Dear Westenders,
(our latest newsletter is online here: AWEA Winter E-News 2014 – http://eepurl.com/W541r)
Each time I start writing one of these updates it brings so much pleasure to reflect on what has changed in our precinct, how far we’ve come and how we are slowly regaining the pride of place in the city that we all knew we deserved but wasn’t always visible to the rest of the community.
The works on the western end of Hindley Street are largely complete and we foresee a new vision for a part of Hindley Street that has received scant attention in living memory. I’d urge you all to have a look! While you are there UniSA’s new Jeffrey Smart building is a welcome addition to the west end and has fundamentally changed the way students use this part of the city.
The other significant projects in and around our precinct are also moving apace but what is even more significant in my opinion is the response from the community, particularly in the western end of the precinct. This part of the city has long been home to a multitude of galleries and important cultural bodies which are now working together to stage coordinated openings and late night openings in particular on Thursday nights – ART AFTER DARK. This is welcome news and adds another dimension to our night- time economy.
Building owners are meeting to identify common issues and to chart a collective future, and interested parties from all sectors are working with the AWEA and the city placemaking team to look at initiatives to make the western end of our precinct a better place for everyone.
The Adelaide West End Association is your voice and it’s the voice that’s being listened to. We have been highly successful in changing the perception of our precinct from the predominant view of the West as a no-go area to a place of vitality and opportunity. The West End is becoming cool again.
In truth though, there remains much to be done. We still need more traders operating in our day time and early evening to build critical mass to make Hindley Street, in particular, a destination to complement the Mall and Rundle Street. Adelaide City Council has commissioned a retail strategy; it seems slow in emerging into the public sphere. We need ideas around business attraction to return to a place that is vital and viable seven days and seven nights a week.
Our AGM is soon upon us and this is always a time when we look forward. This year there is much to look ahead to and I would ask as many of you as possible to participate and work with the AWEA towards secure a bright future for us all.
Andrew Wallace
President Adelaide West End Association Inc
