It was the day the roadworks were finished along his slice of George St that Simon Oswald opened his new business.
Nearly three years later and the owner of second-hand clothing and collectables store Static Age Vintage says the business is doing well — so well, ‘‘it’s like a dream come true’’.
‘‘My business just keeps growing and growing,’’ Mr Oswald said.
‘‘You read a lot about other people having downturns and stuff like that, but mine’s just flourishing.’’
With the right balance of rent and location, the business would not have been as sustainable elsewhere.
‘‘Rents double each block you go closer to the mall.’’
The redevelopment of the George St retail quarter was touted as the city’s most significant infrastructure project in decades by the Dunedin City Council.
It was driven by the need to replace ageing Three Waters infrastructure, which also created a chance to adjust the look of the central city above ground.
The project began in October 2021 and was ‘‘substantively completed’’ in May 2024, total capital expenditure was $110.3 million.
The work, particularly the move to one-way traffic and a lack of parking, sparked an outrage.
Retailers cited mass losses of revenue and a drop in foot traffic, staff complained about headaches caused by noise from the roadworks and one longtime store owner famously banned then-Mayor Aaron Hawkins from their shop.
But retailers across George St whom the Otago Daily Times spoke to this week were — two years later — feeling positive about the end result.
Concerns about a lack of parking remained for some people, others blamed challenges of a different kind.
And while some elected representatives remained steadfast in their condemnation of the work, others have hinted a beautification of The Octagon could even be a possibility.
Mr Oswald said it was easy to see the positive difference the George St upgrades had made.
Naysayers might complain about a lack of parking, but he believed street-side parking was not the direction the street was headed.
Times had changed.
‘‘I think there’s a lot of potential to do really, really well.
‘‘I wish they’d gone further with the one-way.’’
Relics co-owner Irene Hundleby said there had been a ‘‘negative burst’’ from some people towards the project.
The work arrived amid a larger ongoing period of uncertainty for retail in the city: the building of Dunedin’s bus hub, the Covid-19 lockdowns and the economic downturn of the past year or so.
‘‘The upgrades, I think, have been beautiful and have really made an impact on those visiting,’’ Dr Hundleby said.
‘‘I hope that local Dunediners will more and more and more feel that way.’’
The music and record store relocated into a much larger consolidated space in George St’s ‘‘Farmer’s Block’’ in September last year.
Despite moving only 75m down the road from their old spot in Saint Andrew St, Dr Hundleby said they were benefiting from a greater access to pedestrians and a flow-through of tourists.
There was a ‘‘post-Covid fallout’’ where locals had not been coming into town like they used to and, while it had taken a while, she felt this had shifted somewhat.
‘‘I do hope that we will go through a wee bit of a renaissance and have some more New Zealand stores returning.
‘‘There’s no doubt that we’ve definitely suffered in the last five years.’’
Cornerstone Ink owner Wayne Meddings said he had no problem with the finished upgrades, including the one-way.
‘‘I had a problem with how long they took when they did the upgrades, but the end result was really good.’’
Asked if it was still an appealing location all this time later, Mr Meddings said there were a lot of empty shops and a lot that could be done.
‘‘The shops that are empty, basically there’s people just plastering posters all over them so it just looks like basically arse, if you ask me.
‘‘I guess that’s an opportunity for someone else to get in there and maybe cut a deal with the rent.’’
Because tattoos were a luxury item, business was pretty hard at present, Mr Meddings said.
‘‘We’ve been struggling through since they started the roadworks basically, and then the economy tanked.
‘‘It’s just been a pretty dismal couple of years, really.’’
Donald Trump and his tariffs followed by the global rise in fuel prices had not helped either.
George St was otherwise looking ‘‘fantastic’’, even if the upgrades had not necessarily helped their business.
‘‘It’s basically just the economy that’s got to catch up now, really.’’
Big brands ‘taking over’
A handful of new international retailers have each claimed their slice of George St since it reopened.
The first was Australian-owned women’s clothing chain Seed Heritage.
It had been revealed months earlier beauty and makeup giant Mecca was coming to the city.
Homeware and linen brand Wallace Cotton also appeared, joined by footwear retailer Ugg Express.
Most recently, sportswear and sneaker retailer JD Sports debuted a new store.
According to the data, occupancy in George St plummeted to a 10-year low of 81% in Q3 2024.
It was still yet to return to pre-2024 levels of around 90% occupancy.
