Thriving pillar of the community falls into disrepair
Sitting like a book end at the end of Nairne’s main street sits “Chapman’s” as its locally known. It’s one of those places that really makes you wonder what the walls would say if they could tell you all they have seen.
In its heyday, the Chapman’s Meatworks was a pillar of the Adelaide Hills community operating for 103 years and employing 380 locals at its peak. Chat with enough Hills locals and you’ll still find a couple with stories to tell of their time working there. By 2002 operations were moved to Murray Bridge, resulting in the factory’s closure and sale. While on face value the site has had the appearance of being abandoned, it’s been anything but. To the detriment of the Nairne community it’s been a haven for anti-social, destructive, and illegal behaviour in the years since, as the 32,000m² site at the end of an historic main street fell into a dilapidated state.
Over the years Beyond Ink was approached by a number of seasoned property developers interested in purchasing and redeveloping the prominent site. The challenge in its redevelopment was insurmountable to most – chemical contamination, two storeys of underground cool rooms, a local heritage listing, and a subterranean culvert large enough to drive a car through were enough to put most people off. All but one…
The reinvention of the Chapman’s Meatworks site begins
Taking this complex developmental challenge in his stride, our client purchased the property in 2015 and its new chapter began – with Beyond Ink engaged to bring new life back to the derelict site. Our well-established relationship with Mt Barker Council ensured that during the 2016 Development Plan Amendment a wide range of future development possibilities was secured, making the most of the existing built form where possible. With family-owned Klose’s Supermarkets keen on making a home in the growing town, the first stage of the site’s redevelopment was soon underway, with Beyond Ink’s design skills complemented by our specialist in-house town planning services.
Our Design and Town Planning teams face challenges
The scale of the site and complexities in its redevelopment meant that a staged approach was the most practical option. Balancing the physical characteristics of the site, and its role in the community with the operational and built requirements of the developer and tenants was crucial.
The design had to accommodate several site-specific constraints, including two stories of abandoned underground cool rooms, which influenced how the weight could be dispersed above. Compliance with EPA guidelines for contaminated sites was essential, and upgrades to portions of Council-owned Bridge Street and State-owned Old Princes Highway were necessary to support access for heavy vehicles and manage increased traffic flow in and around the site.
Despite being physically secured, antisocial and illegal behaviour persisted on-site, creating additional challenges throughout the redevelopment’s design, planning, and construction phases. Each time our team visited the site, new graffiti blemished the structures, valuable materials were stolen, and other building elements were damaged or, in some cases, destroyed. This added an ongoing layer of difficulty to an already complex project.
Wherever possible, existing buildings were repurposed as the most sustainable and, in many cases, practical solution. However, the prominent local heritage wall bounding Bridge St could not be retained in its original location. Instead, the salvaged bricks were incorporated into other areas of the site, giving them new purpose and preserving a connection to the site’s history.
Our planning team carefully balanced the operational requirements of the tenants, and the physical constraints of the site with the community, managing off-site impacts of the completed development and its interface with surrounding, varied land uses as much as possible. They addressed concerns raised during the public notification process for each application, ensuring that all feedback was considered. A carefully balanced development proposal was then presented to the Council Assessment Panel, which subsequently granted Planning Consent for each stage of the project.
Collaboration sees success
The successful redevelopment of the former Chapmans Meatworks is also to the credit of Mt Barker District Council; without our long term, close working relationship and open dialogue with one another, the complexities of the site would have been much more difficult to manage and the positive outcome for our client, Council and the community may have been compromised.
The story continues…
Flash forward to 2024, and ‘Chapman’s at Nairne’ has been reimagined as a functional, vibrant hub that services not only Nairne but the wider hills community. Now in the final stages of its redevelopment journey, the site supports many locally owned businesses and is once again the largest employer with the Nairne area. It is now home to Klose’s Foodland Supermarket, Australia Post and several specialty shops, Anytime Fitness, a motor repair service, and the much-anticipated new home of Tin Shed Distilling. Beyond Ink is proud to have delivered the transformation of this iconic Hills location from a contaminated and derelict site into a revitalised hub of activity, and an anchor for the Nairne township.
