Rockhampton’s Kern Arcade to go on the market for the first time in decade for an undisclosed figure
The centre was closed in January and Coopers is now operating a pop up shop a couple of days a week.
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The doors remain closed on East Street’s Kern Arcade after the centre closed at the end of January.
It is understood the owners plan to put the centre on the market, however they have not confirmed when that will happen.
Coopers has a pop-up shop on Fridays and Saturdays in the former Catwalk Pink store on East Street.
It is understood the pop-up shop will operate for the foreseeable future.
The Kern Arcade carpark remains open only for those with permanent parking.
The carpark has three levels with the top floor the cheapest at $45 a month.
One of the shops in the centre was advertised for rent for $5,000 a month, $60,000 a year in 2017.
The land for the site was valued at $700,000 in June 2020, real estate data shows.
Owner of the centre, the Cooper family, announced it was going to close its three stores, Coopers, Propaganda and The Arcade Outlet in December.
Existing tenants Scoffins, Arcade News and Casket, Blue Leaf Takeaway and Downtown Diva were told the complex would close and they were to vacate.
Downtown Diva now operates a home salon at Gracemere, while Blue Leaf Takeaway and Scoffins are located next to each other near the Oxford Hotel on East St.
The newsagency is not expected to reopen in another location.
The iconic Kern Arcade Sunday Markets, which for many years operated out of the carpark, have been moved to the Rockhampton Racecourse with great success.
Rockhampton Regional Council has stated it was not aware of the closure and was not involved in any sale.
Coopers was opened by Glynn and Althea Cooper as a clothing store in 1953 in Bolsover St.
The Kern Arcade, with 16 shops, was officially opened by then mayor Jim Webber in 1987.
Glynn passed away in 1989 and Althea continued to act as an operator until she fell ill and passed away in 2005.
The Cooper family bought the Kern Arcade from the Kern Corporation in 1993 for $1.7 million, CoreLogic records indicate.
The Coopers company is now registered to Craig and Clark Cooper.
Clark Cooper declined to comment on the future of the complex.
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