Retailers ? including Hamilton?s only shoe repair shop ? are scrambling to find new space after being told they have to vacate their current Church Street premises in the Gibbons Co. building.

The problem isn?t so much that the retail outlets have to move ? it?s the difficulty in finding space to move to.

David Souza, owner of Kodak Express Photo Labs, said he and the other tenants ? including store that sells cellular telephones and accessories, and a printing company ? are all ?going to find it difficult? to find new space with there being little retail space available for rent. ?Everything available is either office or retail banking space,? he said.

Mr. Souza said he is looking to move the photo lab to new premises, but has until mid-2006 when his Gibbons Co. lease expires. The company also has a Washington Mall branch.

Another retailer affected, Heel Quik owner Darren Booth, has pounded the pavement and booked advertisements in in a so-far futile bid to find appropriate space to move his luggage and shoe repair business.

He?s willing, if absolutely necessary, to divide the two parts of his business between two small spaces. Mr. Booth, who received formal notice this month, has until his lease ends next March to secure alternate space. ?The bottom line is if we can?t find something, we?ll have to move outside of Hamilton, or close,? he said.

Gibbons has put its tenants on notice because it wants to expand its own presence into the shopping mall-like area on the Church Street side of their building. A call to management was not yesterday returned.

?Triminghan?s closing has been good for them; they want to expand,? Mr. Booth said. And he doesn?t blame Gibbons for the decision. ?It?s fair enough; it?s their building.?

The Gibbons group, which is privately-held and comprises Capital G Bank and Colonial Insurance, owns a number of buildings including one being developed on the corner of Burnaby Hill and Church Street. As soon as he hears of any retail space being vacated, Mr. Booth has made contact. He?s found the few spaces that do become available get snapped up quickly. ?There are office buildings going up, but no retail space,? he said.

Mr. Booth said Gibbons is trying to help him find space but there just isn?t anything available. The group?s newly developed building has a small retail space on its bottom floor but the company is looking at using it itself for a coffee shop.

Mr. Booth was offered one space along Burnaby Street but the rate was close to double what he currently pays ? almost $80 a square foot, compared to the $43 a square foot that Gibbons charges him for the Church Street space.

?And it wasn?t suitable: I would have had to fix it up (at my own cost),? he said.