News & Discussion: Adelaide Central Markets

[metro]

The markets are great but are really in need some improvement. I think the Upark on the roof needs to go, raise the internal roof of the market area a bit and upgrade the aircon and perhaps have an upper level with tables and seats over-looking the market stalls. The old 1970s section needs to be torn down and replaced with more market type stands. At the Chinatown end, just open up California Street with lots of outdoor eating/bars etc.. and the roof of the market could be a roof-top garden thing. Highrise buildings could be located behind the Hilton Hotel, on the corners of Chinatown and Grote st and Chinatown and Gouger st.



In the Short Term, Coles should be made to refurbish their store so that the checkouts face onto Grote Street like the old Rundle Mall woolies, that blank wall is so ugly and it smells really bad there somedays.

[buildit83]

its sounds like a good idea but I'd hate to see some of those small businesses replaced with stores you'd find in a Westfield or a suburban shopping centre. if the ACC took on the ground floor and had reasonable rent for the stores so it maintains some of those businesses I'd support it.

[serca]

Stephen Yarwood is the man for the job!!!! He seems to have a true passion for his vision for Adelaide. And for someone in council to be suggesting 30 story buildings ..... It's a good thing

[ml69]

I posted on a thread a couple of years ago about the possibility of apartments above the Central Market. It's great to see the Lord Mayor akso see potential in the site.

I'd suggest ACC selling the airspace above the Central Market Arcade for private developers to undertake the apartment development (but retaining ownership of the land), the funds they raise can go towards the cost of completing the Vic Square upgrade. Hence no need to borrow money. Sounds like a plan to me ....

Alternatively they could sell the entire Central Market Arcade site, to more fully fund the Vic Square redevelopment.

[Vee]

The Coles supermarket, Grote street facade is a disgrace. It degrades what us otherwise an attractive and congruent streetscape. It has to go in any upgrade of this precinct.

So true!!
The incredibly ugly Coles facade is probably the worst element of the entire precinct around the Central Market. This needs to be demolished and an alternative, highly visible entry/exit from Grote St to the Central Market needs to be integrated into any plan for this area.

Good on Stephen Yarwood for his ideas for apartments and redeveloping the Market Arcade. It's overdue. A sensible use of space, sensitive design and increased numbers/diversity of residents should add to the vibe and the appeal.

I like some of the quirky shops in the Arcade (some reminiscent of those in Rundle St East in the old days) but the Arcade is tired and not the best advertisement as an entry to the Central Market. I would like to see improved and distinctive signage for the Central Market, especially for visitors to find this somewhat hidden gem.

[omada]

I support the basic premise of Yarwood's vision. However, this should be approached with care. The design and function should be congruent with a food and produce market, we don't want bland modernity that's for sure! It needs a point of difference to both Westfield and Rundle Mall.

[skyliner]

I've had a mixed reaction to all this.

Fantastic that Yarwood has made the suggestions he had, and hope to see the said bldgs eventuate. But I do like the atmosphere of the markets OVERALL. The lighting needs addressing, modernisation needed in several sections with removal of the dark colourings, health considerations needed and historical value needs consideration.

My own reactions on first entering the markets back in 1974 - this could improve - esp. the Coles aspect - terrible!

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[[Shuz]]

Guys, calm your farms!

Yarwoods vision is for the Market Arcade - the pathetic excuse of a mall & Coles that abuts the Central Markets - not the entire thing! I don't believe he, or anyone in the ACC, would seriously advocate a proposal to redevelop the actual Central Markets itself.

[pushbutton]

I'm surprised Coles haven't at least attempted to make some sort of improvements to their store. It is a long way behind other Coles stores, especially externally.

Even with only 5 years left on the lease they could still spend a bit to make it more pleasant.

Anyway yes the whole arcade needs to go, and the sooner the better.

I too hope it can be replaced with something more interesting than just another generic mall (a small one at that).

It needs something very cleverly designed, to maximise usability and visual appeal, whilst also respecting the heritage of the site.

