Gympie CBD vacancies drop despite flood, Covid

Before Covid, there were 62 empty shops in the CBD. Now, one pandemic and a near-record flood later, the heart of the city is beating stronger than it has in a long time.

In the past four years Gympie’s city centre has weathered a global pandemic, economic uncertainty and the second highest flood on record.

This trio of troubles has not kept the CBD down, though.

Instead, the commercial heart of Gympie has emerged in better shape than it was when the world turned sideways, with the number of empty shops across the city centre shrinking.

A new count of vacant shops in the CBD has revealed that tenancies have grown in four years, despite the hardships.

In 2019, there were 62 stores sitting empty, with the majority of those in the main street, Mary St.

That number in September 2023, is 52 despite the CBD being inundated by flood waters in February 2022.

There were 52 vacant shops across Gympie’s CBD, 10 less than in 2019. More than a dozen of these still empty shops were in Condie’s Arcade, which was being extensively renovated in the wake of the February 2022 flood.

Almost one third of those shops were in Condies Arcade, still being extensively renovated by its owners 18 months after the disaster.

This left 36 vacant stores spread across the blocks between Channon, Reef, Nash and Lawrence Streets.

At least a half-dozen are in the process if being renovated and repaired.

Other stores displaced by the floods, including the Reject Shop, Jay Jays, and Best and Less, have returned to their Mary St homes while other businesses like the Royal Hotel have begun running in a different form.

Karinya Florist and Gift owner Candice Cowden said the street was “going in the right direction”.

Ms Cowden took the business over shortly before the shop was submerged above ceiling level in 2022, and said it “feels like there are more shops down (the lower end) of the street”.

Candice Cowden, owner of Karinya Florist and Gifts, said Mary St was “going in the right direction” and the number of shops in the end of the street submerged in February 2022 was growing.

Even with more businesses in the city centre “there’s so many (shops) empty still”.

She said community groups and traders were “definitely improving the street” and “actively working on it”.

“I think it is moving forward,” Ms Cowden said.

“It’s just a matter of time and participation I guess.”

Chamber of Commerce president Petra Van Beek said the city centre’s recovery was benefiting from the collective will of groups including business street trader Tony Goodman’s CBD Action Alliance and the RSL.

There was still room for it to grow further, too.

Many businesses whose stores were submerged in floodwaters have now returned to the city centre.

Options worth exploring included turning Mary St into a pedestrian-only precinct, and extending access to the River to Rail Trail and Mary Valley Rattler.

“You could really turn the CBD into something special,” Ms Van Beek said.

She said the next steps was for those with visions of the CBD’s future to firm up those plans, and for funding streams to be found.

Mr Goodman said new businesses like Dolly and Oats had become a “real destination” and there was room for more to set up shop.

Popular lounge bar Dolly and Oats has become a “real destination” according to longtime Mary St trader and former Chamber of Commerce president Tony Goodman.

“The CBD is coming back; I wouldn’t say it’s roaring back but certainly a noticeable difference … (in 2019) compared to what it is now,” Mr Goodman said.

There was “some concern” among traders about the rise in vape shops in the CBD.

One vape shop was torched in an arson attack and robbery in April 2023.

The ruins of the building have seen been demolished, and police investigations are ongoing.

There was optimism about what was on the horizon though with Gympie Regional Council exploring buying the demolished blocks.

Mr Goodman said the cost of living “could put a little bit of a damper” but “there’s a lot of entrepreneurs around the place” which could bode well for the precinct.

“The fact the real estate boom has really helped Gympie along, and with the new bypass going around (the CBD), it could develop this village-type atmosphere … the CBD could be a place to be,” he said.