Work on the Beenleigh city centre upgrade is set to go ahead in less than a month, and one local business owner thinks it could be the start of a “better Beenleigh”.
Anj Pieper has owned Luv a Coffee in Beenleigh for over 11 years.
She described herself as a local “through and through”.
“I’ve been running my business here for over 11 years and have lived in the community for longer,” Ms Pieper said.
“My kids go to school in Beenleigh and we do everything locally.
“My policy is to keep all business local. I try to shop locally only. It’s really important to me.”
Ms Pieper said she was excited for the Beenleigh city centre upgrade.
“I think anything that can be done to either beautify and make people proud of where they live will be a benefit to the whole area,” she said.
“Not only for local businesses but for the people living here as well.
“We’ve got an awesome community spirit here. But it’s just a matter of same old same old here. Everyone says oh it’s just Beenleigh and we have a stigma attached to us that has been unfairly given a long time ago.
“Trying to break that mold and shed that stigma would be awesome.”
$5 million has been put into upgrading the Beenleigh city centre, with new landscaping and seating being made a priority.
Ms Pieper said this was a positive change for the community and something to be excited about.
“When something is new and exciting people often get behind it,” she said.
“Hopefully it will also encourage some more businesses to turn up here.
“We’ve had a lot of closures in the last few years.
“Hopefully there’s an opportunity now for people to step forward in the community.”
