Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street are going to view a brand-new line-up of way of life concepts and eating experiences. It states that CBA’s pitch of “set apart way of living principles, complementary programs and enhancements to the general public scope aims to further promote local Chinese heritage and reinforce the identification of the area”.
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has won the tender for a row of legendary shophouses throughout Smith Street in Chinatown. CBA contains stakeholders running in Chinatown, such as business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and merchants.
The master occupant are going to undertake the combined management of the shophouses and a nearby State land story, which have an overall acreage of 34,066 sq ft and an estimated gross floor area of 33,065 sq ft.
J’Den Condo Jurong East Central Road
“This experience is one-of-a-kind to CBA, and we intend to utilize on our partnerships in the area and understanding of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and society to inject even more excitement to Smith Road and Chinatown Singapore,” says Lim.
Lim claims that the tender exercise was “really tough” but CBA took advantage of its energetic presence in the precinct for over twenty years. “Over the two decades, we have actually constructed and sustained partnerships, and this has bought us a deep-rooted link to the ground,” she claims. The organisation has indeed arranged past event such as wide-scale celebration celebrations such as Five Footway Festival and Dumpling Festival, to motif markets, street activities, events and workshops.
The tender to select a single master lessee to supervise the historical row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was collectively introduced by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November last year.
Noontalk Media sent the highest bid of $180,000, followed by runner-up CBA. Other bids ranged from $108,174 from Benlo Ventures to $68,177 from ABR Holdings and a $53,000 quote from IGYM Fitness.
The tender was reviewed based upon price and the quality of each sent concept. It brought in five various prospective buyers when the tender closed in March, including CBA which submitted the winning bid of $123,000. As the master tenant, CBA will certainly take care of the buildings for 5 years plus a second term of 4 years.
She adds that CBA is going to introduce “uniquely Singaporean F&B offerings and international food offerings for both citizens and travelers to appreciate at Smith Street”.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can expect even more curated offerings and backgrounds for both locals and visitors upon the conclusion of the Smith Street restoration venture. We are looking to bring in extra engaging and experiential community programs, as well as more various offerings just like imaginative way of life, retail and co-living/co-working concepts, while maintaining and celebrating the place’s ethnical and architectural heritage,” states Lim Yick Suan, executive head, Chinatown Business Association.
