Bargain retailer shuts up shop
Mall store closed
A CENTRAL Geelong business marked for redevelopment has closed doors without warning, leaving customers in the dark about its future.
A notice on the door of Spare Change Geelong yesterday informed shoppers that the owners of the building had “re-entered and taken possession of the premises” in accordance with section 146 of the Property Law Act where a tenant is “in breach of the said lease”.
The site at 126-128 Market Square Mall is owned by Market Sq Mall P/L Nominee Geelong Mall and Chestnut Trust who entered into a lease with Spare Change Geelong Pty Ltd on March 1, 2016.
In March, Gartland Property, Geelong, agent Michael De Stefano took over the campaign from a Melbourne agent and secured a buyer willing to pay $3.1 million for the twostorey property within three days.
The building is set for redevelopment in the near future with expressions of interest for leasing opening several weeks ago.
Mr De Stefano previously told the Geelong Advertiser that hospitality, childcare, retail and offices were all on the cards but that prospective tenants would dictate how works would proceed.
“It will be one of the first projects on that side of Little Malop St and hopefully be a catalyst for more landlords,” he said last month.
“We’ll retrofit it and reface the building, but keep most of the structure.”
The vision for the former retail store is a series of new tenancies, set to take advantage of the burgeoning popularity of inner-city strips in Geelong. Advantages of the position include substantial foot and vehicular traffic, as well as street frontage.
In April, artists Ian Ballis and Jony Dee painted a mural of the Greek god Zeus on the Little Malop St side of the store.
Spare Change Geelong’s management financially backed the project, paying half of the commission to the artists with the other half going towards the paint and other materials used to complete the job.
“We decided on Zeus and linked it to the gold and treasure in the imagery, because that’s what you want in a retail area — people spending. Turning their small change into treasure,” Mr Ballis said.