The Myer Centre has a new name – but does it have a vision to match?

Children screaming is not something you typically want to hear while eating lunch in a food court or browsing your favourite retail stores.

But if you happened to be shopping at Queen Street Mall’s famous Myer Centre during the ’90s, it was a sure sign of a good time.

A photo of the old Top’s Dragon Coaster taken in 1989.Credit: Joan Fulton

Back then the centre was home to the Dragon Coaster, a questionably safe ride that ran a circular loop around the building’s upper floor and seemed far more terrifying as a seven-year-old than as an adult looking back at old clips.

The red and gold dragon was part of an amusement park called Top’s, which opened in 1988 and also boasted a swinging ship, dodgem cars, a jumping castle and a ball pit.

Top’s closed in 2000 to make way for a cinema complex.

On Monday, another icon departed the centre, with the Myer Store moving on after a 35-year occupancy.

After 35 years, The Myer Centre is officially no more. Credit: Courtney Kruk

In a statement addressing the store’s final day of trade, Myer Brisbane store manager Lee Dougan thanked customers for their loyalty over the years, assuring shoppers they would continue to look for an alternative location.

While plans for the next iteration of the centre remain vague, what is certain is its new name: Uptown.

Overnight, all traces of The Myer Centre were taken down and replaced with Uptown signage.

In a joint statement, the centre’s owners, retail property giant Vicinity Centres and superannuation property group ISPT, said the name “captures the vision for the destination’s future, reflects the intended brand and market position and highlights the physical location at the top of the mall”.

The centre’s owners say Uptown will be “a pivotal part of the modern identity of Brisbane’s CBD”.Credit: Brittney Deguara

“Uptown will be a pivotal part of the modern identity of Brisbane’s CBD and the name reflects its standing and influence of its prime location,” Daniel Sutton, the regional manager for Vicinity Centres, said.

So, what will fill the centre’s gaping retail void?

We don’t yet know what will occupy the six vacant levels of retail space in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD for the next 30 to 40 years, but for clues we could look at Vicinity’s existing portfolio.

The group’s Queensland scope includes DFO Brisbane, luxury CBD retail hub QueensPlaza and Woolloongabba’s Buranda Village.

The centre at the top of the Queen Street Mall will now be known as Uptown.Credit: Courtney Kruk

Looking interstate at projects in Victoria and NSW, Uptown will more than likely lean into Vicinity’s speciality: mixed-use precincts that offer retail, residential and commercial.

We probably won’t see a hotel attach itself to The Myer Centre, but there could be a stronger focus on lifestyle elements, be that a gym or fresh food market, and office letting.

And given Vicinity’s reputation for creating premium shopping precincts (QueensPlaza and Victoria’s Chadstone for example), it’s likely the centre will score a significant refresh with a new facade and a new generation of forward-facing retailers.

There’s an argument for Uptown to continue offering affordable shopping for the vast majority, a sentiment reflected by ISPT regional asset manager Leah Mienert who maintained the reimagined centre would be “for everyone, every day”.

But that shouldn’t prevent it from taking note of where the market is currently heading, which predicts second-hand clothing will overtake fast fashion by the end of the decade and shows an increasing appetite for sustainable options.

Further down the mall, David Jones benefited from a new location in QueensPlaza and Edward Street has welcomed a number of new high-end retail storefronts.

Around the corner from Uptown, The Star’s Treasury casino is another precinct with an undecided future.

In June, property investor Charter Hall pulled out of plans to acquire the heritage-building, leaving a question mark over the proposal to turn it into a hotel and high-end retail precinct once the casino has moved to Queen’s Wharf.

In all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure: Uptown won’t stay vacant for long and new icons will find a home in the CBD – albeit nothing that will top the juvenile thrill of Top’s.

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