THE owner of Shippy’s riverfront cafe says the Powerhouse precinct concept plans drawn up by a local architecture firm are “10 times better” than what their Melbourne counterparts who won the tender served up.
Under the draft plan by Melbourne consultants, the popular Shippy’s would be shipped off its current site – which has uninterrupted river views – to either inside the Powerhouse building or adjacent to it, minus the “priceless” views.
However, under the concept plan by Aspire Architecture, a Mildura firm who missed out in the tender process, a cafe could be moved to front of the Powerhouse building, set over two levels.
It would be mean the views from the top floor would be much better than current ones from alongside Hugh King Drive.
Plus, as Shippy’s owner Michael Shipsides pointed out yesterday, it could lead to night-time dining overlooking the river.
“This local plan is 10 times better than else that (the Melbourne consultants) put forward,” Mr Shipsides said.
“If we were able to get a liquor licence, it’d be even more amazing for not only my business, but locals could have a great night out by the river.
“Imagine sitting up there having a drink and some food at night? It’d be awesome.”
He said the Aspire plan by Andrew Nairn and Larry Cavallaro showed that locals had the “right stuff” to undertake “significant” local projects.
“I’ve said all along, why can’t local architects get the big jobs? They know the local area, they use it, they know the people who live here, and the likes of Larry and Andrew are clearly qualified enough to do jobs of this nature,” Mr Shipsides told Sunraysia Daily.
“One of the reasons people love coming (to Shippy’s) is for the view of the river – and under Larry and Andrew’s plan, we’d keep that.”
