Adaptive Re-Use Forum

The Capital City Committee (CCC) is an intergovernmental body established under the City of Adelaide Act 1998 whose primary function is to enhance and promote the development of the City of Adelaide as the capital city of the state.

The CCC pursues a collaborative approach to city building that benefits all South Australians and is chaired by the Premier of South Australia. Committee members include state government ministers, the Lord Mayor of Adelaide and a number of City of Adelaide councillors.

Adaptive Re-Use Forum

The Capital City Committee Adaptive Re-Use Forum was held on 5 May 2023 in the Banqueting Room in the Adelaide Town Hall. The Forum discussion canvassed mechanisms and incentives to support property owners and developers seeking to increase the supply of housing by converting vacant offices, and above-retail spaces, in the CBD into residential accommodation. Discussion also investigated the willingness of key industry leaders to explore and utilise assets to generate housing (including affordable housing) to assist in revitalising the city.

Speakers and panelists

The Forum was presented and facilitated by Dr Tim Williams, Practice Leader, Cities, Grimshaw Global. The speakers and panelists included:

The Hon. Peter Malinauskas MP, Premier of South Australia
The Hon. Stephen Mullighan MP, Treasurer
The Hon. Nick Champion MP, Minister for Housing and Urban Development and Minister for Planning
The Right Hon., The Lord Mayor of Adelaide, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith AM
Rosanne Haggerty - Founder of Common Ground Community; former Adelaide Thinker in residence
Professor Emma Baker - Professor of Housing Research at the University of Adelaide; Deputy Director of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Healthy Housing
Nathan Dal Bon - CEO National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC)
Yaara Plaves - Hames Sharley (Architects).

Attendees included over 90 key CBD property owners, developers, builders, housing advocates, officers of government agencies, and members of academia.

Forum discussion

The Forum included a facilitated roundtable discussion where questions were asked on key themes:

Can you see an opportunity to refit vacant or under-utilised buildings for housing?
What are the problems and obstructions?
Where are the low-hanging fruit?
What would help?
What would get you to tackle this issue?

View the roundtable notes and slides:

Capital City Committee Adaptive Re-Use Forum – collated table notes (pdf 350KB)

Capital City Committee Adaptive Re-Use Forum – collated slide deck (pdf 6MB)

2023 Capital City Committee Adaptive Reuse Forum

Watch the highlights of 2023 Capital City Committee Adaptive Reuse Forum below.

Lord Mayor, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith AM acknowledged the importance of the Forum

Lord Mayor, Dr Jane Lomax-Smith AM, acknowledged and stressed the importance of putting together this Forum for working with the State Government and Cabinet.

Emma Baker, Professor of Housing Research at the University of Adelaide

Emma Baker, Professor of Housing Research at the University of Adelaide, gave a presentation at the Forum on residential demand considerations.

Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia

Premier Peter Malinauskas acknowledged the Capital City Committee, and spoke on a number of topics relating to population growth in South Australia.

Rosanne Haggerty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Solutions

President and Chief Executive Officer of Community Solutions, Rosanne Haggerty, spoke about her program in the United States and how she worked to address housing challenges in Adelaide during 2005 and 2006.