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Good practice Imported

Lot Fourteen — Australia's Deep-Tech and Space Innovation District (Adelaide)

Australia · Adelaide · See the Australia profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 54% 67/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Australia's dedicated space-tech and deep-innovation district, repurposed from the former Royal Adelaide Hospital (7 ha). By early 2025: 1,700+ people from 160+ organisations, including Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Airbus, and the Australian Space Agency's national HQ.

1,700+
People working in the district (early 2025)
160+
Organisations based in the district (early 2025)
6,000+
Projected capacity when complete
Lot Fourteen — Australia's Deep-Tech and Space Innovation District (Adelaide)

Details

Maturity
Scaling
Promoter
Renewal SA / Government of South Australia
Period
2019–present
Keywords
urban experimentation, space technology, AI, cybersecurity, deep tech

Context

Lot Fourteen is a 7-hectare innovation district in central Adelaide (North Terrace precinct) developed by Renewal SA on the site of the former Royal Adelaide Hospital, which closed in 2017. The precinct was conceived by the South Australian Government to anchor a new economy in space, AI and cybersecurity, leveraging Adelaide's existing defence and space industry strengths.

Activities

The repurposing model preserves the site's heritage buildings while inserting modern co-working and laboratory infrastructure. The Australian Space Agency established its national headquarters at Lot Fourteen's McEwin Building in February 2020, and anchor tenants now include Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce, Airbus, Motorola Solutions and Nokia, alongside SmartSat CRC and the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre.

Results

By early 2025, the district had grown to over 1,700 people working across more than 160 organisations, from startups to global anchor tenants. When complete, Lot Fourteen is projected to accommodate over 6,000 people, but that target and full activation of all precincts had not been achieved as of early 2025.

Conclusions

The tenant mix skews heavily toward large corporate and government anchors rather than homegrown startup density, and because the district remains under active development, its ultimate scale and startup-ecosystem depth cannot yet be assessed against the 6,000-person target.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Very high (> €5M) — Capital cost not itemised in the available sources, but the project involved adaptive reuse of a major former-hospital campus and construction of new co-working and laboratory infrastructure; WSP independently documented the adaptive-reuse and sustainability aspects of the build.
Time to results
Long (> 3 years) — Hospital site closed 2017; district development began 2019; Australian Space Agency HQ opened February 2020; as of early 2025 the district was still short of its full 6,000-person target.
Staffing & skills
Renewal SA (South Australian Government development agency), Australian Space Agency (national headquarters, on-site since 2020), Anchor corporate tenants (Google Cloud, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Airbus, Motorola Solutions, Nokia) and research bodies (SmartSat CRC, Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre)

Conditions for success

  • Government ownership of a large, well-located heritage site (former hospital) enabling adaptive reuse rather than greenfield construction
  • A clear sector focus (space, AI, cybersecurity) matched to the region's existing defence and space-industry strengths
  • Anchor tenancy from a national agency (Australian Space Agency) to draw further corporate co-location

Common failure modes

  • The tenant mix skews toward large corporate and government anchors rather than homegrown startups, a gap the district's own sources acknowledge
  • The 6,000-person target and full precinct activation remain unmet as of the latest reporting, so long-run delivery risk is unresolved

Where it fits

Governance type
state government development agency
Scale
district (7 hectares, Adelaide)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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