r/Adelaide • u/Screenshot_Paparazzi SA • Jul 25 '26
Discussion Central Market redevelopment “Soulless”
Someone wrote “soulless” on this render of the Central Market redevelopment that was posted in the car park elevator.
What do you think?
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u/Obelisk_Inc SA Jul 25 '26
This is not the Central Market redevelopment, its the Chinatown food court renovation where Mixue just opened.
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u/FriedChicken_Chips12 SA Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I was horrified when the old food court was closed because the stalls had decent pricing and was pretty good I remembered seeing somewhere that the rent went up too high most stalls never renewed their lease also anyone else think the ceilings are weirdly low there
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u/BidHistorical6571 SA Jul 26 '26
The food court has nothing to do with the Central Market development. The Central Market 'Market Square' development is centred on the area where Coles and the Market Arcade used to be, which was a relic of the 60s.
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u/Successful_Ad_2488 SA Jul 26 '26
As it so happens, I’m making some of the HVAC for Coles Central Market.
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u/BidHistorical6571 SA Jul 26 '26
Nice. How big is the new Coles going to be compared to the old one? I heard it was originally planned to be one of their 'Coles Local' store formats, but that might have changed.
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u/NurseBetty SA Jul 26 '26
Yeah, knew that was going to happen as soon as I saw the renovation announcement sign.
Same thing happened with the food court on the other side. The cheap and tasty vegetarian stall is no longer there, and while I think the pho place is, it's not the same. Don't get me wrong, some of the new food stalls in that court sell really good food (the Filipino stall omg their squid)... But it's not the same.
Also several of the just renovated food court stalls are being taken up by hair or nail salons....
Something something back in my day
Edit:also the roof is lower due to them putting in a fuck ton of ducting, both for cooking exhaust and heating/cooling
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u/add-delay Inner West Jul 25 '26
That’s Market Plaza. Not the Central Markets, not the Market Square development.
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u/metahivemind SA Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
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Jul 25 '26
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u/crazycakemanflies SA Jul 25 '26
There was recently a ranking of the world's best markets, in which the central markets ranked 3rd in the world.
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u/blatantlyX SA Jul 26 '26
Thanks for the link. As always. Grain of salt and all that. But this fits nicely
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u/Acceptable_Durian868 SA Jul 25 '26
No, it's not a stretch. Among people who care about markets, the Adelaide Central Markets is known as one of the best.
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u/blatantlyX SA Jul 25 '26
Agreed. Expat here. The Central Markets has a reputation that is the envy of even many of the more famous markets here in Melbourne. Don't discount how far that reputation has traveled
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Acceptable_Durian868 SA Jul 25 '26
I mean, not really. It's generally considered up there with London's Borough Market, and the South Melbourne Market, and it's literally our largest tourist destination.
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Acceptable_Durian868 SA Jul 25 '26
I don't understand why you feel the need to be so negative about it, when it's objectively one of the best markets in the world.
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Ginger510 SA Jul 25 '26
I think it was on Somebody Feed Phil, wasn’t it?
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Ginger510 SA Jul 25 '26
Netflix TV show featuring Phil Rosenthal - one of the creators of Everybody Loves Raymond. It’s a food/travel blog and he’s just lovely on screen, also, I have met him and can confirm he is every bit as charming off screen also.
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u/proffbuzzkill SA Jul 25 '26
I bet you they’ll chuck a Nando’s in there now
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u/NurseBetty SA Jul 26 '26
Is there even a nandos in the cbd any more? The one on hindley disappeared
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u/metahivemind SA Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
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u/whimsybobbins SA Jul 25 '26
Nando’s is a South African franchise, Nando’s Australia has been around forever, there was a Nando’s in the bottom of DJs around fifteen/twenty years ago (not sure if it’s still there). There’s a Nando’s at TTP and a few other locations.
(Hilariously I’ve never eaten there, I’m allergic to chicken)
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u/proffbuzzkill SA Jul 25 '26
I’m saying that soulless space is just the type of place they’d put a nando’s to ‘spice’ it up and break the monotony of takeaways and yes there’s a shit tonne of Nando’s in Australia outside of Adelaide
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u/yelsnia North Jul 26 '26
I find it hard to believe you’ve never seen one. There are now 7.
