As the crowds pour in for opening day at South Village shopping centre at Kirrawee, business owners a stone’s throw away are apprehensive about the future.
They say trade has dropped during the two years of construction, particularly in recent weeks when roads works and closures have driven customers away.
As for whether, they will benefit from prospective new customers, who will move into apartments over the next 12 months, only time will tell.
The doors of the shopping centre are due to open at 7am today (Wednesday) and the first residents will move into apartments in early December.
Florist Cathy Pool, who has operated Kirrawee Flower Decorations in the Oak Road shopping strip for 28 years, said the brick pit had become “the pits”.
“Everyone has been avoiding us because of the road works and closures,” she said.
“We can only hope things will get better and that people don’t forget us.
“We have survived a lot of things, including the bank closures, but this development is definitely the worst.
“This used to be a little village, but look at it now, and where is the infrastructure to go with this development?
“They say it will bring new business, but at the moment it is just killing us.”
Catherine Cuciti, the owner of gift store Regallo Kirrawee, is optimistic.
“It’s been a ride, that’s for sure, looking ahead to the positives and, in the meantime, dealing with the negative impacts,” she said.
“I am hopeful the village won’t lose its feel and the units will give us a whole new customer base.
“If it benefits the village and my business I will be very grateful and even if business just returns to the level it was before the work started I will be happy.
“I just don’t want us to become lost among the capacity that is over there.”
Ms Cuciti said she hoped to see some improvement before Christmas, with sustained business growth as more and more residents move into apartments over the next year.
Bernadette Hoy, the owner of My Sewing Supplies (formerly Peg’s Pieces, which has been in area for 30-40 years), said, “Small businesses in the high street have really suffered from the size of the development, the traffic changes and loss of parking”.
”The council has been trying to help us, but the state government doesn’t want to take any responsibility,” she said.
“We are on the boundaries of two state electorates and the local members won’t do anything to help.”
Ms Hoy said the future was very uncertain.
“We fear the effects of overflow parking [from South Village] and we are waiting to see whether the new residents will give us a go,” she said.