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I started out promoting local and small business because I believed in the people who live in Adelaide, but since then, my years in active promotions, running my own business, working in local government in hand with our Economic Development team and delving deep into the workings of placemaking and urban development, have joined the dots on the importance of a supportive and strategic approach to increasing vibrancy in our big (commonly referred to as little) city.
Renew Adelaide has officially been fighting the good fight for the last ten years, and recently, they celebrated their 300th business venture, aptly named ‘Household’, set to be spearheaded by artist, Lili Harrison, is an ode to Renew’s unwavering commitment to revitalising unique spaces, fostering artistic talent, and enhancing community engagement.
Renew Adelaide has been at the forefront of championing not only local business, but also the foundational need for property opportunities for entrepreneurs, artists, and innovators - revitalising underutilised spaces, creating positive economic, cultural, and community impacts on the surrounding areas of the businesses and ventures it supports.
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| The Renew Adelaide team |
This unique initiative continues to transform vacant spaces into vibrant hubs, with its latest project being an artist-run gallery and studio space on Hindley Street in Adelaide’s iconic West End precinct.
With a month until I move into the West End as a resident, I've been wandering the streets on the West-North precinct of the CBD and there are already some weekend gems I've spotted. Recently property commercial real estate empire, JLL, released the vacancy rates for Hindley Street to be that of the worst since COVID, with nearly 20 per cent of properties vacant, which aligns with the identified need from the City of Adelaide to focus on a refresh of the strip with their Hindley Street Revitalisation initiative - intending to present opportunity to encourage renewed business investment in the precinct with a $15 million budget.
Over the past fourteen years, Renew Adelaide has played a pivotal role in the revitalisation of Adelaide’s cityscape. By matching emerging businesses with vacant commercial properties, the program has incubated entrepreneurial talent and has additionally contributed significantly to South Australia’s post-pandemic recovery.
It seems that where Renew Adelaide identifies areas of promise and injects in opportunities for businesses to thrive, public and government interest follows, and I'm extremely keen to see how this area grows and changes thanks to the years of work and investment made by Renew Adelaide.
Household officially opens on Friday, 6 September, with a launch event set to take over the space. For more details, visit renewadelaide.com.au. Their studio residency program will operate on a 3-month cycle, offering workspace and an opportunity to exhibit. Applications open Thursday, 1 August.
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| Lili Harrison Skin exhibition |