Factory Conversion Approved for Adelaide’s Affluent Unley
An Adelaide developer has gained the green light to dismantle a portion of a rare former factory and build a residential tower behind it before reconstructing historic components of the structure.
State Commission Assessment Panel approval last week has cleared the way for Minuzzo Project Management to adapt the 1906-built sawtooth-roofed structure that once housed woollen cardigan and jumper manufacturer Penny’s Knitting Mills.
The former mills building on busy Greenhill Road was a rare industrial site at Unley, long one of Adelaide’s premier suburbs, before being converted to offices in the 1980s.
To allow construction of the eight-storey building to proceed, Minuzzo had intended to dismantle and rebuild all of the locally heritage-listed structure’s facade.
After objections to the scheme were raised, Minuzzo commissioned an updated heritage assessment that said only part of the facade would now be demolished. A more recent report prepared for the developer said the project now consistent with heritage requirements.
“The development retains the prominent sawtooth and parapet and has been carefully arranged and articulated to maintain the setting of the local heritage place to its primary frontage,” the report said.
“The updated assessment ... confirms the retention of the northern and western facades [and] preserves the features of the building that display the heritage values of the place and overall legibility of the former factory building.”
If built as approved, the eight-storey project will comprise 16 three, 14 two and two one-bedroom apartments.
Two three-level townhouses are also planned for the 1550sq m site.
The Aplin Cook Gardener-designed project will include a 140sq m ground-floor communal area with a pool room and wine room.
The lot’s existing 16 parking spaces would be replaced by 23 ground-floor spaces and 36 at basement level.
Cyclists would be provided with eight resident bicycle spaces in the basement and four visitor bicycle parking spaces outside.
Penny’s Knitting Mills wound down in 1982 after tariff reductions in the 1970s led to industries based around wool to struggle.
Outside the Door is Part of the Product for Piccolo’s Fitzroy Project
Brisbane’s Forgotten Office Towers Key to Avoiding Construction Crunch
Westmead’s $659m Hospital is NSW’s Biggest Paediatric Build in 25 Years
Little Italy Rises: From Accidental Concreter to $1.5bn Precinct Play
