Chapel Street Plaza and Hindmarsh Lane Redevelopment

In September 2018, Tonkin was engaged by lead contractors Jensen PLUS to provide civil engineering and associated services for the Chapel Plaza and Hindmarsh Lane Upgrade at Glenelg – one of Adelaide’s most popular beachside destinations.

Tonkin supported Jensen PLUS in the preparation of the detailed design for the streetscape upgrade, which is the first stage of the wider Jetty Road precinct redevelopment. We undertook civil, stormwater, structural and electrical design to help transform the concept design into a detailed design ready for construction.

Previously a small one-way street, Chapel Street has been upgraded with plaza features including natural stone pavements, water sensitive urban design elements, an arbour that will eventually be covered with vines, trees, seating, lighting and an eye-catching public art sculpture.

Across from the plaza, Hindmarsh Lane has also been upgraded with new stone paving, public toilets, including a parents’ room and Changing Places facility.

The lead project managers from both Jensen PLUS and Council changed various times throughout the life of the project, however Tonkin’s project team remained consistent from the initial investigation phase through to construction. This led to Tonkin gaining an inherent understanding of the project objectives and providing reliable support to Jensen PLUS, Council and the contractor through every phase of the project.

Aside from the valuable technical expertise we provided for civil, structural and stormwater, a critical element to the success of the project was our co-ordination and negotiation skills with service authorities. The project involved various conflicts with existing services within a confined area, including construction of a building on top of a sewer main, relocation of a major stobie pole, undergrounding of electrical services and realignment of a water main. Various design objectives would not have been achieved without Tonkin’s effective co-ordination of the various service authorities.

Since Chapel Street Plaza officially opened in November 2021, it has become a popular community space for both locals and visitors to take a break and relax. City of Holdfast Bay has also held a number of activation events in the plaza, including ‘Tunes on Chapel’ where the plaza has been brought to life with music from both DJ’s and artists.

This project, and our relationships with urban design / landscape architects, demonstrates our capability of bringing civil, stormwater, traffic and structural considerations to integrated design processes. We have become a leading engineering consultancy in many similar urban public realm projects that are often led by urban design teams. These projects provide a great opportunity to design and deliver projects for the community, working with our core local government client base, and with a range of other consultancies and disciplines.

We’re proud to have provided engineering services to support the development of this inviting community space that is set to be enjoyed by locals and visitors for many years to come.