Retailers call on governments to end to empty shops crisis

Retailers in a struggling southside retail precinct have called on governments to intervene to stop the demise of suburban shops after further shop closures.

Camilla Peverati (left) and the team from Milano Gelateria Stones Corner.

THE owner of an iconic Stones Corner shop has called for governments to intervene to stop the demise of suburban shopping precincts after closing in the face of high rents.

Milano Gelateria closed its doors on Monday after five years in Stones Corner.

Shop owner Camilla Peverati said they did not renew the Stones Corner lease because they could not continue to operate without lower rent and called on governments to do something to address the crisis facing the retail sector.

“The problem is Australia-wide,” Mrs Peverati said.

“People shouldn’t be allowed to speculate on property that they can’t afford. In Italy if you own more than one property you pay extra taxes, especially if it’s empty.

‘Here, you pay less taxes when you leave a property empty because of negative gearing.”

Milano Gelateria still has a shop in the main street of Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast.

Greens candidate for Coorparoo Sally Dillon met with Mrs Peverati at the gelato shop last week and has called for council to come up with a solution to the end the property vacancy crisis.

Ms Dillon said the shop was the latest to close its doors due to unsustainable rents and inflexible lease agreements and said the empty shopfronts would hurt surrounding businesses.

“Losing Milano is going to be a real blow to the area, as so many people come here just for an ice cream, but then drop into other shops in the strip at the same time. Losing Milano is bad for local business and it’s bad for the community,’ she said.

Another high profile shop at Stones Corner, comic shop Comic Empire, has announced they will not re-open after fire gutted the store in January.

Last month LNP Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced a Suburban Shopfront Activation initiative, giving emerging businesses an opportunity to set up in empty shopfronts.

Labor’s mayoral candidate Patrick Condren has revisited the party’s policy to scrap the footpath dining tax and announced a new “suburban taskforce” addressing parking and precinct improvements.

Ms Dillon said The Greens would introduce a residential and commercial vacancy levy to provide incentives to landlords to lower rents on homes and retail spaces to make them more affordable.

“Right now landlords can make a tax loss if they have vacant property, so there’s no incentive to keep tenants by lowering rent,” she said.

Greens candidate for Coorparoo Sally Dillon at the Stones Corner shop last week.

Ms Dillon said introducing a commercial and residential vacancy levy would help tackle the problem of empty shopfronts in Stones Corner, Coorparoo and Greenslopes, and would ensure that there were more homes for people who needed them.

“Right now, Brisbane’s suburban shopping strips have about 12 per cent of shops vacant, which is terrible for surrounding businesses,” she said.

Ms Dillon said the initiative would introduce a 5 per cent annual levy on capital-improved value, charged to owners who have deliberately left homes, land and commercial properties vacant for more than six months of any 12-month period.

The Greens also propose that the council looks at repurposing untenanted commercial spaces by acting as an intermediary, guaranteeing a licence agreement for arts and community groups to use vacant commercial spaces for fixed periods.