McKinlay Street Car Parking Precinct
Car parking in Victor Harbor’s town centre is regularly a hot topic of discussion within the Council chamber and the wider community.
Over the years the Council has strategically acquired land in McKinlay Street for the purpose of providing additional car parking in the short and long term.
To date an additional 66 car parking spaces have been provided in McKinlay Street to cater for short term demand. Council planning also flagged the need for multi-level parking within McKinlay Street in order to future proof Victor Harbor so there is capacity for future development, business attraction and growth.
An example of the need for car parking is highlighted through the proposed Anchorage Hotel redevelopment which requires the provision of 89 spaces to meet the provisions of its development approval.
In 2020, the City of Victor Harbor made a commitment to partner with the developers of the Anchorage Hotel and accommodate the required parking within McKinlay Street. Since the initial commitment, the timeline for the Anchorage Hotel development extended as the proponents sought, and this week obtained, approval for amendments to the initial plans.
In parallel to plans for the Anchorage Hotel redevelopment progressing, the City of Victor Harbor is exploring further private sector partnerships for the McKinlay Street site. Council has engaged JLL in conjunction with the Alinea Group to undertake a national expression of interest from developers, investors and consortiums to undertake development of a mixed use facility inclusive of car parking within McKinlay Street. This will optimise opportunity for development of the entire site to be seamlessly integrated, making provision for diversified mix use outcomes while ensuring an appropriate number of car parks can be achieved to future proof our town centre.
The expression of interest explores potential private sector partnerships for the site and does not impact on the Anchorage Hotel development progressing. In fact, the Council has clearly mandated that any proposed development for the site must support the parking needs of the Anchorage Hotel development at the same time as addressing future parking needs of the broader town centre. Undertaking this expression of interest process also aligns with feedback received from the community in early 2019, specifically around the preference for developers to contribute to the cost of facilities that provide car parking rather than ratepayers.
Further parking options are a necessity to attract new businesses to the town centre, off-set the loss of parking from urban renewal projects, and cater for new and improved facilities like the Visitor Centre and proposed Arts and Culture Centre.
The expression of interest has closed and proposals will be presented to Council for consideration and future direction with a commitment to align with the project delivery ambitions of the Anchorage development.
While the City of Victor Harbor has confirmed its support of the Anchorage Hotel development through a Council resolution, a legal agreement is currently being finalised for presentation to the Anchorage Hotel developer, as agreed at a recent meeting. The agreement will outline the terms of the collaboration and firm up the commitment of both parties.