The Alice Springs Town Council have released concept plans to undertake revitalisation works along the riverside of the desert town’s city centre. The proposal is part of council’s commitment to delivering the Regenerating the Alice Town Centre project, which aims to engage with the Alice Springs community in order to enhance the city for the benefit of local individuals, businesses and visitors.
Following community feedback, council have hit a halfway point in the design development proposal, which includes upgrades to Todd Mall and Todd Street, a new activated link between the mall and Hartley Street, as well as areas along Leichhardt Terrace and the Hartley Street car park. The designs for the new public playground and sporting infrastructure, art installations, bench seating, landscaping and lighting are now open for public comment.
The milestone succeeds a process of stakeholder engagement, including a multi-day co-design workshop, held over late 2023 and early 2024, and early conceptual designs prepared by Adelaide-based planning, landscape architecture and urban design studio Jensen Plus. According to their website, the practice’s research into the successes of, and risk factors for, pedestrian malls helped inform their design proposal for Todd Mall, which is “a well-loved community and tourist street … suffering from age, alternative shopping options, and well-publicised anti-social behaviour and crime (actual and perceived).”
Bennett Architecture was awarded a design tender to translate these concepts into a detailed proposal in 2024. “These visionary plans, created in consultation with stakeholders, are poised to bring significant and positive changes to Alice Springs,” the firm noted on its social media. “We are honoured to collaborate with the council on this […] project and look forward to contributing to the transformation of Alice Springs’ town centre.”
According to the council, the next step will involve refining the proposal and preparing the project for construction.
The plans can be viewed online and are open for comment until 25 February.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
