Retailers cling to hopes City Deal with Federal Government will prove much-needed boost for Darwin CBD

IT has taken 18 months and two prime ministers, but Darwin CBD retailers are clinging onto hopes that the signing of a City Deal with the Federal Government will be the boost the city needs to get back on track

Attitude for Men owner Darlene Chin ... ‘City Deal funds need to be spent on big ideas, rather than sugar hits’

IT HAS taken 18 months and two prime ministers but Darwin CBD retailers are clinging to hopes that the signing of a City Deal with the Federal Government will be the boost the city needs to get back on track.

The Commonwealth is expected to match the NT Government’s $100 million financial commitment on projects to green and cool the city and shift Charles Darwin University students into the CBD.

Darwin CBD’s public face is pockmarked by empty shopfronts.

A number of CBD businesses have shut in recent weeks.

The Darwin cinema will become the latest victim of the downturn when it shuts its doors for the last time next week.

What the City Deal will entail exactly is still under wraps, but it is expected to outline a number of short, medium and long-term projects.

The investment can’t come quickly enough for city traders, who are weathering some of the most difficult economic conditions in memory.

Attitude for Men owner Darlene Chin said the money needed to be spent on big ideas, rather than “sugar hits”.

“It needs to be invested in long-term infrastructure to create meaningful activity in the city,” she said.

“They have to be long-term projects that will create reasons for people to be in the city for years to come, and they’ve got to be things that create confidence in property owners and business owners so they continue to invest.”

Restaurateur Jason Hanna said bringing students to the city would be one of the most effective ways to revitalise the CBD retail environment.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to finalise the Deal – first flagged in May 2017 – when he visits Darwin later this week.

It will be his first visit to the Territory since he became prime minister.

Closure of the deal was imminent before Malcolm Turnbull was rolled.

With a Federal election looming, the Coalition will hope the announcement will help win some support back from the electorate to help its chances against first-term member for Solomon Luke Gosling.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the “strategic, sustainable” projects flagged in the deal would help boost the CBD’s population.