Vacant buildings on Hindley St hit record high sparking calls for night economy commissioner
One in five buildings sit empty as cracked paths and police cars dominate Adelaide’s famous nightclub precinct. Could a night commissioner get the party started? Have your say.
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A litany of empty shop fronts, cracked pavements and anger over the last Hindley St upgrade happening in 1999, are triggering calls for government to install a night economy mayor.
More than 20 buildings lining the famed strip between King William and Morphett streets are empty and Wolf Nightlife Group owner Antony Tropeano is among numerous operators wanting the state’s leaders to step in.
“If you look at other cities like the Gold Coast, Melbourne, or Sydney, there’s a lot we can learn from their approaches to nurturing vibrant hospitality precincts,” Mr Tropeano, who owns Cherry Nightclub, Hidden Pour bar and The Palace and the about to open Level Up, said.
“Having a night commissioner at the state government level or night mayor at the city council level could be a great opportunity to bring new energy and innovation to Adelaide’s entertainment and night-life precinct.”
Other Hindley St operators said night commissioners appointed interstate recognised the sector’s economic contribution, with one estimating the Adelaide precinct draws some 40,000 punters on a Saturday night.
Mr Tropeano will open new venue Level Up next week in the former Red Square nightclub building that shut its door after 22 years with a 24 hour party in March this year.
TAKE A LOOK INSIDE THE NEW RED SQUARE
It joined a sad list of 12 venues shutting their doors in the 12 months leading up to April and triggered mumblings along Hindley St of neglect, shelved revival plans and being the east end’s “poor cousin”.
Adam Newman has operated the The Men’s Room barber shop on the strip for 22 years and he is sick and tired of hearing Adelaide City Council making promises to the west end while splashing cash around Rundle St in the city’s east end.
He thinks the government should be helping create a far better first impression of the city for thousands of footy and cricket spectators who spill into Hindley after a game at Adelaide Oval.
Mr Newman points to numerous shabby and empty shop fronts, buildings spattered with bird poo and a strip where broken path pavers are being replaced with dollops of black bitumen.
“We are the poor cousins,” Mr Newman said.
“We’ve got billions of dollars being spent on areas around Hindley St, but one of the best-known streets in Adelaide has not had money spent on it in more than 20 years.”
After years of disappointment, the long-term tenant feared a new Adelaide City Council plan to spend $15m on a Hindley Street facelift would end up gathering dust like many others over the years.
A concern Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith has ruled out this week, saying despite the last update on the strip occurring when she was last in the same role in 1999, there was now a facelift plan to improve paths and install trees well on track and in the city council budget.
She knew some operators wanted a night time mayor but said it “isn’t something we’re looking at”.
Her take was that night venue operators faced the same issues as the industry nationally, including the impact of Covid shutdowns, increases in alcohol excise and difficulty finding staff.
Council representatives had been meeting with Hindley St owners, tenants and the visiting public to find ways to balance a day and night economy to revive the street, Ms Lomax-Smith adding the council was looking to fund Renew Adelaide to help fill empty shop fronts.
Any help will be welcome.
A damning report from JLL commercial real estate revealed the number of buildings empty on the Hindley St strip hit 18.1 per cent in quarter one this year, the highest vacancy level among all tracked Adelaide retail high streets.
Five night-time venues closed in six months leading up to the report, Red Square nightclub, Enigma Bar, the Super Cali/Converge/Juicebox nightclub, Precinct nightclub and Vice Bar at 75 Hindley Street.
Station Arcade and the iconic Rosemont Hotel on the corner of Morphett St were already on the closed list.
Ray White principal for Adelaide City commercial division Ian Lambert is trying to lease a former tattoo parlour at 104 Hindley St that has been empty for two years and said the street definitely needed help.
“The problem is a lot of properties have been let go and the high number of vacancies doesn’t help either … there are vacancies everywhere,” he said.
Another major building owner said he could not understand why so much money has been spent on new buildings close by like the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the University of South Australia campus further along Hindley Street, but the strip is still failing to thrive.
“There’s plenty of target markets surrounding the street and it should be benefiting from billions of dollars worth of investment but it hasn’t happened … I think it’s a lot of lost opportunity.”
Small business and arts minister Andrea Michaels shut down talk of a night mayor saying “there are no plans at this stage to introduce a night time ambassador”.
Instead, she pointed to the government supporting small businesses, live music and helping in “saving the Cranker” live music venue hotel from being closed by developers in the east end of the city.
“We also recently reviewed and kept our state’s lock out laws to ensure continued community safety within the CBD including Hindley Street with the support of SAPOL (SA police),” she said.
Planned upgrades along Hindley St are a key priority for the Adelaide West End Association, with coordinator Taren Hocking saying the precinct faces issues with both “vacant shopfronts and a lack of a diverse tenancy mix”.
The group wants a building owner forum to talk about getting a better mix of day and night time activity tenants, and it wants safety concerns addressed, plus lighting and security improved.
“With more investment in infrastructure and visitor-friendly amenities, Hindley St can become a vibrant nexus during festivals and events—not one to be avoided en route to their destination,” Ms Hocking said on behalf of the organisation.
“Beyond its nightlife, the West End is, at its heart, Adelaide’s creative quarter. Hindley St has the potential to be the main artery of this cultural and artistic activity, and we must seize this opportunity to breathe new life into the street, encouraging further investment and growth.”
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