Shops at 121 to 135 King Street in Kilmarnock will have to move elsewhere as part of a town centre demolition job.
Rent for the shop units has been advertised at £8000 per year previously.
The council said it would work with the staff in the occupied King Street outlets to relocate them.
Work on the street will cost £200,000 and includes saving the empty ‘tile’ property at numbers 25 to 31.
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The move to knock the buildings down was approved at an East Ayrshire Council cabinet meeting.
The council has not released information on if there are any other plans for the site. However, bosses want to reduce the number of empty shop units in the town.
Welcoming the news at the cabinet meeting, Councillor Tom Cook said: “I’m delighted to see the King Street demolition.”
The money for the scheme is coming from a £1.7million Scottish Government grant to improve town centres. It needs to be spent this year.
The proposals – which include improving the look of buildings and buying an iconic property – were presented to councillors in a document outlining a plan to boost community-led regeneration.
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It aims to get residential groups to take on buildings and carry out work to tackle problems in their area.
Council leader Douglas Reid said: “This paper is about community-led regeneration. We hope to improve the appearance of our town centres.”
He continued: “East Ayrshire can hold its head up in leading the way in community regeneration.”
The report also said there is a drive to bring empty homes back to life – and 43 properties have been saved from ruin so far.
A temporary empty homes officer will be hired for two years to tackle the vacant buildings in Kilmarnock and an existing post will be
extended for two years.
Business premises owners in the town centre can also access a grant to convert their properties into homes.
Councillors approved all the plans, including the creation of new jobs and use of the cash from Holyrood.
