THE NAKED CITY – THE BOARDED UP BLUES

The city of Sydney and its surrounds has always been an ongoing story of boom and bust – ever since the British colonialists first planted the Union Jack. Areas that were once dreadful slums have been gentrified beyond belief whilst once prosperous precincts have fallen into the doldrums. There are many reasons for this including the role of greedy developers and landlords and a lack of Council insight but in the last few years it’s the pandemic that has set the scene.

‘Long Covid’ is a medical condition that has beset many sufferers but the after effects of ‘Economic Covid’ have become increasingly visible. Throughout the CBD and inner city there are countless boarded up shops, with the ‘TO LET’ sign emblazoned. The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported on some forty-five vacant shopfronts along Oxford Street between Hyde Park and the corner of South Dowling. The malaise here has been building for a decade but Covid has delivered the killer blow.

Kings Cross and Darlinghurst have suffered a similar fate with numerous closures and shop windows daubed with tags and graffiti. In the once ‘glittering mile’ even the TAB has called it quits, no longer a gathering place for colourful KC characters with too much cash on their hands. Meanwhile apartment rentals in the area have soared with a basic studio around $400 and a one bedroom from $500 upwards. A cheap room in the Cross, once a given of the bohemian lifestyle, is long, long gone as only the cashed up can afford to live with such proximity to the city.

If Darlinghurst Road has hit next to rock bottom, the once vibrant restaurant and coffee shop strip in Victoria Street between William and Liverpool has suffered a similar fate. Again, the decline had started not long before Covid as the café groovers moved to the hipper Llankelly Place, and the iconic Coluzzi Bar shut up shop. The Tropicana café still survives, a remarkable achievement after forty-two years in the hood, but on the opposite side of the street there’s a string of vacant shops.

Rentals for these properties have been greatly reduced and from what I gather landlords are more than prepared to negotiate – but an average coffee shop space still starts at around two to three thousand dollars a week. It’s a risky investment in an area that has now been virtually deserted by the thousands who once visited every week (witness the pic above). There’s also a domino effect when four or five businesses in the one strip close and there’s no longer the passing traffic. If the shops aren’t boarded up or anointed with tags, the lights have gone out and they become an almost no-go area.

There’s been much discussion about rejuvenating Oxford Street, Darlinghurst for the World Pride event next year. Economically the area is moribund, virtually dead and it would need a miracle to bring it back to something like it was in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The most likely scenario is a cosmetic tarting up with banners and street art to cover up the vacant shopfronts, great for World Pride visitors, but pointless in the long run.

We can of course use Covid as an excuse because the rash of failed small businesses, as a result of the pandemic, is certainly not unique to Australia. However, the commercial decline in Oxford Street and Kings Cross has been gathering for years with the City of Sydney Council and the State Government seemingly unable to do anything to correct it.

What’s needed is some totally radical thinking, perhaps less emphasis on big picture projects and events and a concentration on the nitty gritty of everyday life. The multimillion-dollar splurge on fireworks occupies one night of the year. We should be able to walk down our local neighbourhood street and invite visitors to do the same, free of depressing boarded-up shops – in a bustling, commercially thriving, people friendly environment – 360 days a year. We’ve had the bust, it’s time to bring on the boom!

https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2014/oxford-street/chapter-1-perfect-storm.html

On Wednesday the Herald walked both sides of Oxford Street from Hyde Park to the Beacham Hotel, at the corner of South Dowling, and counted 45 vacant shopfronts, and 95 that were operating. That is, nearly a third of the street is missing in action – with many stores derelict, old mail strewn about their entrances.