The transformation of the old West End Brewery site is well underway. For Alex Eckermann, Southwark Grounds offered something he couldn’t find in Melbourne: an affordable path into the property market.
Five years ago, software engineer Alex Eckermann was one of about 26,000 South Australians to pack up and move interstate. In his case it was to Melbourne for work – once seen as almost a rite of passage for young Adelaideans.
“It was fun and I enjoyed the different lifestyle and opportunities in Melbourne,” he says.
Then he started thinking past the next lease to buying a home of his own.
“There’s no way I could get a land title or a new build anywhere within a 30-plus minute commute in Melbourne,” he says.
A city waking up
Alex was still flying home a few times a year to see family – and noticed things were changing.
“There was always a new building in the city,” he says. “There is a sense that Adelaide is waking up. It’s been the sleepy big country town for a while.”
The numbers tell the same tale. Interstate migration nationally is running at around 20 per cent below pre-COVID levels, but South Australia’s net losses have shrunk by roughly 45 per cent, and Victoria has flipped from net gains to net losses.
Nothing, Alex says, sums up why that change is happening better than Southwark Grounds.
One look, out of curiosity
The new Renewal SA-led revelopment sits a stone’s throw from the CBD, on the site of the old West End Brewery, and Alex assumed it would be well out of his price range.
“Out of curiosity I had a look, which is when I found the HomeSeeker SA townhouses.
“I soon realised not only was it possible, that I was eligible for a home through HomeSeeker SA and support from HomeStart.”
The homebuying help on hand
HomeSeeker SA is a state government initiative designed to increase access to housing for eligible South Australians based on a range of criteria, including income. You can check out your eligibility here.
HomeStart Finance also provides shared equity, and low-deposit home loans for people meeting similar criteria.
The stars aligned when Alex was one of the successful applicants in a ballot to become a founding resident of the Renewal SA-led redevelopment Southwark Grounds.
His affordable home is listed from $629,000 with shared equity through HomeStart Finance keeping the price down.
More than seven months after he found out he’d been successful, he says it’s only now starting to feel real.
“I honestly didn’t think that was possible in Adelaide.”
Brown brick, bike parking, no garage needed
Alex’s townhouse sits on the western edge of the development on Holland Street, a short walk from Bloom Restaurant and Karrawirra Parri (River Torrens).
The double-storey brown brick homes use industrial materials that throw back to the site’s brewery past, with open-plan living downstairs, bicycle parking just inside the front door and a studio-style bedroom above.
There’s no parking space, a trade-off that buys more living space and a lower price. Alex isn’t fussed.
“For going to the office in the city I could grab a tram or bus from Port Road, a train from Bowden, walk or cycle along the Torrens,” he says.
“For my work and where I need to get around, I don’t imagine I’ll need to have a car whilst living there.”
Leaving the screen behind
As co-founder of a startup, Alex works long days wherever there’s a laptop and a signal, so time offline counts for a lot.
“One of the things I am looking forward to at Southwark is being able to walk and cycle anywhere I need to go. I’ll be able to leave the screen and in a few moments be at the Torrens riverside among the trees and into the parklands.”
Construction on all 17 Founder’s Row townhouses began in December and is on track for completion by Christmas. Alex has met his future neighbours at a site walkthrough, and he’s already planning board game nights with them.
Southwark Grounds ticks every other box on Alex’s wishlist as well.
“My ideal place to live has a great small coffee shop with outside seating that I can walk to on a Saturday morning and sit, drink coffee and catch up with neighbours and friends,” he says. “Followed by an evening at a wine bar. What more could you ask for?”
1700 homes to come
Alex and his neighbours are first in. And a further 1700 homes are planned for Southwark Grounds over the next decade, alongside a supermarket, retail and hospitality tenancies, a childcare centre and a revitalised Walkerville Brew Tower.
At least 20 per cent of the homes in every development across the precinct will be offered as affordable through HomeSeeker SA.
Registrations of interest for future Southwark Grounds releases are open now, including the Anderson Lane townhouses, the mixed apartment and townhouse development by Otello and Fortis, plus The Bond apartments.
Apartment living, complete with garden
In May this year, a planning code amendment increased housing capacity at Southwark Grounds by about 400 homes, enabling buildings of up to 14 storeys in some parts of the precinct.
The first of the apartment projects, The Bond, is an 11-storey, 125-home project, with retail and hospitality tenancies on the ground floor fronting a newly created public park.
Its rooftop will be green as well, featuring a large garden for residents, with BBQ and outdoor dining areas, lounges, trees and a lawn.
Construction is expected to begin early next year, with first residents expected in late 2028.
Renewal SA is also currently working on plans for a large public space to connect The Bond to Founder’s Row.
To be called Colonel Light’s Park, it will include a large lawn, paved footpaths, mature trees and garden seating, centred on a soon-to-be-announced approach to mark and share the stories of the state heritage-listed remains of Colonel Light’s cottage and garden, which are buried beneath this part of the site.
What it means for Alex
“For me, this is certainty, financial security, and the beginning of a new chapter in my journey,” Alex says.
“My only request to developers and Renewal SA is that, wherever possible, to continue these opportunities for first homebuyers and young South Australians.”
For more on Southwark Grounds and to register your interest in upcoming home releases, head here.
