Orange Grove back with a bang

Five years after the NSW Land and Environment Court shut down the Orange Grove outlets, property developer Nabil Gazal's determination to find a new use for the building has paid off.

The 15,000-square-metre complex will operate each weekend as an undercover market with more than 225 stalls.

Mr Gazal's son, Nabil Gazal jnr, said the market format suited the space, and the council was supportive of the idea.

``We thought it was a good compromise from what we weren't allowed to have last time it was a good use for the building,'' he said.

The markets have a clean, bright and fresh feeling, he said. ``It is a sensory experience. You can smell the fruit and the seafood and hear the fishmonger screaming.''

He regretted the traffic chaos the opening caused, which required police attendance, but said plans for an extra 1000 car spaces were in the works.

An estimated 50,000 people visited the market over opening weekend. Almost $3500 was raised for the Miracle Babies charity, Jessica Mauboy and Wes Carr performed, and Fowler MP Julia Irwin opened the centre in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

She said the State Government's decision to force closure of the designer outlet centre in 2004 was a blow to the local economy.

``We had court cases, [and] parliamentary and ICAC inquiries, but the owner Nabil Gazal was never shaken from his vision to have a retail centre on this site,'' she said. ``I am glad to see many of the people who lost their jobs back in the centre.''