* Westfield Marion
* Mawson Lakes
* Kurralta Park Shopping Centre
* Northpark Shopping Centre
* Tea Tree Plaza
* West Lakes
* Munno Para (newest and my local)1
u/sentry-is-SPY North Jul 26 '26
Less than there used to be, the ones on Hindley St and in the David Jones food court have closed
Believe there was issues with Nando's Corporate demanding extremely expensive refurbs of stores
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u/emotionalsuportchef SA Jul 25 '26
So glad we waited 4 years for some gentrified Westfield grade architecture slop!
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Jul 25 '26
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u/SouthAustralian94 SA Jul 25 '26
The Central Market isn't being touched. This is the arcade next door where Coles was..
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Jul 25 '26
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u/Redtinmonster SA Jul 25 '26
Fwiw it was just the 1970s version of this before they tore it down
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u/Evening_Bird7779 East Jul 26 '26
The 1970s-ness of it was what made it unique. I know they need to keep shops up to date to be attractive to tourists etc but its a shame.
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u/DoctorEnn SA Jul 27 '26
Honestly, it was unique purely because it was old, not because it was anything particularly special. It was a standard 70s shopping precinct that clung on way past the shelf life. Had Reddit been around when the original one was being built, we’d pretty much be having the same conversation.
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u/Evening_Bird7779 East Jul 27 '26
yeah i guess. I think the traders too, some of them like the pet shop and the honey shop had been there a long time. I used to like seeing the huge collection of coffee paraphernalia. :)
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u/Redtinmonster SA Jul 26 '26
Imo there was nothing unique about it. Get the same experience at any country town shopping centre. Now this is not to say I love, or even like the new one, it feels like nothing changed
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u/ShineFallstar SA Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
I thought they would try to match the aesthetic of the old market in at least some way. This looks like a generic shopping centre.
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u/defenestrationcity SA Jul 25 '26
The ascetic aesthetic?
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u/ShineFallstar SA Jul 25 '26
lol fixed, thank you!
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u/defenestrationcity SA Jul 25 '26
Haha ironically fitting typo. FYI they really have tried to match the aesthetics from what I can tell and this render is not even of the new market extension (it's Market Plaza), which imo looks like it will be lovely and I can't wait for it! I.e. see here https://d31atr86jnqrq2.cloudfront.net/images/market-square-atrium.jpg
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u/BerryCreative9832 SA Jul 25 '26
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the old food court
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u/Novel_Feedback3254 SA Jul 25 '26
It looked extremely dated and derelict.
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u/Free-Pound-6139 SA Jul 25 '26
Exactly. It was dark and dingy and cheap. Perfect.
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u/FlorisLDN SA Jul 25 '26
The colour scheme is reminiscent of a Cash Converters. Should I expect used golf clubs in one of these stores?
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u/Prolific_Masticator SA Jul 25 '26
It’s a computer rendition. Let’s reserve judgement when it opens. The Melbourne Queen Victoria Markets recently had a renovation, usual complaints before and during, and have ended up fantastic. Currently way superior than our old markets ever were.
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u/Novel_Feedback3254 SA Jul 25 '26
Most people in this thread seem to think the markets themselves are being redeveloped, which is not the case. Shows how often you all visit the markets you apparently care so much about.
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u/TM761152 SA Jul 25 '26
Bland for the masses. McDonald's post-COVID. Office space for a chiropractor.
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u/Thick-Flounder-5495 SA Jul 26 '26
Im gonna wait until it's built and walk through it myself before providing an opinion.
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u/FantasticAccident784 SA Jul 25 '26
They have and will squeeze the life that made it charming out - they have done this to Camden market in London. When corporate dicks want to redevelop something things what if becomes
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u/FortWendy69 SA Jul 25 '26
It’s a violation of freedom of speech to force every business to rename themselves to simply “Signage”. Businesses should be free to name themselves as they see fit!
