How to turn three dead spaces into lively CBD gems – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

In two months, Sydney will mark a major anniversary: 10 years since the city’s iconic monorail was ripped up, deemed no longer worth maintaining. But a decade later, relics still remain – notably the abandoned station at the Market Street entrance to Darling Harbour.

Despite numerous thought bubbles over the years, the shell just sits there, unloved and unused.

Marketing and design consultant Andrew Hoyne sees these kinds of places everywhere he goes in Sydney. Dead, dark and damned, they occupy prime pieces of real estate but are woefully underutilised.

In the upcoming third volume of his book series The Place Economy, Hoyne reimagines three such spaces in walking distance of his CBD office – the old monorail station, a Pitt Street smoko alcove and the much-maligned Goulburn Street Car Park.

“All three I find annoying,” says Hoyne. “Without very much effort I could give you a list of about 50. There is an enormous number of assets throughout Sydney that could be put to greater use.”

In his impressions, Hoyne has added a cafe and an espresso bar to the Pitt Street alcove, both with dual level seating. He has turned the Goulburn Street Car Park rooftop into an elevated oasis of outdoor activity, replete with a bike track, skate park, basketball court and hawkers’ market.

“It’s surrounded by many tall towers of residential apartments; [they] have to stare down at this depressing environment, which is empty at night and empty on weekends,” he says of the car…