Council’s retail coverup
The sight of vacant shops on Upper Hutt’s main drag has become too much for the city council, which has hidden them behind giant stickers.
Six retail spaces at the northern end of Main St have been covered with window wraps by the Upper Hutt City Council after standing empty for years.
The empty shops in the city’s CBD have been an ongoing source of complaint among retailers who say it is not a good look for the city.
Local business owners said while the wraps were an improvement, having the spaces filled would be preferable.
Ali Almansori of One Eighty Barbershop, directly opposite some of the targeted shops, said the wraps were just camouflage and more needed to be done to get tenants into the empty spaces.
Upper Hutt had a growing population, but people were travelling to places like Lower Hutt to do their shopping, he said.
‘‘It’s good to see something at least, but this is the city’s main street. More shops would attract more people.’’
Created Furniture and Homewares owner Jono Smeets said there were a number of spaces in the CBD that had struggled attract new tenants for years.
‘‘It makes the place look awful.’’
The colourful wraps brought vibrancy to otherwise vacant spaces, he said.
Council economic development manager Stuart Grant said the six shops had proved difficult to lease for the past two years and they would now be used to to promote the city.
The wraps feature and local attractions.
‘‘Upper Hutt City Council identified an opportunity to showcase the array of experiences and activities which make our city so special.’’
He said occupation rates for retail spaces were more than 90 per cent in the area, but the council wanted to minimise the impact of the vacant shops and ‘‘maximise the attractiveness’’ of the city’s centre.
The council would not disclose the cost of the initiative, citing commercial reasons.
All the properties involved in the initiative are believed to be owned by The Mall Upper Hutt. The Mall has been approached for comment. artwork