I don't have any particular ideas what form that should take, but will watch this thread to see what ideas come up.

[Nathan]

Last time I was in Melbourne, I stayed near the Queen Victoria Markets. Went for a walk around in the morning hoping to find some where nice for breakfast and discovered that for the most part, the place is pretty horrible. More akin to the Brickworks than the Central Markets. But, there was one area that impressed me - the Deli Hall. The art deco stalls that were halfway between a proper shop front and a market stall were great, and the quality of the stall holders was just right. To me, perhaps a modern take on that (not too modern, but we don't want a historical pastiche) would serve the arcade well and compliment the market.

[crawf]

The only thing I dislike it's not happening sooner. That arcade is horrendous, as is that ugly blank exterior along Grote Street.

Twin modern glassy 20-30 storey apartment towers with a refreshed arcade and Coles on the ground floor, would fit nicely with the Central Markets. Or expand the Central Markets to the new section with more produce selection and non-food stalls.

Either way it will mean more reason to complete the Victoria Square upgrade.

[ml69]

A good idea here ... When the Central Market Arcade inevitably gets redeveloped, let's include a gourmet eat-in food hall like those described in the article below (possibly with wine bars and microbreweries) linking the existing Central Market with the redeveloped Vic Square! Would be a really unique destination and enhance our fine food and wine reputation.

Combine this with new retail shops, a rebuilt Coles supermarket, and with apartment towers on top .... Exciting possibilities!

Adelaide Central Market should consider value-adding to its produce offering.Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily
COMMENT | Whenever I’m in a different country, or even a different part of Australia, I visit markets – and sometimes supermarkets, too.

Perhaps not everyone’s first preference, but obviously enough people share this fascination for publishers of travel guides to include markets under the heading of ‘Sights and Activities’ as well as ‘Eating’. If proof were needed, Adelaide’s Central Market lays claim to be ‘the most visited tourist destination in South Australia’.

The most recent destination was New York, still grey and bleak from a bitter winter and desperate for spring. Not that this deterred the farmers and producers who set up stalls in the Union Square greenmarket, selling apples and kale, salad greens and hydroponic tomatoes, logs of goat cheese rolled in cinnamon and dried cranberries, local maple syrup and honey from the bees patrolling the city’s rooftop and community gardens, grass-fed beef from Piedmontese cattle and even roasted shin bones for pampered pets.

Unlike supermarkets which, in New York, are not licensed to sell wine, this farmers’ market can and does, and a quirk in the USA-France trade agreement somehow allows Chateau Renaissance to market under the label of New York State Champagne.

Launched in 1976, the open-air Union Square market is the oldest of Manhattan’s 26 greenmarkets (some operate only seasonally). In both offerings and philosophy they are analogous to our farmers’ markets, though perhaps more environmentally and socially conscious; many accept food stamps, and some, such as Union Square, have a formal education program for schoolchildren. Recycling is high on the agenda and many greenmarkets provide bins for vegetable waste to be transformed into bags of New York Paydirt Compost.

Another example of recycling is the Chelsea Market, an imaginative repurposing of the former Nabisco biscuit factory in the Meatpacking District on the edge of the Hudson River. Once home to the city’s many wholesale butchers who took delivery of carcases transported by rail from Chicago, the area is now being rapidly gentrified with offices and boutiques and slick new restaurants reborn from traditional diners.

Imagine being able to sit down to a dozen fresh oysters or a platter of regional cheeses or a selection of smoked meats, accompanied by a glass of South Australian wine …

Chelsea Market occupies the ground floor of the building. Open seven days a week and with close to forty different shops, it’s more akin to a vast food hall with one example of every kind of food trade: butcher, baker, fishmonger, greengrocer, cheesemonger, wine merchant. Joining them are more specialised purveyors: the pastificio, with all colours and shapes of pasta; the teas-and-spices shop with its vivid pyramids of spice powders; Buon Italia, an Italian supermarket; and the one-of-a-kind salt and oil boutique, with both Tuscan and Australian olive oil plus a range of exotically flavoured salts including black truffle salt, Thai ginger salt and cinnamon, chocolate and chipotle salt.

