Burke Urban Investments (BUI) has completed their review of the community feedback about private elements of the masterplan for the Mount Barker City Centre Project, the once-in-a-generation project located on the 12,000m2 vacant site in the heart of Mount Barker adjacent to Morphett Street and Hutchinson Street.

The community consultation, which took place in November last year, was held for the critical Town Square element of the project, which provides the active interface for all elements of the masterplan and much-needed urban meeting space for the community.

Burke Urban Investments, the majority landowner of the site, was selected as the Mount Barker District Council’s preferred development partner under a national expression of interest process, to deliver the significant project. The EOI required respondents to include a mix of private uses to stimulate local and regional employment and investment while delivering on Council’s civic element requirements and catalyst initiatives.

The staged development is expected to create 450 direct and indirect jobs during construction and a significant number of new permanent jobs on completion. Their winning vision for the flexible masterplan is layered by a variety of uses on the mixed used zoned site.  Divided into two key public activation zones including the Town Square and the Upper Piazza area, the plan offers three key public uses – a new Civic Centre, a proposed Library, and an Innovation Hub, complemented by several key private uses – destination small-scale retail, commercial offices, a health and wellness centre, a boutique hotel, vibrant market shed and residential accommodation.

Burke Urban Investments have reviewed the community consultation comments with regard to the private elements of the masterplan with some key areas of interest being:

• The desire for quality and destination retail and food and beverage options.
• The need for a vibrant day and night economy for the community.
• Some concern about the size and scale of the buildings, particularly the commercial office space.
• Request for further clarification about the need for more office space given the vacant office space already available in Mount Barker.
• The desire to retain the trees along Druids Avenue and the protection of the residential character of the properties on the northern side of Druids Avenue and the cottage at the corner of Morphett and Hutchinson streets.
• Substantiation for medium-density residential and hotel accommodation.
• The desire for an active and programmed space that is comfortable, safe, accessible and can be used all year round.
• The desire for a project character and identity which is sympathetic to the history, culture and environment of the Adelaide Hills and Mount Barker region.

Burke Urban Investments Director Kym Burke said, “There was a definite focus on quality retail and food and beverage options, an active commercial space, a vibrant nightlife offering and a safe and secure environment for families and youth. It is currently proposed there will be a number of small-scale retail and hospitality tenancies activating the ground level of the commercial office space, hotel, carpark, proposed library and Council office. These retail spaces will ensure a vibrant and active laneway connecting Morphett Street to the proposed residential area near Druids Avenue.”

“There is also proposed retail in and around the character cottage on the corner of Morphett Street and Hutchinson Street, including a proposed large market shed which interfaces with the Town Square to provide flexible all-season retailing and events space,” Kym continued.

Burke Urban Investments will advertise a retail Expression of Interest later this year and which is expected to attract submissions from a mix of quality food and beverage providers, at different price-points, that will showcase the best of Adelaide Hills and South Australian food and produce.

“We know the retail EOI will bring quality destination retailers and wellbeing service providers to offer diversity to the current retail experience in Mount Barker.  We have already had strong interest from retailers in this space,” Kym continued.

The community feedback from the recent consultation is valued by Burke Urban Investments and has already started to inform ongoing iterations of the site’s flexible masterplan and detailed design of the buildings and the spaces between them. Ultimately, Burke Urban will need to make final decisions based on the expertise of their best-practice Urban Design Team and as complemented by Council. The community feedback is also informing the final design of the Town Square, as well as the Council’s Open Space Plan, Traffic Management Plan, and considerations for branding, placemaking, events and activations plans. Burke Urban Investment’s Response to Community Consultation relating to the private elements of the Masterplan is available for download on the City Centre Project Page.

Kym Burke explains, “after now completing the important first step of the Town Square community consultation, Burke Urban Investments will facilitate communication forums to inform, engage and hopefully inspire and excite the community about what we are proposing for this long, under-utilized site in the heart of Mount Barker. For the last year, we have been restricted in our information release due to the necessary probity requirements of the Expression of Interest process, but now we enter the exciting phase of detailed design and planning and presenting this to the market and community. We are also working with a significant community aligned operator to activate the precinct and are excited to make some important announcements in the coming weeks about this key anchor facility.”

“We look forward to further engaging and working with the Mount Barker community and will soon invite interested members of the community to participate in branding, place-making and activation workshops for the site. These workshops will help to inform its name and shape the detail and identity of the City Centre project. This is where the project will really start to come to life,” Kym concluded.

To stay up to date on the project, find out about the EOI process, FAQ or to ask further questions visit the project’s temporary  City Centre Project Page web page.