Artist’s impression of RAA Technical Centre at 599 Port Rd, West Croydon. Picture: Supplied by RAA
Original Article from The Advertiser
Giuseppe Tauriello
RAA has unveiled plans for a new purpose-built technical centre on Port Rd as it prepares to depart its long-standing headquarters at Mile End.
The new facility will be built at the former home of compressor manufacturer Forbes in West Croydon, and will become RAA’s new base for its automotive services and roadside assistance teams, its child safety centre, drive school and parts of its travel, solar and battery divisions.
RAA has signed a long-term lease for the facility, which is set to open in the first half of 2026, and will have the capacity to house more than 400 employees.
RAA chief executive Nick Reade said the new facility completed the organisation’s relocation plans following the sale of its Mile End site to the state government to make way for the Torrens to Darlington project.
“The move from our Mile End office as a result of the T2D project presents us with an opportunity to secure our future,” he said.
“Last year we moved a couple of hundred staff into RAA Place as we had well and truly outgrown Mile End, and late in April we signed a lease for 150 Grenfell St.
“We’ve now signed a long-term lease for the RAA Technical Centre, which will provide our workforce with the tools they need to best serve our 820,000 members for years to come.”
RAA announced in April that it would relocate around 500 corporate and member-facing staff to the former Internode building on Grenfell St in the CBD, which is currently being reconstructed by owner Kambitsis Group.
It will also retain its presence and signage at RAA Place, on the corner of King William and Currie streets, where it currently houses about 200 of its 1300 staff.
The new technical centre will feature a “dynamic workshop”, as well as member experience spaces, a retail showroom and cafe.
Local developer Emmett will deliver the project on behalf of Adelaide-based fund manager ICAM, which owns the site.
ICAM managing director Freddy Bartlett said the new building would be a “unique and environmentally responsible building and a terrific asset in Adelaide’s inner west”.
“ICAM is delighted to announce that we have secured RAA, which is one of South Australia’s largest and state pioneering organisations, as a highly regarded tenant for our Port Rd site,” he said.
“The bespoke RAA Technical Centre is set for completion in 2026 and is aiming for world class sustainability characteristics; comprising of 5500sq m of lettable area and targeting 5 star Green Star and 5.5 star NABERS ratings – and beyond where practical.”
Following the departure from Mile End in mid-2026, RAA’s city footprint will comprise three sites at 91 King William St and 150 Grenfell St in the CBD, and the new technical centre on Port Rd.
