The Dunedin City Council has acknowledged the work took longer than expected and it took place during an already difficult time for retailers.
Women’s designer clothing store Paint The Town Red, in St Andrew St, is expected to shut its doors at the end of August after being in business for 13 years.
Owner Diane McKenzie said the store was a celebration of everybody’s type and shape and there were no other independent retailers in the city that offered its range of labels and styling.
The challenges Dunedin retailers had faced over the past few years had been ongoing, Ms McKenzie said.
The store was no longer financially viable after compounding issues including the work to construct the inner city bus hub, the Covid-19 pandemic and work to repair water pipes in St Andrew St which had taken "far longer than expected".
"We were told it was going to be half a year but it ended up being from February last year to April this year.
"Our turnover just dropped through the floor."
A lot of their customers had been unable to find parking spaces "and just gave up coming", she said.
"The water pipe works just really stuffed up people coming through the door."
A council spokesman said it acknowledged the work in St Andrew St took longer than expected due to the complexity of the infrastructure upgrades involved.
"We acknowledge this was a difficult period for businesses already grappling with the impact of a cost-of-living crisis and declining consumer spending.
"We pulled out all the stops to support our local businesses through this period, while working as quickly as possible to complete enabling works in St Andrew St which were needed as part of the wider George St retail quarter upgrade."
The council had maintained pedestrian access and as much on-street parking as possible in the area throughout the work, as well as nearby off-street parking buildings which had remained open.
It has also invested in campaigns to encourage shoppers to buy local and support affected businesses and had also reopened work areas to traffic before Christmas.
"The results of our work, including a revitalised main shopping street with resilient infrastructure and more people-friendly spaces, will be of benefit to everyone — including businesses — for many years to come," the spokesman said.
Ms McKenzie said she was "quite gutted" to close the store, and had hoped it would last a few years more until she reached retirement.
Paint The Town Red also had a store in Gore which closed in early 2020, but the closure of the Dunedin store had not been on the cards until recently, she said.
Since announcing the store’s closure on social media, Ms McKenzie said customers had stopped by to give hugs, share their gratitude and shed a few tears.
"Sometimes we say that we’re a little bit like a therapist because we do listen to everyone that sort of has issues.
"I’m going to miss it. I get a big buzz off helping people."
