There is a fresh sense of renewal in the air on troubled Fitzroy Street.
However, another stroll the previous evening showed signs of fresh life with healthy numbers of smartly-dressed locals enjoying new outdoor dining areas. It’s been said that Fitzroy Street’s demise can be traced back to when the independent bookshop’s owners were priced out in 2009 and replaced with a yoghurt shop that lasted six weeks and the building stood empty ever since.
“Ten years later, [they] have kids and are young families or young professionals and they aren’t really after the 5am going out and getting loose every morning anymore – they are after more of a mature offering.” “A small minority … have demonstrated a long and well resourced effort to turn St Kilda into Brighton and they’ve failed,” he said.
The organisation, which is responsible for reviving Newcastle following the 2008 financial crisis and has similar projects in Geelong and Wollongong, organises 30-day rolling licence agreements with landlords, who can keep up for-lease or for-sale signs.