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Adelaide’s eagerly awaited entrepreneur and innovation centre has found its first tenant in CBA.
Lot Fourteen, a $400 million commercial office building that will stand on the site of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital, has been designed to provide government and private sector organisations with a high-tech home for their research and operational teams.
The bank has said it would use the space to grow its technology workforce, planning to add up to 150 technology specialists within five years, according to the company’s chief information officer for technology Brendan Hopper.
Mr Hopper explained why the group was attracted to having a large staff presence based at the innovative space.
“We want to be involved in providing amazing opportunities for career development and innovation – both for new entrants to the technology sector through our graduate, intern and technology associates programs – and also via reskilling opportunities for people who are already in the ever-changing technology sector,” Mr Hopper said.
“Lot Fourteen has the ingredients to be a major centre for technological innovation, collaboration and helping Australia advance towards becoming a more digital economy,” he added.
Being developed, owned, and managed by Quintessential Equity and supported by the Australian and South Australian governments, the precinct will play host to between three and four thousand workers across high-growth industries upon completion. Prior to that, it hopes to be a generator of jobs in its construction phase.
The 16-storey, 41,000-square metre build will support approximately 430 jobs at project peak, with employment opportunities for Indigenous South Australians prioritised through a partnership with Indigenous Training and Industry Participation Plans.
When it opens, the building will also function as a meeting place for the community. Set to house a $20 million innovation hub as part of the Adelaide City Deal, the site will offer a public event space as well as dining options on its ground floor.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall is encouraging businesses eager to capitalise on the centre’s opportunities for fostering innovation and to follow CBA’s lead by locking down their space now.
“I’m very excited about what the entrepreneur and innovation centre is going to bring to South Australia. The EIC is the place where innovative organisations should want to be and now is the time to take up this unique opportunity.
“The EIC will give those who secure a tenancy the opportunity to accelerate innovation and with this create jobs for the future. It will showcase South Australia as a global leader in incubating and promoting innovation, research, and collaboration. It will be a magnet for talent and creativity, delivering exciting futures for its tenants and South Australia,” Mr Marshall said.
Executive chairman of Quintessential Equity Shane Quinn added that the company was looking forward to filling the building with “the best and brightest organisations who can take advantage of an environment geared to world-class collaboration and innovation”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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