Rumours of a McDonald’s store opening in the former Best & Less building at The Levee have been quashed once and for all.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Maitland residents will instead get a healthier alternative to fill the space – a new pharmacy and general practitioners’ clinic.
Speculation has been rife all year about what would fill the large premises that Best & Less vacated in December.
New owner of the High Street shop-front and pharmacist Sangita Shah has given a vote of confidence to the future of the central Maitland lifestyle precinct, with confirmation she plans to open a one-stop health outlet.
Public opinion about the revamp of the old mall has been mixed, but Ms Shah’s decision to move her business to a larger premises in The Levee, with a view to expand the medical services on offer, is good news.
In anticipation of an influx of people into the new-look mall when work is finished, she says she is considering including medical services such as GPs and physiotherapists.
Aside from the boost the new business will give to The Levee commercially, more GPs in Maitland should also mean better access to health care for residents.
Hopefully, Ms Shah’s commitment to the city will encourage more business people to move into the precinct.
As work on stage one of the revamp nears completion, it is becoming easier to see a prosperous future for central Maitland – as long as more businesses begin to embrace the idea behind The Levee.
Tony Cant commercial property executive Michael Maffey told the Mercury on Monday that the number of empty shopfronts in The Levee was reducing.
Given that there were about 15 empty premises in the area at the end of last year, it’s positive to hear that the tide could be turning and the tumbleweed clearing.