A long-established Mount Barker car dealership has been asked to relocate after the State Government confirmed it will acquire the entire 11,000-square-metre site to make way for a major intersection upgrade.
Adelaide Hills Toyota, at 57 Adelaide Road, had previously understood the $80 million Adelaide Road and Hawthorn Road project could affect part of its property. The dealership has now been served with a Notice of Intention to Acquire covering the whole site.
Principal Dealer and fifth-generation family owner Tom Gilbert said the scale of the acquisition came as a surprise.
“We knew they were going to do something but we just didn’t know the scope… the process is they serve you an NOI (a notice of intention to acquire) and they said they’re taking everything, so the whole 11,000 square meter site, which came as a bit of a shock.”
Gilbert said discussions are now underway with acquisition lawyers and valuers to establish the value of the site, along with plant and equipment and the costs associated with moving the business.
He said the priority is making sure the dealership’s employees are looked after during the process.
“Anyone you know who runs a business that employs people knows that there’s a real responsibility with having people that work for you. Their livelihood could rely on your careful guidance of the business and sailing the ship in the right direction so really you know the first priority is in our employees.”
Despite the uncertainty, Gilbert said he was positive about the opportunity to establish a new site.
“My job now is to carefully guide the ship and find a site and we’re looking at a couple of sites up at Totness. There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge yet but you know we are excited by the prospect.”
A dealership with more than a century in the Adelaide Hills
The Gilbert family business traces its history back to 1895, when Stephen Gilbert established a bicycle manufacturing business in Milang.
It moved to Strathalbyn in 1901 and expanded into Mount Barker in 1927, eventually becoming Adelaide Hills Toyota. The team then migrated from number 24 Adelaide Road to their current site around 2008.
The dealership currently operates its new and used vehicle, servicing, parts, fleet and finance operations from 57 Adelaide Road.
What’s happening at the Adelaide Rd/Hawthorn Rd Intersection?
The State Government has committed $80 million over five years to upgrade the Adelaide Road and Hawthorn Road intersection.
The project is planned to introduce traffic signals, new dedicated turning lanes, improved pedestrian crossings and road widening to cater for future traffic growth.
The project is currently listed as being in the planning phase, with site investigations and further planning work underway.
It is separate from the $40 million Adelaide Road roundabout upgrade at the intersection of Adelaide, Alexandrina, Wellington and Flaxley Roads, where construction is already underway.
The two projects form part of a broader program of road upgrades around Mount Barker, alongside the South Eastern Freeway interchange works at Mount Barker and Verdun.
Gilbert said the need for better traffic infrastructure was clear as Mount Barker continues to grow.
“It’s a great thing for the town. The town is at 40,000 people it’s going to 65,000 in the next 20 years – everyone that lives or drives in the town knows that it’s it is a bottleneck.”
For Adelaide Hills Toyota, the next step is finding a new home for a business that has been part of Mount Barker for a century.
