Photos via Shane Hryhorec
There’s something about the rich and unique history that sits within the buildings in Port Adelaide that Shane Hryhorec is drawn to.
In fact, it’s not what’s physically within the building, but the history many of the vacant or storage buildings hold in the region. In 2025, Shane bought a building off a man called Stan Quinn, a name that many in the Port Adelaide suburb may recognise, as Stan’s grandfather was one of the first people on a boat to come to Australia through Port Adelaide.
“Originally, the building started as a furniture warehouse,” Shane said.
“That’s what it was built for in the 1880s, then in the mid-1900s, the Quinn family (Stan Quinn) purchased it and used it for sails, nets and canvas products.”
“It was heartwarming to see his reaction and how happy he was to see it now having a new opportunity to create its next chapter.
“That was special for me, and you could tell it was special for him too.”
Over the last six months, Shane and a hard-working team of builders and restorers have been hustling around the clock to transform what was once an old canvas sail building into an active space of history and charm.
“I want to give buildings a new lease on life,” he said.
“I want them to not sit there empty, but have purpose and offer something to the community and society.”
The building certainly does have a new look on life, with a massive amount of energy and time spent working their way through the building, from replacing insulation and wiring to all the electrical and plumbing.
“There are features of the building, like a track that the sails used to go along, which we turned into a light feature.
“We also put a decal on the front window with “sail” on it to really hone in on the history of the building.”
The bathrooms were designed to complement the building’s industrial heritage, with galvanised steel cladding and accessible features including a wheelchair-friendly bathroom, something that isn’t always made to be glamorous, but this one sure is.
The project started with the walls.
“We hand-chipped all the paint and mortar off to reveal all the brick and stone, then painstakingly repointed it to bring it back to life, but also set it up for the next hundred years of life really.”
Then the floors came next, which was a mammoth task to complete, with 100-plus-year-old jarrah floorboards needing work, and many of them having to be replaced and patched.
“We didn’t want it to be too shiny and too new.”
“We also made sure we had a DDA-compliant ramp so the building is wheelchair accessible, so people can roll straight in from the street.”
Before the restorations
Shane actually had his sights set on this particular building for around four years but was never financially ready for the project up until recently.
“The conversation just kept going for such a long period of time, and eventually I was able to find a way to buy it,” he said.
“Then after it settled, we went pretty much straight into refurbishing the building and trying to bring it back to life again.”
This isn’t the first old building Shane has restored either. It’s apparent that this may be a bit of a hobby for him, as it was only a few years ago that he renovated his first building in Port Adelaide.
“I bought a building from a similar period, the late 1800s, and I renovated it,” he said.
“I actually loved it.”
That building is now the venue of co-able Fitness, a first of its kind accessibility gym.
After the restorations
For now, Shane plans to lease out the space for someone new to take on the building and give it another purpose, whether that’s an event space, a wedding venue or furniture showroom.
“My goal is to turn beautiful old buildings that sit empty into something with purpose.”
“A lot of people are nervous about taking on old buildings because of heritage challenges and whether council are going to work with them.”
When a visit from the local council heritage officer took place, Shane said there really wasn’t any positive feedback, which was disappointing to say the least.
“When there are not a lot of people out there restoring these old buildings, it would be nice if council were encouraging people,” Shane said.
“It’s one thing to build shiny new boxes everywhere, but we really do need to restore the history that’s already there.”
Perhaps for the other long forgotten venues in the area, this will be a sign to preserve the stories and memories that were once alive within the now vacant buildings.
For more information, visit Shane’s Facebook page.
