An innovative pop up shop in the City of Onkaparinga in South Australia has helped activate the area and revitalise the local economy.
As part of the City’s Main Street Activation Program, the shop on Beach Road, Christie’s Beach has provided a hub for people to gather, share ideas and hold events for the community and businesses.
Within the first 10 months of operation, the shop attracted over 4500 visitors and generated more than 34,000 comments and likes on how to enhance Beach Road. In 12 months, the shop had attracted 6500 people.
The site quickly became a popular creative space to engage with residents, visitors, students, groups and local and home-based businesses; it has also supported a dozen business start-ups by acting as a ‘come and try’ hub – an entrepreneurial testing ground to trial new business ideas.
The Pop-Up Shop offered users: free Wi-Fi to connect with residents, visitors, groups and local businesses; a custom made 12m long whiteboard ideas wall; a parklet – a unique removable outdoor dining area housed in the car park directly in front of the shop; and spaces to meet, exhibit, hold events, share and collaborate.
More than 80 events were held at the shop, ranging from meetings, art exhibitions, networking functions (including a Mainstreet SA Executive Committee meeting), children’s craft workshops and an organic and wellbeing market.
The Pop-Up Shop proved to be an effective means for activating Beach Road, increasing visitation to the area, initiating business growth in the main street and generating significant interest in further reinvigoration including direct facilitation of two new businesses who are now permanent leases on the street and a number of additional part-time jobs for the area.
Ideas put forward included a variety of cafes and restaurants, more spaces to play, streetscape improvements, promotional flags and a range of community activities.
Many of the ideas put forward by the community as part of the engagement have been embraced; most recently, a seven-storey apartment complex for Beach Road was approved by council and another developer has aggregated a number of neighbouring properties within the area for a future high rise development.
The significant outcomes achieved were made possible through innovative and collaborative community partnerships.
In particular, the negotiation of a free lease agreement with local realty owner. This was facilitated through a custom ‘Licence to Occupy’ agreement, which provided flexibility to council to host various functions, activities and events within the shop space.
The pop up shop model has been recognised as a transferable model across other parts of the City of Onkaparinga and is now being applied to other identified activation precincts through a City Wide Place and Business Activation strategy.
