Little Saigon Market: Footscray icon could finally be developed
The redevelopment of fire-ravaged Little Saigon Market in Footscray could finally happen with works expected to start in coming weeks.
North West
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The eyesore Little Saigon market site in Footscray could finally be developed, nearly five years after it was gutted by fire.
The site quietly changed hands earlier this year and Maribyrnong Mayor Michael Clarke told a recent council meeting he had met with the site’s new owners.
Mr Clarke told the meeting the site were “about to commence work, I think, within the next fortnight”.
The council confirmed late on Friday it had recently approved the demolition of the remnants of the old market, which have been an eyesore ever since the December 2016 electrical fire.
The boarded-up block of land has since become a hotbed of for drug dealing and homelessness in the heard of a booming Footscray CBD.
The council’s acting chief executive, Celia Haddock, said on Friday senior council staff and Mr Clarke met with a property developer on site in April this year to talk through plans for construction on the site.
They were told work would begin within weeks.
“Council cannot comment as to why works have not commenced, however we have provided approval to demolish the materials presently on the site,” Ms Haddock said.
The developer plans to build an 8-12 storey apartment building on the site, with a market on the ground floor.
A planning permit for construction of that proposed development expires in November next year, Ms Haddock said.
The 2016 fire was started by an electrical fault in a cool room, and spread quickly through the building, which did not have a sprinkler system or smoke detectors.
The slated development appears to be similar one which was first put forward in 2017, with 260 apartments on the Nicholson St block.
The owners of the site could not be reached for comment.
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