The ABC has announced a new location for its Adelaide operations, moving to a new arts and media hub alongside other government arts organisations in the CBD.
The proposed facility will be at the former Adelaide Bus Station, the Tapangka site, on Franklin Street in the city.
Country Arts SA, State Theatre Company South Australia and State Opera South Australia will also move to the proposed stand-alone building that houses the new ABC offices.
The public broadcaster and the South Australian government will partner with urban development agency Renewal SA to progress plans for the new hub, subject to public works approval.
Just over a year ago, the ABC said the nearly 52-year-old building at Collinswood was “reaching the end of its suitability”.
The ABC Adelaide will move from Collinswood by 2031. (ABC News: Dean Faulkner)
The move was previously announced to take place from 2029, but the ABC has said the new building was expected to be completed by 2031.
“It will be a real hub of energy and activity and creative production,” ABC chair Kim Williams said.
“I think to locate the ABC in the centre of Adelaide is a marvellous thing, to have it with an adjacent set of occupants that are amongst the leading creators in South Australia is also a terrific thing.
“We’ll be moving in by 2031. We will continue to do all of the planning and implementation and approval processes with the Commonwealth Department of Public Works over the course of 2026-27, and we’ll turn earth hopefully from 2028.”
Kim Williams says the move will happen by 2031. (ABC: Matt Roberts)
Mr Williams said the cost for the relocation was yet to be finalised.
“We have internal estimates as to what it would cost, but until that’s finalised, I think it’ll be a bit reckless of me to go into those numbers,” he said.
State-of-the-art facilities
The new ABC offices will include modern production studios alongside content making, technical and administrative operations.
The Tapangka location was chosen following a detailed feasibility study that identified the future needs of the ABC.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Tuesday night the government would contribute $51 million towards the proposed arts precinct.
“Work and planning on the decommissioning of the ABC Adelaide Collinswood property would progress in line with the construction of the Tapangka Arts and Media Hub,” he said.
“The ABC, together with Country Arts SA, State Theatre Company South Australia and State Opera South Australia, will remain at Collinswood over the next five years as divestment planning is undertaken in preparation for sale of the current Adelaide site.”
The ABC Adelaide Collinswood building is nearly 52 years old. (ABC News: Dean Faulkner)
The broadcaster’s current site, on North East Road, sits on a five-acre parcel and is a workplace for more than 200 ABC staff.
The building, known for its distinctive architecture, was officially opened by prime minister Gough Whitlam in 1974.
“Franklin Street will become a portal for all South Australians to experience, participate and engage with the arts in a way they have never been able to before,” the premier said.
“It will ensure that the ABC has a state-of-the-art home in Adelaide to ensure South Australians will continue to have access to news and information they can trust, together with safe, engaging and educational content for their children.”
ABC managing director Hugh Marks said the new home for ABC Adelaide would be “fit for purpose for a modern public broadcaster”.
“Today is a significant day for the ABC and we’re delighted to take the next step with the SA government to secure a new arts hub,” Mr Marks said.
“Moving to new state-of-the-art facilities central to the CBD and co-locating with government arts organisations offers enormous benefits to the broader arts community and our staff, audiences, and the creative sector.”
Bananas in Adelaide
A live-action adaptation of children’s television series Bananas in Pyjamas will be returning to production in Adelaide with Windmill Production Company.
Beloved kids show Bananas in Pyjamas is returning to production. (ABC)
Mr Williams said the production would be part of the federal government’s $50 million funding allocation to the ABC to invest in local content, with a focus on kids’ programming.
“This will be with the live action Bananas in Pyjamas, the characters that kids know and love from the first iteration of Bananas in Pyjamas back in the early 1990s,” he said.
Production is set to begin this year.
Meanwhile, a third season of ABC comedy series Austin has begun production in South Australia.
Starring Michael Theo, the six-part series has started filming in Australia and the United Kingdom.