The building complex which Johnson designed for the Metropolitan Meat Market Company was an ambitious one, which it was proposed to complete in stages.

The 56 feet (17 metres) to the north of the bank were in 1889 leased to one Dunkerley for construction of a cooling chamber on what was actually described at the time as vacant ground.

Johnson was again commissioned and the new structure was given a façade harmonising with the existing building, though only one storey in height, and linked to them by a screen wall across in the front of a courtyard, now repurposed to the North Melbourne entrance.

Connection of the buildings to the sewerage system in 1890 required substantial works and called for the employment of an architect, but Johnson was now dead.

This firm, and Gibbs in particular, was to be responsible for major extensions to the market in 1906–1908, when the main hall was continued north to Tyrone Street, increasing the number of stalls, but very precisely matching the original design.

The last major alterations to the buildings were made by Gibbs in the period 1918–1922, when it appears that the bank residence was modified to provide caretaker's quarters, an upper floor was built over Dunkerley's original freezing chamber to provide offices for the Master Butcher's Association, brick cooling chambers were built right along the western side of the market hall, and presumably at this time, a new range of cooling chambers inserted on the east side of the hall behind the Blackwood Street buildIngs.

It would appear that it was intended in 1879 to float the enterprise as a public company but whether because of lack of response or for other reasons, it remained private.

Malcolm Howlett has remained keenly interested in the market since it became a Craft Centre and has in his writings about it, given us a clear picture of what it was like.

It was known to be of interest to developers as a large area of land in close proximity to the city and a sale price of around one and a quarter million dollars was considered likely.

Since this meant that it could not be demolished, the highest likely bidders were no longer interested and the property was passed in at auction for nine hundred and twenty five thousand dollars.

During this time it was leased for a number of purposes, a disposals warehouse, auction room, trash and treasure market and car park.

A group comprising David Wright, Marjorie Johnson, Ian Sprague, Sue Walker, Colin Burroughs and John Mitchell thoroughly inspected the property and reported back to the Craft Association Executive that the market would indeed be as suitable as any building ever likely to come up for recycling.

Very fortunately, the hearing of this case and the counter claim by the Victorian Ministry for the Arts through its officer Essie Wicks, found in favour of keeping the market on the H.B.P.C.

When continuing representation for purchase to the Ministry throughout 1975 and into 1976 appeared to be making no progress, invitations were issued to a broadly representative group to meet to plan a campaign of action.

Rupert Hamer, agreed that the Ministry for the Arts would fund an architectural feasibility study on the proposal to convert the market into a Craft Centre for Victoria.

In January 1977 the purchase was finalised at a cost of $890,000 and Meat Market on its various titles became Crown allotment No.21 section 11 at North Melbourne.

Throughout 1977 and most of 1978, an interim committee and later a planning committee established by the Victorian Ministry for the Arts, met monthly to monitor basic building repairs, review tenancies, invite public response, investigate funding, examine alternative management structures, develop a philosophy for the Centre, assess applications for space and make recommendations to the Ministry for the Arts in relation to all of these matters.

Approval had been given the previous year for three events of the Festival: "Australian Crafts '78", and a Glass Exhibition and Workshop, to be held in the market.

Following a one-off event, a Trade Fair organised by the Victorian Ceramic Group, held on 22–23 September 1979, the Craft Centre finally opened on a permanent basis on 8 November 1979.

In 1982 with specified funding from the Victorian Ministry for the Arts, and the Crafts Board of the Australia Council, the Ceramic and Textile Access Workshops were established.