Overnight, all traces of The Myer Centre were set to be taken down and replaced with Uptown signage.

In a joint statement, the centre’s owners, retail property giant Vicinity Centres and superannuation property group ISPT, said the name “captures the vision for the destination’s future, reflects the intended brand and market position and highlights the physical location at the top of the mall”.

“Uptown will be a pivotal part of the modern identity of Brisbane’s CBD and the name reflects its standing and influence of its prime location,” Daniel Sutton, the regional manager for Vicinity Centres, said.

So, what will fill the centre’s gaping retail void?

We don’t yet know what will occupy the six vacant levels of retail space in the heart of Brisbane’s CBD for the next thirty to forty years, but for clues we could look at Vicinity’s existing portfolio.

The group’s Queensland scope includes DFO Brisbane, luxury CBD retail hub QueensPlaza and Woolloongabba’s Buranda Village.

Looking interstate at projects in Victoria and NSW, Uptown will more than likely lean into Vicinity’s speciality: mixed-use precincts that offer retail, residential and commercial.

We probably won’t see a hotel attach itself to The Myer Centre, but there could be a stronger focus on lifestyle elements, be that a gym or fresh food market, and office letting.

And given Vicinity’s reputation for creating premium shopping precincts (QueensPlaza and Victoria’s Chadstone for example), it’s likely the centre will score a significant refresh with a new facade and a new generation of forward-facing retailers.

There’s an argument for Uptown to continue offering affordable shopping for the vast majority, a sentiment reflected by ISPT regional asset manager Leah Mienert who maintained the reimagined centre would be “for everyone, every day”.

But that shouldn’t prevent it from taking note of where the market is currently heading, which predicts second-hand clothing will overtake fast fashion by the end of the decade and shows an increasing appetite for sustainable options.

Further down the mall, David Jones benefited from a new location in QueensPlaza and Edward Street has welcomed a number of new high-end retail storefronts.

Around the corner from Uptown, The Star’s Treasury casino is another precinct with an undecided future.

In June, property investor Charter Hall pulled out of plans to acquire the heritage-building, leaving a question mark over the proposal to turn it into a hotel and high-end retail precinct once the casino has moved to Queen’s Wharf.

In all the uncertainty, one thing is for sure: Uptown and soon-to-be precincts won’t stay vacant for long and the opportunity is there to see new icons find home in the CBD – albeit nothing that will top the juvenile thrill of Top’s.