What distinguishes the Chelsea market is that retailers not only sell ingredients to take home to cook but also a cornucopia of ready-to-eat foods. At the Lobster Place you can choose from a variety of take-away sushi, cooked lobsters and a range of soups – lobster bisque, spicy shrimp and black bean chowder – as well as fried clams and oyster po’boys; it also has a sit-down sashimi bar where seafood is sliced to order. Buon Italia serves hot dishes and mixed salads, Dickson’s Farmstand Meats sandwiches made with its own hams and charcuterie; Manhattan Fruit Exchange provides a serve-yourself salad bar and Lucy’s Whey a selection of toasted cheese sandwiches. Even the kitchenware shop that sells $2 plastic ‘sporks’ has a take-away sandwich counter. And at lunchtime the market is packed with local workers queuing for their favourite foods.

Supplementing these are tiny stalls focusing on a single product – doughnuts or brownies, yogurt or soup, even Aussie meat pies – together with proper sit-down cafés and licensed restaurants. The Green Table promises farm-to-table dining, Rani Pastificio a traditional Italian pasta menu, the soon-to-open Corkbuzz Wine Studio sandwiches and charcuterie to accompany a glass of wine.

With six million local and international visitors annually, Chelsea Market is a significant tourist attraction in the same way as some of the famous French indoor markets, such as Les Halles in Lyon – or, to give the full name, Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. Here, as in Chelsea, locals buy the ingredients for their dinner while visitors not only admire the displays of cheese, seafood and charcuterie but also sample them on the spot. A seafood stall extends to an oyster bar; associated with the truffle specialist is a small restaurant specialising in mushroom and truffle dishes (such as foie gras ravioli in a truffle cream sauce).

Clearly a success in other countries, this value-added model could provide an option for Adelaide’s Central Market.

The market would still fulfil its primary role as a supplier of fresh produce but at the same time would offer visitors, especially international tourists, the opportunity to do more than look and click their cameras.

Imagine being able to sit down to a dozen fresh oysters or a platter of regional cheeses or a selection of smoked meats, accompanied by a glass of South Australian wine – after all, Adelaide is the capital of Australia’s wine state. Surely this could be part of the vision for the market’s future?

http://indaily.com.au/opinion/2014/04/2 ... g-markets/

[Patrick_27]

To be honest, I'd rather have seen SkyCity buy the old Moore's building (now the courts), the Hilton Hotel and the Market Arcade and incorporating the old Moore's building redevelop a new casino within that area (with respect to the markets. Would further encourage night-time trading on Gouger Street, increase nearby property value (i.e. old bus depot) and re-centralise the activity in the CBD back to Victoria Square. It wouldn't be an abandonment of the Riverside precinct - with investment in the convention centre, festival theatre, medical research/education, and developing a strong cafe/restaurant area; both parts of the CBD would compete well.

[Nathan]

A casino would be completely out of character for the area. My hope is that the district courts get moved to the new court building planned, and that the Samuel Way Building can become a station for the underground rail loop outlined in the 30yr transport plan, with the upper levels being used for retail (keeping the grand styling, and tying it back to the days of Moores). Combined with retail development in the GPO, and perhaps the line of buildings on North West of the square, we could have a really nice second retail district to complement Rundle Mall (with perhaps a touch more up-market skew to differentiate it). And of course, feeding in to a redeveloped Market Arcade.

[crawf]

A casino would be completely out of character for the area. My hope is that the district courts get moved to the new court building planned, and that the Samuel Way Building can become a station for the underground rail loop outlined in the 30yr transport plan, with the upper levels being used for retail (keeping the grand styling, and tying it back to the days of Moores). Combined with retail development in the GPO, and perhaps the line of buildings on North West of the square, we could have a really nice second retail district to complement Rundle Mall (with perhaps a touch more up-market skew to differentiate it). And of course, feeding in to a redeveloped Market Arcade.

Great ideas Nathan!. It would be great if this could become a reality in the future.