Decisions
Heritage Buildings
Building Refurbishment 1The City of Adelaide has some 417 buildings on the Register of State Heritage Items, mostly residential and public buildings.
There are 20 State listed buildings that currently provide significant office space in the Adelaide CBD office market. Most of these are either C or D grade buildings or have been substantially redeveloped, retaining just the façade of the heritage item (for example the Myer Centre facades to North Terrace).
The Adelaide (City) Development Plan requires that development of State or Local Heritage Places “should not diminish its heritage value or structural integrity and should conserve the substantial whole of the place”. This adds complexity to the refurbishment of heritage listed buildings and any works should be carefully planned. Professional advice should be sought on elements of the development which may have heritage implications.
Since 1988 the Adelaide City Council has provided the most substantial local government heritage incentives scheme in Australia, reimbursing private owners of heritage places with part funding for conservation work that meets specific requirements. Last financial year Council committed more than $1million to support built heritage.
Work that may be eligible for a heritage grant includes:
● Documentation
● Conservation works
● Special projects where customised assistance will be provided to owners of listed places that face large, complex or significant conservation challenges
● Emergency works where stabilisation works or hazard remediation works are urgently required.
Over time, Council has contributed to some significant flagship heritage projects such as the Beehive Corner and West’s Coffee Palace, among numerous other residential and commercial projects.
The Heritage Incentive Scheme covers buildings listed on the Register of State Heritage Items or either of the two local listings (City Significance and Townscape).
State listed properties may be eligible for a grant from the State’s Heritage Branch of the Department for Environment and Heritage.
Further information can be obtained from Adelaide City Council through the website www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/heritage or by telephone on (08) 8203 7445.
Environmentally Sustainable design (ESD)
City BuildingsIncreasingly, major corporate and government tenants are seeking buildings that demonstrate environmentally sustainable principles.
The South Australian Strategic Plan has a target to reduce energy consumption in government occupied buildings by 25% within 10 years. Preference will be given to office accommodation with a high Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) rating for all new leases and leases renewed after June 2006. Several major companies have adopted similar selection criteria, indicating a growing awareness by the corporate sector of ESD principles.
City Central Tower One is the first building in Adelaide and the largest in Australia designed to achieve the 5 star ABGR rating. Most other new buildings are seeking to achieve a 4.5 star rating. The challenge is for building owners to at least improve on their existing energy ratings.
Implementing environmentally sustainable initiatives in existing buildings can result in significant increases in capital value. Simple and cost effective solutions exist to increase building performance that will pay for themselves within realistic time frames.
While tenants currently may not be willing to pay a premium rental for buildings with sustainability features, some will soon come to expect a discounted rent to occupy buildings that do not have these features.
By 2007 vendors of commercial buildings will be required to demonstrate their energy consumption to potential purchasers as part of the due diligence process. Energy efficiency measures for commercial and public buildings were introduced into the Building Code of Australia from 1 May 2006. The changes reflect the commitment of federal and state government to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The new measures require all commercial and public buildings to achieve minimum levels of energy efficiency through performance based and deemed-to-satisfy provisions for building elements:
● The thermal performance of walls, ceilings, floors and glazing including shading in order to avoid or reduce heating and cooling;
● The sealing of buildings to reduce energy loss through leakage;
● Natural ventilation and internal air movement, where appropriate, to avoid or reduce the use of artificial conditioning;
Engineering services including:
● Lighting systems
● Air conditioning, heating and ventilation systems
● Hot water supply systems
Building owners should ideally seek to achieve an ABGR of 3-3.5 stars as a minimum to remain competitive in today’s marketplace.
In addition to the ABGR Rating for energy efficiency within office buildings, the Green Building Council of Australia has developed a broader measure of environmentally sustainable building techniques known as Green Star.
Its assessment also incorporates the ABGR rating. Green Star assessments are awarded up to a maximum of six stars, this representing ‘World Leadership’ status in incorporating ESD techniques.
When undertaking refurbishment works, building owners should consider some of the following strategies to comply with ESD principles:
● Review the facade performance and incorporate shading devices or low ‘e’ glazing panels where practical;
● Re-engineer existing building control systems or install new building management and control systems to optimise plant operating strategies and performance;
● Install sub metering on electricity and water systems to enable monitoring and analysis;
● Install high efficiency, low loss lighting and lighting control systems;
● Install high efficiency chillers and add variable speed drives on pumps or fans where appropriate;
● Instigate co-mingled waste recycling programmes for paper, cardboard, reusable stationary, drinks containers and other recycling programmes such as composting for food waste;
● Install AS 3666 compliant cooling towers to minimise water leakage and install other water saving devices such as low flush toilets, automatic sensors on urinals and flow restrictors on hand basin taps.
For further details visit the Green Building Council of Australia at www.gbcaus.org and Australian Building Greenhouse Rating at www.abgr.com.au.
Refurbishing Lower Grade Buildings
City ConstructionAdelaide’s ageing office stock has been a key ingredient in the recent flurry of new development activity. While demand for office space has grown steadily, it is unlikely to keep up with the supply boom between 2006 and 2008.
With increased stock on the market, there will be greater competition between secondary building owners for tenants. This provides a dilemma for owners of lower grade office stock which is becoming obsolete.
Owners can elect to:
● Do nothing and risk losing income through declining occupancy, increased running costs through poor maintenance, and falling effective rents;
● Consider withdrawing the building from the market;
● Redevelop their asset;
● Sell the building;
● Consider a change of use or;
● Refurbish.
The flight to quality suggests that the market for secondary space is diminishing, However, a significant proportion of Adelaide’s office tenants are price sensitive, and will not be drawn to the prime space.
Their requirements are for good clean office space at a competitive price that provides reasonable comfort and services. As the standards expected by tenants rise, even at the lower and older end of the market, owners will need to urgently consider refurbishing these properties in order to retain their clients.