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New Port dwellers transforming old dock lands

An influx of new residents is reshaping Port Adelaide as two waterfront housing developments add 1300 homes, while the old Marine and Harbors building at Dock One is set to be transformed into a boutique hotel.

Sep 29, 2022, updated Sep 29, 2022
Photo supplied.

Photo supplied.

New owners are now living in 115 homes at Dock One on the southern side of the Port River near St Vincent Street according to Kite managing director Damon Nagel, with another 105 homes under construction.

South Australian-owned Kite also recently received approval to build a four-storey motel alongside its planned Marine and Harbors building hotel.

Rising construction costs are seeing the Dock One development increase to a more than $250 million project since it was first announced in 2016, but Nagel said it had not dampened demand.

The entire second stage of 105 homes, a mix of apartments and townhouses that are under construction now, are already sold.

Nagel said 80 to 85 per cent of Dock One homes sold were owner-occupied and there were clear trends emerging.

“A large number of people who have bought are already existing residents in the area, another large number are people who have relocated to South Australia through life changes during COVID,” he said.

“They are primarily from Sydney and Queensland, a lot of ex-military are coming from Queensland. Then we have a couple of people who work in the tech industry who are still employed in places like NSW but like working from Adelaide because it provides a great lifestyle.”

Kite intends starting work on its stage three and stage four Dock One development across the river next year.

Its plan is to build another 180 townhouses and 220 “more resort-style” homes around open space, a shared pool and health club for residents’ exclusive use.

Nagel said there was not a fixed price for the new homes but “you can buy a three-bedroom home on waterfront for under a million dollars”.

Further along the Port River at the Sugar Wharf precinct that overlooks Hart’s Mill, West Australian developer Cedar Woods has construction of about 500 new homes well underway.

First residents moved into its Fletcher’s Slip town houses in July and Cedar Woods is now building its next stage of homes along with having sold most of its planned waterside apartments.

Renewal SA first announced in 2016 that the two developers would transform Port Adelaide with nearly 1300 homes across four precincts, Cedar Woods in the North West and Fletcher’s Slip, and Kite in Dock One and Port Approach (South).

Work is also expected to begin next year on a new pedestrian bridge across the dock, a project overseen by Renewal SA as part of a commitment to moving the City of Adelaide clipper ship to Dock Two when the Port Adelaide development plan was approved.

Other businesses have been investing in the Port. The Port Mall shopping precinct has undergone a $50 million transformation by the Precision Group.

In 2019, Pirate Life Brewing moved into the old Dalgety Wool Store and Port Adelaide’s oldest building, the Admiral Hotel built on Black Diamond Corner in 1849 has undergone a makeover after being closed for 10 years.

Developer Hans Ehman, who built the Quest Hotel near the Birkenhead bridge, has not yet revealed his plans for the waterfront home of the Port Adelaide Fisherman’s Wharf Market that recently shut its doors for the last time.

The Port Adelaide Enfield Council said a demolition application submitted by property owner Hans Ehmann was approved earlier this year.

Nagel said Kite is completing construction documents to start work next year on the $30 million transformation of the iconic Marine and Harbors building at Dock One into a 93-room boutique hotel next year.

The building has deteriorated since it was closed in the 1990s. Two landmark murals created on either side of the building will be retained, and each room designed with a balcony to encourage longer-term stays.

New housing at Dock One in Port Adelaide, the former Marine and Harbors building in the background will soon be transformed into a boutique hotel. Pic: Belinda Willis/InDaily

Kite is the evolution of Starfish Developments after Nagel and Joseph Chou, founder of Ironfish, amicably parted ways.

Nagel said the company was focused on developing community housing projects and had plans to retain more of its assets.

Another four-storey motel has received planning approval next door to the Marine and Harbors building, and Nagel said part of Kite’s longer-term strategy was to own and operate both venues.

“This will form part of the business strategy of holding assets. We are planning that this will be the first of three (hotels to be owned and operated by Kite), we will also look for one in the city and one in regional South Australia,” Nagel said.

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