Where else but Footscray!

Urban.com.au has contributed many an article toward the seismic shift occuring within Footscray, there's a raft of large-scale apartment developments in the pipeline set to transform the area over the next decade. No less than 21 current apartment project listings for postcode 3011 are in the Urban.com.au project database, with the sum of 4,900 plus apartments a distinct possibility.

Even the likes of local stalwart Franco Cozzo has sought to vacate his premises as the lure of development takes effect.

But what will keep these thousands of new residents occupied in Footscray proper, rather than seeking the entertainment and retail options of for instance, the CBD?

On a recent walking tour of Barkly Street and surrounds it became apparent there's a tremendous sense of place in Footscray. The diverse mix of cultures, fashion and cuisine provides an outcome unique to Footscray, but it's also coupled with a street level history and scale that is comparable in many ways to Collingwood or Richmond.

Whether it's the 'rough' (in some areas) urban realm or the general bustle, Footscray is an intriguing locale with all the fundamentals in place to cope with a massively expanded population in years to come. Should contemporary venues such as Barkly Street's Littlefoot Bar proliferate and provide the area with a new dimension of dining and entertainment venues to compliment the super-strong ethnic cuisine offerings from South East Asia and the Horn of Africa, Footscray will become a destination all its own. A new Smith Street in the offing.

I can only hope the above notion is conveyed through the following images. Click on the main image below to expand and as always enjoy.