Property value surge tipped under West Terrace skyline changes
Experts say new minimum height limits for future builds on the CBD border could see land values almost double. But what is the future for car dealerships that dominate the precinct?
Future builds on West Terrace would have minimum height limits to transform the CBD border, the state government announced today.
Planning Minister Nick Champion said the minimum height had not yet been decided and would be subject to investigation to assess what best suited the street.
This, coupled with recently announced Adelaide Airport deal to pre-approve up to 20-storey developments across the CBD, formed part of the government’s suite of announcements to change Adelaide’s skyline.
Previously, the government introduced four-storey minimum heights on Greenhill Road from Anzac Highway to Fullarton Road and parts of Port Road’s Southwark development.
Colliers investment services director Alistair Mackie told InDaily the changes to Greenhill Road saw values almost double, and lifting restrictions on West Terrace could go further and “open up a lot of opportunities”.
He said land was now worth about $3000 per square metre in the Greenhill-Fullarton Road area, “but it probably used to be $1000 to $1500” – and the same could happen to West Terrace.
“It’ll take time, it might take 10 years for the values to double, but as you see more development there, that will encourage other developers,” Mackie said.
“West Terrace is one of our major boulevards, with park lands outlooks and sea views and back to the city, so the values will increase significantly.”
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The planning changes – covered by a new City Building Heights Code Amendment – would free the major thoroughfare from what the government said was the most restrictive building heights in the city.
Mackie said lifting development restrictions in the city would go further than areas like Greenhill Road and could boost accommodation opportunities for the newly merged Adelaide University along with the city’s population target of 50,000 residents by 2036.
Currently, West Terrace was a hotspot for car showrooms and second-hand dealerships, with almost a dozen on the strip, and many on prime corner blocks.
Though the changes would not affect existing property, the government would future-proof it against future low-rise developments, which it said “stifled” the street’s potential.
“The current mix on West Terrace of low-rise buildings like car dealerships and service stations doesn’t reflect the character and future vision of our beautiful city,” Adelaide MP Lucy Hood said.
But Mackie said while the planning changes would change the future of West Terrace, it would not change the property market so drastically that long-term holders in the area, like CMI, Jarvis, BMW and Ferrari, would sell up and leave the area.
“Things will be built around them; there’s not much land when you think about if you take out the car dealerships,” Mackie said.
Motor Trade Association SA CEO Darrell Jacobs told InDaily that there was no reason a future West Terrace with high-rises and car dealerships could not co-exist.
“Global experience shows that high-rise zoning and the presence of automotive dealerships, as well as fuel and convenience stations are not mutually exclusive,” Jacobs said.
“The MTA supports the continued growth of Adelaide’s CBD as an opportunity for South Australians and the business community to thrive together.”
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Mackie said while low-rise car dealerships were a non-issue, “that’s not the amenity that people living in the city need”.
“You do need a village feel, so developers are going to have to create a mixture of good retail, food offerings, some vibrancy in that area to complement the developments that they’re doing.
“The market is a short walk away, and there’s a lot of land between West Terrace and the market that could be prime development, high-rise land.”
The Adelaide City Council has raised concerns about West Terrace being “under utilised” since 2023, and their 2036 City Plan identified the road as having the greatest potential for growth in the city.
Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith said she welcomed the renewed focus on West Terrace.
“Further investment and more quality residential development along this important thoroughfare will not only help create a more vibrant precinct but it will also ultimately result in making a ten-lane highway safer for pedestrians and cyclists,” she said.
Independent candidate for Adelaide and Deputy Lord Mayor Keiran Snape told InDaily that although there were amenity and heritage concerns about other city developments, he supported the West Terrace move.
“West Terrace is a much better place for development than smack bang in the middle of residential streets or rows of residential cottages,” he said.
“My approach is: ‘does it pass the pub test’ and by and large I think West Terrace does.”
Planning Minister Nick Champion said the changes would “make sure these developments maximise the potential of their prime location”.
“West Terrace has huge potential to anchor the Central living district in the city, but it needs the State Government and the council to properly curate and guide development.”
The code amendment would require community and stakeholder consultation before any planning laws could be finalised.
The announcement came after the Malinauskas government committed to change laws for buildings to rise higher and faster with a $500 million pre-sale guarantee fund for developers.
