The once dead centre of Katoomba is coming alive again, with all the shops in the old Town Centre Arcade/Civic Place now occupied.
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The RSL admin office, Platform art gallery and Mountain Oddities are new.
They have joined the Little Paris Cafe, the tea shop/internet cafe, Digital Shoppe, Platinum Hair & Beauty and Uplift Fair Trade shop.
And upstairs, the popular vegetarian cafe/juice bar, Up Beet, which was forced to move from near the station when the rent skyrocketed, is also bringing customers to the area outside Coles.
Kelly Heylen, from Platform Gallery, said having the RSL was “really bringing people in”.
Her gallery/retail outlet concentrates on local artists.
“I’ve got about 85 per cent Blue Mountains artists,” she said. “They’re all hand made. It’s all about celebrating the makers and artisans and the talent we have here in the Mountains.”
Ciaran Baranasooriya, from the internet tea shop – “stocking the best teas in the world” – said the shop owners/managers meet regularly to generate ideas about further improvements.
“We’re speaking with council about putting markets down here – maybe a monthly night food market with entertainment. That’s the plan.”
There’s also talk of putting artworks on the distinctive red poles in the centre.
A council spokeswoman said the leaks, which left several of the shops empty for up to two years, had been fixed.
The community hall upstairs continues to be available for hire and council plans to renovate the toilets, improve lighting and paint the area in 2017-18.
It is also investigating other uses for the whole site to activate the area even more.
“In particular we are investigating a co-working hub as recommended by the Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise with the aim of generating social and economic benefits,” the spokeswoman said.
