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Mackay residents are clutching onto memories of their bustling city heart with many passionate about how it could thrive once more.
South Mackayâs Roxanne McKenzie said she felt âreally stronglyâ about the issue, asking: âWhat are we doing to bring people here?â
âItâs sad, I have to say, I grew up here and it used to be the hub of the city,â Ms McKenzie said.
She said the council had to seriously consider treasuring the historical buildings, and proposed commercial landlords let pop-ups open for free, albeit temporarily, to liven retail trade. South Mackay resident Roxanne McKenzie speaking at Mount Pleasant Centre about what needs to change in the Mackay city centre to bring shoppers back. Picture: Heidi Petith
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Mackayâs major shopping centre is not to blame for an exodus of retailers from the city centre, a retail expert says.
National Retail Association chief executive officer Dominique Lamb said the assertion was a âcop outâ with the real synopsis for the lull of trade in the Mackay CBD a more complex picture.
Ms Lamb said Caneland Central and other shopping centres needed to rejuvenate their offerings every five years to keep customers coming back.
And she said while large investment structures backed centres, they did not have the âauthenticâ ecosystem of strip shops or CBDs that consumers celebrated as âtruly localâ.
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A taskforce will decide up to five priority actions to change the face of Mackayâs City Centre by the end of the month.
The Mackay Region Chamber of Commerce is forging ahead with a plan to understand where to focus resources and investment to make Mackay a sought after and desirable place to live, work and play.
This has culminated in the City Centre âThink Tankâ workshop on May 28.
MRCOC subcommittee chair Scott Jamieson said the workshop would ânot be a gab festâ.
âItâs not about throwing up ideas. Itâs not all skittles and rainbows,â Mr Jamieson said.
The surnames Vella, Camilleri, Baretta, Deguara and many others synonymous with Mackay’s Italian and Maltese history could soon be honoured permanently.
Mackay councillors will on Wednesday vote on a proposal to erect three life-size bronze figures at the corner of Wood and Victoria streets known as the “Maltese Corner.”
It also included erecting an Italian-themed monument within the Waterfront Priority Development Area, with a suggested location of beside the St Patrick’s Church in River Street.
Documents stated councillors were recommended to approve the Maltese figures but send the PDA monument back to the drawing board.
“(The Maltese Corner) is a historical meeting point for the Maltese community and a plaque monument currently exists on the site,” documents stated.