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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-04-03 Daily Xml
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Public Works Committee: Seaton Apartment Project

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (11:31): I move:

That the 123rd report of the committee, entitled Seaton Apartment Project, be noted.

Seaton is undergoing a once-in-a-generation transformation, delivering hundreds of new homes and a close and connected lifestyle in an established community. The South Australian Housing Trust (the agency) plans to construct a new public housing apartment building as part of the broader Seaton renewal. The commonwealth government's Social Housing Accelerator program has dedicated $2 billion to deliver approximately 4,000 new and refurbished homes across Australia; this includes $135.8 million earmarked specifically for South Australia.

The Seaton apartment project will draw on a portion of these assigned funds to build apartments that are catered towards accessibility, liveability and the transition for over 55s to more appropriate accommodation that facilitates ageing in place. The project also aims to increase the supply of public housing within the Seaton area in conjunction with Renewal SA's Seaton demonstration project. The agency is responsible for delivering the project on behalf of the government of South Australia.

The apartments will take the form of a five-storey development featuring 22 two-bedroom dwellings. The dwellings will be complemented by car parking, communal spaces and landscaping. Two of the apartments will meet accessibility standards and provide accompanied accessible car parking. The agency states that the five-storey design demonstrates an appropriate residential density for the site and ensures a balance of density, operational functionality, suitability for surrounds and a valuable long-term investment.

The proposal seeks to deliver essential provisions of public housing while maintaining amenity for residents and the surrounding community. This aligns with the envisaged uplift of the broader Seaton renewal project, which includes a mix of apartment buildings and traditional forms of housing, including affordable and market housing.

The new building will be located within Seaton at the corner of 143-145 Frederick Road and 97 Matthews Avenue, taking the form of a traditional podium-and-tower structure. This design strives to blend appropriately at ground level, particularly at key road frontages. The single-storey podium is sympathetic to surrounding low-density development, which is predominantly of masonry construction.

At Frederick Road, the vertical planes are highly articulated, reducing visual bulk and creating opportunities for both hard and soft landscape treatments. The tower is significantly set back from Frederick Road, reducing its scale when viewed from the primary frontage and surrounds, and the northern and eastern elevations feature a mix of materials to further reduce bulk when viewed from the street. The apartments will afford views of the east, the central business district, the Adelaide Hills and coastline to the west.

Due to the urgency of the project and the parameters of the built form, the works will progress as a single-stage development. All opportunities to accelerate the project are being explored, including concurrent planning, building rules consents, streamlined construction technology and early site preparation. Civil works for the broader Seaton demonstration project are underway, and the agency expects the site to be available for construction on schedule.

The project will require the construction of a new electrical transformer at the site, and SA Power Networks is responsible for its installation. Construction is anticipated to commence this April, with the aim to be complete by October of next year. The project is expected to cost $12.6 million, and the costs associated with the ongoing management and maintenance of the project will be drawn from the agency budget, which is also expected to be responsible for tenancy management, in line with current systems and policies.

The project will follow best practice principles for project procurement and management, as advocated by the state government and construction industry authorities. Project management will be responsible for preparation and monitoring of a works program that reflects the scope of the project; the development of formal communication channels between end users, stakeholders and the agency; establishment of and compliance with a cost plan; regular reviews of design, documentation and construction progress with consideration of time, cost and quality; and the appointment of a professional services contractor and cost manager.

The agency is engaged with professional service contractors for initial project development, and the request for tender has been released through a competitive market process to contractors that hold an appropriate Department for Infrastructure and Transport pre-qualification rating. The project team is also responsible for risk management and an assessment has been undertaken with the agency's risk management framework. The assessment indicates a moderate level of risk, identifying the following issues: the significant scale of the project; the fast-tracked development program required to meet the project deadline; the challenges of timely acquisition of development approvals; the dependency on SA Power Networks to install electricity infrastructure; and competitiveness of the market for contractors and subcontractors.

Mitigation measures include the engagement of external consultants that are highly experienced in the design and delivery of high-density apartment developments, as well as the use of an independent probity adviser to oversee builder procurement. The agency expects little disruption to local residents or businesses as construction will occur on a vacant site. A search of the central archive identified no Aboriginal sites within 200 metres of the project area.

The agency aims to deliver resilient public housing that responds to a changing environment. Key sustainability goals include increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy demands for future customers. The development's ecological and sustainable design features include natural ventilation and the use of materials of thermal mass to support passive temperature control; selective finishings to improve internal environments and common spaces; the use of locally sourced appliances, where possible; waste streams that support recycling and organic waste; as well as landscape elements that benefit the local tree canopy and biodiversity.

The overall built form has been designed considering the minimisation of materials consumption, with an eye to minimise ongoing operational costs. The project will be overseen by the agency's Procurement Governance Committee, which is responsible for strategic direction, review of progress and key decision-making. The public was notified of the development in July of last year and no representations were received as part of the public consultation process. The agency's media and communications team will manage any direct inquiries.

The committee examined written and oral evidence in relation to the Seaton apartment project. The witness who appeared before the committee was Tom Currie, Director, Major Projects and Housing Initiatives, Property Services, South Australian Housing Trust. I thank the witness for his time. I would also like to thank the member for Lee, who provided a written statement to the committee in support of this project in his electorate.

Based upon the evidence considered and pursuant to section 12C of the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991, the Public Works Committee reports to parliament that it recommends the proposed public work.

Motion carried.

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