we are also packaging together incentives from ARCHI and for heritage conservation works and advice, sustainability improvements and noise management. This maximises the available funding streams to enable adaptive reuse,” she says.
“For example, sustainability incentives available to retrofit buildings and increase energy efficiency can be put toward improvements like ceiling and wall insulation, solar panels and batteries, or new, energy efficient glazing.”
Ellen says another key benefit of ARCHI is being able to obtain help with navigating planning and national building codes to enable adaptive reuse to progress. One of the queries she often responds to is around private open space.
“While a project might not be fully compliant with the State’s planning code in terms of private open space, the Council’s planners can exercise a performance assessment taking into account other alternatives such as access to natural light and ventilation and give it the green light,” she advises.
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Among those who have accessed ARCHI is Adelaide property owner Lili Sun, who completed the scheme’s first project by converting three ground floor offices in a 1990s building on Sturt Street into studio apartments.
The building is in an area with plenty of vacant offices and shopfronts, making the competition for tenants fierce. So, when Lili’s commercial tenant finished their lease in December last year, she was advised to examine the ARCHI Incentives Scheme.
“We actually had been thinking whether to convert it to residential,” says Lili, adding that uncertainty about the building application outcome and high building costs initially held her back.
“Without ARCHI, we probably wouldn’t have gone for the conversion. There was always a risk that after we paid for the consulting phase, we may not get council approval and whether it’s worth it because we already spent the money to buy this property.”
Lili contacted Ellen, who provided important advice which changed her view of the process and return on investment.
“Ellen was also enormously helpful and guided me through the ARCHI, energy and noise reduction grants.”
Having seen her Sturt Street apartments snapped up by tenants, Lili already has another “more complex” project in the works.
Discussions have started on how ARCHI could help.
“If everything goes smoothly, I will definitely continue,” says Lili.
As someone who already has converted an underutilised building in Melbourne Street, North Adelaide, into a shop top apartment, Shaun Jones has found the ARCHI programme helpful as he embarks on his second project.
This time he is repurposing a historic two-storeyed shopfront on Rundle Street, with plans to convert the upper floor into residential living while keeping the commercial space below.
“I’m not a developer, I’m a businessman,” says Shaun. “It’s quite difficult not knowing the zoning, what you are allowed to do and not do and the steps and who to speak to during the process of converting commercial premises into residential.”
Shaun credits ARCHI with having “really open lines” of communication and bringing clarity to the process and certainty to projects.
“With the ARCHI programme, they’ve taken the difficult and made it possible, and it’s a whole lot easier,” he says.
“I go to Ellen for everything – who to contact, how to go through the process, what’s expected.”
Shaun says adaptive reuse offers many opportunities within the Adelaide CBD, particularly through the repurposing of older buildings.
“A lot of these older buildings in Adelaide are vacant above them,” he says. “By attracting residents back to downtown areas, these conversions can breathe new life into struggling commercial districts and foster vibrant, mixed-use communities.”
“When you think about it, they’re in some of the best spots in the state: close to transport, close to businesses and entertainment options, and bringing money into the urban areas.”
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Repurposing buildings delivers twice, he says, helping to provide much needed homes during the housing crisis, while also adding value.
Shaun says while it will take about five years of rental income to recoup his upgrade costs, adaptive reuse is more sustainable than knocking down a building – minimising waste and reducing the carbon footprint.
“And some of the costs are already taken care of; the footprint and shell are already there,” he says.
In Gilles Street, Tristan Taormina is now living in his “Manhattan-style” family home, which was previously a two-storey office building with a dilapidated interior.
“To me, it seemed like it would always make a better home than a commercial space,” says Tristan.
Tristan’s original plan was to convert the upper level only and retain a commercial space below, but now the home will span both levels.
It was stripped back to its shell to expose red brick party walls and hidden concrete floors, while also bringing light into the space and improving the flow.
“We tried to keep the design as simple as possible, prompting efficient living that brings people together at the rear north-facing kitchen,” says Tristan.
“On a relatively tight budget, we did a lot of the cosmetic work ourselves and commissioned a registered builder to carry out major works.”
The total cost so far for the fit out was $90,000 – a much lower sum than if we knocked down and built or built brand new – with many in the local community commenting to Tristan that this type of conversion doesn’t happen often enough.
“We are in a housing and rental crisis at a time when there are so many underused or vacant commercial buildings in the Adelaide CBD,” he says.
“I’m genuinely passionate about adaptive reuse — to the point where I’m always on the lookout for potential opportunities.”
“We think this is proof that, with some proper planning, conversions can be cost effective projects.”
Ellen says the ARCHI team works closely with City of Adelaide heritage staff and State Heritage to consider appropriate upgrades to a building and identify the impact any may have on the original fabric.
“We always encourage applicants to work with their project team and get specialist advice on what upgrades are possible.” she says.
“It’s conceivable that the ARCHI Incentives Scheme may prompt building owners who have previously been knocked back regarding a building conversion to dust off their plans or explore new ones.
“I’d like to hope that it’s a good opportunity to reengage and have that conversation again.
“They’ve got the benefit now of case management support [in ARCHI] for these projects to navigate the system, and getting early advice will ensure they also have the right consultant team on board to smooth the pathway through the process.”
Registered architect Ellen brings a strong passion for adaptive reuse to her role leading ARCHI, drawing on her experience at the Office for Design and Architecture, where she developed a solid foundation in design excellence and policy.
She believes the practice shows clear benefits to building owners and local neighbourhoods – enhancing streetscapes, preserving embodied carbon, optimising the use of existing resources and, importantly, adding more housing to the pool.
“It’s such a wonderful opportunity to use our existing building stock with that embedded energy and get some projects and dwellings online quickly while activating the city with a new population,” she says.
“It’s also a great way to revitalise a heritage building and keep them occupied and looked after.”
City building owners seeking early advice on adaptive reuse and the ARCHI Incentives Scheme can visit the website or contact Ellen Liebelt at [email protected].