Golden Centre Mall director and property investor Jason La Hood said there was no disputing it: ‘‘George St certainly looks a lot better.’’
‘‘All credit to council staff and designers.’’
He was pleased these international retailers were now occupying the street; it was a lot of hard work to get them across the line.
The revamp had certainly made George St look more attractive for them, for which he was ‘‘grateful’’.
However, Mr La Hood said some retailers still had reservations about the parking situation.
The lack of carparks ‘‘constantly arises during negotiations,’’ he said.
‘‘You might deal with a number of tenants, but you’re only getting probably a percentage of them taking it up because of those concerns.
‘‘I’ve dealt with many who raise the issue about the parking.’’
He believed George St’s nice new look could have still been achieved while retaining two-way traffic, which would have probably made it easier to lock down more tenants.
‘‘The access and the parking are what are keeping a few retailers on the sidelines.’’
The dynamics of retail were changing, Mr La Hood said.
Local retailers were disappearing and being replaced by national and international brands doing nationwide roll-outs
The range of retail options on George St was certainly improving, but you would not want it to be full of just national tenants, he said.
‘‘You don’t want to be in Dunedin where you’ve got the same shopping offering as you’ve got in Sydney.
‘‘We want to encourage the local retailers to open — we need to make it easy for them.’’
That meant keeping rates ‘‘as low as possible’’ and ensuring easy access.
‘‘It’s not the easiest of tasks, but that’s why the national brands are taking over.’’
Dunedin city councillors were asked for their thoughts on the George St of today.
Brent Weatherall, historically one of the upgrades’ harshest critics, said George St visually compared very well to retail precincts around the country.
‘‘Unfortunately, two years on from the completion, the project has not produced the golden egg many in the retailing and hospitality sector were hoping for.’’
You only had to look at the number of empty stores to feel the money spent on redeveloping George St had not done a lot to attract tenants ‘‘compared to the golden years of retailing in the 70s, 80s and 90s’’.
A longtime George St retailer, Cr Weatherall said the hospitality sector still had many local businesses but retail was becoming ‘‘monopolised’’ by national and international chains.
It stripped away any local feel from the retail environment.
‘‘Vape shops and barbers don’t do much to fix that problem.
‘‘Landlords need tenants and it amazes me I’m hearing deals of rent holidays up to a year being offered by some landlords just to get leases signed up.’’
Mickey Treadwell said George St was boasting ‘‘a great crop of hospitality businesses’’.
‘‘Weatherall’s is also still thriving, so at least some fears may have been overblown.’’
The benefits to hospitality were evident at spots like ADJO, where customers could eat and drink outside in the sun, Cr Treadwell said.
Dunedin was very fortunate to have its retail centre in the middle of town, where it could benefit the surrounding hospitality businesses, galleries, and other civic offerings.
‘‘Further improving the attractiveness of George St is not our focus at this time, but I would think upgrading the Octagon to a similar condition would be a logical next step.’’
Christine Garey heralded the upgrades as ‘‘a triumph’’ and Steve Walker said the street felt ‘‘so much more ‘alive’ than previously’’.
Russell Lund declared the upgrades ‘‘a comprehensive disappointment at an eye-watering cost’’.
‘‘The poor quality street pavers that are cracking and will need constant maintenance and replacement, and the obscenely priced playground, are an everyday reminder of the many poor decisions made on this project,’’ Cr Lund said.
Andrew Simms said, while some elements of the project remained controversial, it was widely accepted the overall outcome was positive for retailers and the community.
‘‘It is especially pleasing to see new tenants and national retailers arriving to the precinct which has significantly improved the overall appeal of our city centre.’’
Dunedin Mayor Sophie Barker said online retail sales were especially high in Otago and were ‘‘a huge threat’’ to the vibrancy of George St retailers.
The council’s investment in the street was vital towards ensuring an attractive city centre.
It was important to give visitors a good experience, positive memories of Dunedin and build the city’s reputation as a ‘‘must visit’’ destination, Ms Barker said.
‘‘The design of George St works really well to enhance our heritage buildings and make the area a place people want to be — plus spend their money, which is important for businesses there.
In her opinion, Ms Barker said George St had a better design than Cuba St which she considered ‘‘a benchmark to aspire to and surpass’’.
‘‘If you remember how drab George St was before its makeover, I believe the team have done a great job and created a city centre we can be proud of.
‘‘Now we’ve just got to take a look at the Octagon ... ’’
