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Adelaide Bike Kitchen has been given more time to keep rolling in Bowden/Brompton, with the State Government announcing a temporary new home for the volunteer-run community organisation just around the corner from its current site.
The organisation, which has operated in Bowden since 2012, had announced the closure of its current workshop last month after its long-term site on the corner of Gibson and Third streets was sold for residential development.
Now, an agreement arranged by Renewal SA with a nearby landowner will allow Adelaide Bike Kitchen to move into a vacant warehouse on East Street at Brompton for the next 16 months.
The new site is about 300 metres from its current home, meaning the group can remain close to the community it has built over more than a decade while it continues searching for a permanent base.
Adelaide Bike Kitchen is known as a hands-on community hub where people can learn to repair and maintain their own bikes, access tools, share skills, and connect with others around cycling and active transport.
Minister for Housing and Urban Development Nick Champion said, “Communities are bound together by groups like the Adelaide Bike Kitchen. It’s more than just a place that helps people fix and maintain their bikes. It’s a social hub that brings people together in a positive way and promotes an active and healthy lifestyle.”
“The new temporary facility will also play a key role in supporting the many businesses within Bowden, facilitating much needed car parking while the new multideck carpark is being built.”
“Renewal SA has done a fantastic job sourcing this temporary location as it continues steering Bowden’s urban growth.”
The move comes as Bowden continues to undergo major change. The current Adelaide Bike Kitchen site, which also houses the Bowden Discovery Centre, was sold last year to South Australian developer Otello, which is preparing to begin construction on new health and wellbeing facilities beneath more than 100 apartments.
At the same time, work is also set to begin on Sentinel’s 240-apartment development, with the site currently being used as a temporary car park.
As part of the new arrangement, 145 car parks will open at the East Street location, offering free limited parking for precinct visitors and supporting local traders until Bowden’s 221-space multi-deck car park opens in 2027.
Mr Champion said the temporary facility would help both Adelaide Bike Kitchen and the surrounding precinct.
“The new temporary facility will also play a key role in supporting the many businesses within Bowden, facilitating much needed carparking while the new multideck carpark is being built,” he said.
Adelaide Bike Kitchen spokesperson Reb Rowe said, “The Adelaide Bike Kitchen and Bowden have evolved together and our communities are linked. Staying in Bowden a bit longer lets us work towards our objective of staying close to our community.”
“The extra time in the area provides Adelaide Bike Kitchen with more time to navigate the complex financial and property systems we need to work within to find a more permanent home.”
“Without this opportunity, we would have needed to make a difficult decision to either substantially reduce what we offer to the community, move further out from the city or even close altogether.”
Adelaide Bike Kitchen announced the closure of it’s previous location last month, and is expected to reopen at the new Brompton location within weeks.
