A.S. Cooper and Sons shuts the doors to its main store at the close of business tomorrow marking the end of 30 years inside the five-storey department store building that runs from Front Street to Reid Street.

The closure comes ahead of the planned demolition of the building to make way for the construction of a seven floor mixed use facility. A.S. Cooper and Sons plans to dedicate the first two floors of the new building, accessed from Front Street, to its retail business, while the first floor on the Reid Street side of the building will be rented out to an outside retailer. The remaining four floors, accessed from Reid Street, are dedicated for office space.

By Friday last week, much of the old department store had already been cleared of merchandise although there were plenty of bargains to be had, particularly for female shoppers. Items that were already on sale were offered at discounts of 50 - 75 percent more.

Peter Cooper, chief executive officer, who was in the midst of overseeing packing on Friday, had mixed thoughts about closing the doors of the building which his company purchased from the Wilkinson Trust in 1975.

“I'm a bit sad about it but then I'm looking at other side of it which in two years time we'll be coming back into a brand new building with great potential for retail.”

A.S. Cooper & Sons will, however, continue to operate throughout the construction period as the company has been expanding its business through smaller stores in Hamilton for several years. Much of that space has already come into play although Mr. Cooper remains on the lookout for space for the children's department and says that he could still use more a little more room for his women's departments.

As of now, however, merchandise from the housewares department on the second floor of the store will move to retail space in Heritage House on Church Street. Most women's items including accessories and perfume will be relocated to Pier Six while the better women's store will be located in the former Cooper's Cachet on Front Street. The jewellery previously located in Cooper's Cachet has been moved to Cooper's new crystal store below Pickled Onion while finer jewellery has been relocated to Astwood Dickinson - the jewellery store which Coopers purchased last year. The company's men's department remains in the Cooper MAN store on Front Street while the junior's store, Coopers Express, remains at its current location in Washington Mall. Plans for a new building to replace the old store have existed since 1996, but it was only after the company secured a partner in the renovations that they were able to go forward.

Mr. Cooper said that some construction work has to take place inside the building before it is demolished - likely the end of February

The new seven storey structure will have a similar facade to the current building with a tiered design for the top four floors, making them less visible from Front Street.

Mr. Cooper said: “The fa?ade will come back similar to what it is now and it will bring all the cedar work back that we currently have there and there will be a balcony similar to what is here now.”