Upgrades underway at Housing Trust horror site
Works are underway at an SA Housing Trust site in a city fringe suburb after a horrific slaying last year, with the revamped walk-up flats taking on a new name.
Demolition of outdated parts of a public housing block in Gilberton has begun, about a year after a horrific stabbing rocked the SA Housing Trust site.
Bentzen Court, at 61 Walkerville Terrace, was the site of a stabbing in July 2025, with a woman charged with the murder of tenant Andrew Sorby-Adams.
The renovations now underway were prompted by concerns about antisocial behaviour by nearby neighbours, the site now shedding its former name and being called 61 Walkerville Terrace.
Today, Planning Minister Nick Champion and City of Adelaide Minister Lucy Hood joined local Jan Beasley to provide an update on the work that has started.
Beasley and her husband, John, were victims of a violent home invasion just moments after the stabbing, which resulted in a shattered family room door, blood-stained carpet and damage to their furniture.
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The Beasleys had long reported issues at Bentzen Court, and were now involved in the Gilberton Working Residents Group, made up of Housing Trust staff and residents.
Beasley said the incident a year ago was “a huge wake-up call for communities at large to say, this is not working”.
“It’s been a year of really hard work, because we’re a wonderful community here, and we love our community, and I think the result is the refurbishment, which will just add an enormous amount of confidence here. People will feel safer in this environment.”
The units would have new kitchens, bathrooms, internal laundries, improved lighting, upgraded fencing and improved landscaping as well as more security cameras.
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“The refurbishment will attract a different tenant through the housing trust. I believe everybody should be entitled to housing trust who needs housing, but it will attract a better tenant,” Beasley said.
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Two outdated laundries are being demolished, and the new layout would reduce concealed areas, making it harder to loiter, improve lighting and make the area safer overall.
“This upgrade is about improving safety, security and amenity in the area and bringing our community together to achieve a positive outcome,” Hood said.
Tenants have been relocated to other suitable Housing Trust homes while the works are underway, Housing Minister Nick Champion saying this was in line with other Housing Trust redevelopments.
Shadow Housing Minister Josh Teague welcomed today’s investment at Gilberton but said there was a broader issue with antisocial behaviour at public housing sites that needed to be addressed.
“The question South Australians will be asking is, ‘Does it really take a murder in public housing for the government to respond with some kind of investment?’,” he said.
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