PROPERTY
The music has finally died in the Valley mall - well, the sale of recorded music, that is.
Rumours have been rife for months that long-term McWhirters tenant The Music Shop was closing its doors, and sadly that has finally happened, with the final trading taking place over a few hours of frenzied cut-price deals on Monday, April 19.
The loss of a music shop that has been part of the Valley landscape for some eight years might not seem the biggest of deals but its departure is ironic in the heart of the Valley entertainment precinct, Australia's first and one that markets itself largely around the provision of loud music.
The shop is understood to be the latest victim of the trend among music lovers to download songs and albums from the internet straight onto their computers and portable eletronic gizmos.
The Independent understands that this downturn in trade, together with the shop's lease ending and McWhirters wanting the owners to sign up for a further three-year lease commitment, proved the final straw.
Regardless of the reasons for the closure, it's another nail in the central Valley's languishing day economy and comes only months after McWhirters' major retail tenant,Loot, closed its doors.
Other traders in McWhirters hoping that a new big-name retailer might soon join their ranks will be disappointed with the news that an Indian restaurant is understood to be taking up the Music Store shop space.
Such a venue would not attract the flow of daytime passersby that local traders are hoping to see return to central Valley area much sooner than later.
STOP PRESS: For-lease signs have been posted on the windows of the now-deserted The Music Shop floor space, and The Independent understands the restaurant people had a last-minute change of heart and will not be proceeding with that project.
