The next exciting stage of the Bowden Urban Village development is now underway, with South Australian-based consultants chosen to deliver the project’s detailed design phase.

In late April, the State Government gave the final go-ahead for the $1 billion project, releasing the plan for the entire 16-hectare development on the old Clipsal and Origin sites at Bowden and announcing that the government would invest more than $264 million over the next decade to help deliver a high quality, sustainable community on the city fringe. The balance of expenditure would come from private developers.

Land Management Corporation Chief Executive Wayne Gibbings said the work would build on the extensive master planning work undertaken by HASSELL, Parsons Brinkerhoff and Annand Alcock Urban Design during 2009-10 and an extensive public consultation process overseen by LMC.

Among the consultants appointed is South Australian firm FMG Engineering, which won the public tender to deliver civil infrastructure works for the project.

FMG Managing Director, Peter Bayetto, said the firm was looking forward to demonstrating its expertise in civil infrastructure on the Bowden Urban Village development.

“High density developments can present a range of challenges such as contamination, remediation, earthworks and civil infrastructure, which are all specialist areas for FMG Engineering.” FMG Engineering will be working on the Bowden Urban Village development in conjunction with landscape architect Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL), which will manage the design of the development’s public spaces such as roads and parks,” Mr Bayetto said.

LMC has also awarded contracts to the following consultants:

• URPS (Urban Region Planning Solutions) – assisting LMC in preparing a Development Plan Amendment
• FYFE Engineers and Surveyors – surveying services
• Parsons Brinkerhoff – traffic engineering and parking advice
• Einstein Da Vinci and Cato – Bowden Urban Village branding strategy
• Arketype – graphic design and fit out advice for sales and information centre

Mr Gibbings said this stage of the project was crucial before LMC began providing land sales to the development industry later this year.

“We expect that sites from the first land release between Sixth and Seventh Streets will be offered to the development industry by late 2011, with the first off-the-plan sales to the public expected to occur in 2012, ” Mr Gibbings said.

Before any construction can begin at the end of 2012, a Development Plan Amendment (DPA) to rezone the site to permit medium-to-high density mixed-use development activity must be gazetted. This is anticipated to be completed by November 2011.

The DPA process includes a statutory period of eight weeks for public consultation, enabling anyone interested in the development to give their views on the proposed zoning and development policies.