RAA Place

RAA Place (formerly Westpac House, Santos House, BankSA Building, and State Bank Building) is an office building located at 91 King William Street, Adelaide. It is a 31-storey office tower, reaching 132 metres (433 ft) at its roof, with each level approximately 4.2 metres (14 ft) in height. From 1988 until 2019, it was the tallest building in Adelaide.

RAA Place
RAA Place in 2008 under the Westpac name.
Former names
  • State Bank Building
  • BankSA Building
  • Santos House
  • Westpac House
EtymologyRAA
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeCommercial
LocationAdelaide, South Australia
Address91 King William Street
Coordinates34°55′29″S 138°35′54″E
Current tenants
Completed1988
Owner

The building was originally built for the State Bank of South Australia and known as the State Bank building, after the 1991 State Bank Collapse renamed to reflect the bank's new name, BankSA. It was purchased by Santos and renamed in February 1997. From 2007 to 2022, after Westpac acquired BankSA, it was known as Westpac House. In December 2022, RAA purchased naming rights to the tower.

History

Opened in 1988 as the State Bank building, it bore BankSA's sturt desert pea logo after the collapse and sale of the bank in 1991.

In 1997 the naming rights were purchased by Santos and the logo was changed accordingly.

Other major tenants have included PwC, HWL Ebsworth, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the Australian Securities Exchange.

In 2007, Santos moved its headquarters into a new building on Flinders Street, and BankSA's new owners, Westpac, re-acquired the naming rights to the building.[1]

In the lead up to (and during) major holidays, the windows have been selectively lit up in formation. These include a white cross for Easter and Anzac Day, and a tree (in fluorescent green) for Christmas.[2]

Abacus Property acquired a half interest in Santos House in October 2004 and the remaining 50 per cent in 2015.[3] It sold 50 per cent to Inheritance Capital Asset Management in 2016.[4]

At the time (and for 31 years) the tallest building in Adelaide, it was the venue for the stair race events at the 2007 World Police and Fire Games.

Between 11 and 15 May 2007, the "Santos" sign on the building was removed and a single red "W", the Westpac logo, had replaced it by 21 June.

In October 2019, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat database, Westpac House was the 167th tallest building in Australia.[5]

On 9 December 2022, removal of the Westpac logo from the building’s fascia commenced, after Westpac moved its headquarters.[6]

In December 2022 the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) secured two floors and naming rights for the building,[7] which was officially renamed RAA Place in April 2023. The new sign, which will have the ability to change colours, is scheduled to be erected on the building mid-year.[8]

Description

The building is a 31-storey office tower, reaching 132 metres (433 ft) at its roof, with each level approximately 4.2 metres (14 ft) in height. It is set back from Currie Street near the intersection with King William Street, and is connected to two adjacent office buildings on Currie Street. It has four street frontages, and several pedestrian thoroughfares.

From 1988 until 2019, it was the tallest building in Adelaide.[9]

Tenants

As at April 2023, major tenants included the RAA, federal government, and HWL Ebsworth.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Westpac House". Emporis.com. Emporis. n.d. Archived from the original on 11 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  2. "Santos House Xmas lights brighten Adelaide skies". Energy News Bulletin. 11 December 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  3. "Westpac House". Abacus Property. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  4. Lenaghan, Nick (31 October 2016). "Boutique investor joins Abacus in Adelaide's tallest tower". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  5. "100 Tallest Completed Buildings in the World". The Skyscraper Center. 14 September 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  6. Tauriello, Giuseppe (26 September 2022). "Westpac departs landmark tower, naming rights up for grabs". The Advertiser. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  7. England, Cameron (21 December 2022). "The RAA has taken over naming rights of Adelaide's iconic Westpac building". The Advertiser. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  8. "RAA Place – Adelaide's most iconic city building gets a new name". RAA Daily. 28 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 May 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  9. Purcell, Paul (2 November 2019). "View from the top of Adelaide's new tallest building". The Advertiser. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  10. "91 King William Street". Abacus Group. 7 February 2023. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
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