Artists seeking a contemporary workspace close to the city need look no further than the Bowden Urban Village development, as local arts groups are urged to turn a former ‘sawtooth roof’ warehouse into a thriving creative hub.

Infrastructure Minister Patrick Conlon said a key focus of the $1 billion Bowden Urban Village project was to integrate the arts community into what will be one of the city’s most exciting developments in years.

“The Bowden Urban Village precinct will be a vibrant mix of higher density housing with a diverse spread of office, retail and public space amenities and we believe having the arts community closely involved will enhance the village’s cosmopolitan buzz,” Minister Conlon said. “The site will eventually include over 2,400 dwellings for over 3,500 people and a healthy arts culture will help ensure the precinct is an appealing and colourful place to live, work and relax.”

Mr Conlon said the Land Management Corporation was collaborating with Arts SA to reach as many potential members of the Adelaide arts scene as possible.

The Bowden Urban Village project site is already home to youth arts company Cirkidz, which earlier this year took up residency in a vacant building in Gibson Street.

“Cirkidz brings a real sense of performance and fun to the area and we are keen to bolster this by transforming Building 9a into a publicly accessible arts hub with a variety of activities and uses,” Mr Conlon said. “For example the site could include design studios, gallery exhibitions, art classes and workshops, as well as some associated market activity and a rehearsal and performance space.”

Building 9a is a 1950s ‘sawtooth roof’ factory located between Gibson and Drayton Streets. It offers almost 1200 square metres of useable space including expansive floor space, offices, amenities and three-phase power. The site will eventually be subject to redevelopment as part of the Bowden project.

LMC will review the lease at the end of the three-year tenancy, with a view to extending the occupancy or relocating the operation to a permanent structure depending on the contribution made by the arts hub to the overall culture of the precinct.

Through LMC, the State Government has committed more than $264 million to transform the former Clipsal and gasworks industrial sites into Adelaide’s largest higher density development demonstrating design excellence, community development and environmental sustainability.

A further $750 million will be invested by the private sector as the project evolves over the next 10 to 12 years.