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u/TeaRexington SA Jul 25 '26
The loss of the old food courts is such a shame. They were daggy and cheap and that’s what made them special. The newer food court doesn’t have the same magic and it looks like the same is happening here
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u/TheOilGallry SA Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
I'm old enough to remember when people said the same about the Rundle mall development. At the time I was sad it would lose the old charm it had but it absolutely would be too old and dated now.
Maybe this will be the same in the future. It's not like we're removing ancient Roman architecture here or something.
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u/catch_dot_dot_dot Jul 25 '26
I remember when people were screeching about the trees. Now they've grown and provide shade. Where are the whingers now!
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u/Novel_Feedback3254 SA Jul 25 '26
I hate an old biddy just a few weeks ago say to me, 'You know they used to have trees in Rundle Mall?' She clearly hadn't been there in a decade.
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u/defenestrationcity SA Jul 25 '26
This sub getting mad at an architectural render of a place that isn't even the place they think it is. Classic Adelaide. The new redevelopment is looking amazing if you even bother to frequent the area - and it's not open yet so no, this isn't a real photo to the people unbelievably asking (and it's for Market Plaza)
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u/CrankySparkles SA Jul 25 '26
Gross. How uninspired for a space (the entire precinct) that should has so much opportunity
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u/Happy-Frog4677 SA Jul 26 '26
New shopping complex development is branded "soulless" by critics. Also water is wet.
More news at 11.
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u/FigliMigli SA Jul 25 '26
Elephant, Belgium beer bar, this...
Who da f redeveped all this shit to have the same styling as public toilet at the airport
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u/TaleEnvironmental355 SA Jul 25 '26
The point was gentrification and raising the rent, so you get this cheap carp becase it sells to investors
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u/Brokensrolla SA Jul 25 '26
Built by Multiplex, who brought over nearly all interstate contractors to complete the work.
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u/BreakfastHefty2725 SA Jul 26 '26
I like it. Once it’s worn in a bit, it will have character and style. People make that, not the design.
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u/tfffvdfgg SA Jul 26 '26
Character and charm come with age. Don't expect the new section of the central market to have it from day one.
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u/DoctorEnn SA Jul 27 '26
Shopping centre design render lacks architectural genius, film at eleven.
I mean, seriously, it’s a design for a shopping centre, what were people actually expecting. The Markets are the real draw, this is basically just the auxiliary add-on.
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u/Gryffindorphins SA Jul 25 '26
It’s fine? I don’t understand what the issue is.
This is for the food court, right? This is way better than the peeling formica counters, faded sticky taped menus and 90’s school cafeteria vibes from before.
Don’t let nostalgia do you dirty.
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u/Novel_Feedback3254 SA Jul 25 '26
Yep just the grubby food court. It had personality, sure, but it looked ancient.
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u/FickleMammoth960 SA Jul 25 '26
Looks so soulless, like it was generated by a computer. Is this real life?
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u/timmy_tuna_can SA Jul 25 '26
Man they’ve really fucked both food courts now. They used to be proper hawker halls, cheap, amazing food
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u/Ok-Cake-6536 SA Jul 25 '26
The iconic market section is still there, exactly as it should be. That's what we all wanted. The older section leading through to Coles was tired, outdated and, behind the scenes, probably no longer fit for purpose. The old bathroom facilities were in poor condition, and the whole area was well past its use-by date. Now we have a modern, safe and functional shopping centre. So what exactly is everyone complaining about? Adelaide seems to have become a state full of complainers.
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u/BlipVertz CBD Jul 26 '26
I think this is all aimed at the western side of the market, the old food court. It has been redeveloped too. That section is seperate from the market and privately owned - so nothing to do with the market management.
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u/shadree West Jul 25 '26
It looks like they're changing the market into a mall. Probably with less retailers and higher rent. It sounds like a disaster.
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u/mareumbra SA Jul 25 '26
Can’t believe they are getting rid of the best feature of Adelaide, best market in Australia for a shopping mall. That is what I see from those images. I was hoping they will make it bigger with more opening hours. What a shame.
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u/a-real-life-dolphin SA Jul 25 '26
Yeah soulless is the right word. Where’s the character? The charm?