Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
The master lessee will take on the combined management of the shophouses and an adjacent State land story, which have a total acreage of 34,066 sq ft and an estimated gross floor area of 33,065 sq ft.
The tender to assign a sole master renter to look after the historic row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was mutually introduced by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November last year.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can eagerly anticipate even more curated services and backgrounds for both locals and travellers upon the conclusion of the Smith Street restoration venture. We are looking to bring in a lot more engaging and experiential neighborhood programs, as well as even more diverse offerings for example, innovative lifestyle, retail industry and co-living/co-working strategies, whilst preserving and celebrating the place’s ethnic and architectural culture,” says Lim Yick Suan, managing head, Chinatown Business Association.
Noontalk Media sent the greatest quote of $180,000, followed by runner-up CBA. Other bids stretched from $108,174 from Benlo Ventures to $68,177 from ABR Holdings and a $53,000 proposal from IGYM Fitness.
Lim says that the tender exercise was “very competitive” however CBA benefitted from its active visibility in the district for over 20 years. “Over the 2 decades, we have actually built and nurtured relationships, and this has bought us an ingrained link to the ground,” she states. The organisation has arranged past occasion such as wide-scale event parties such as Five Footway Festival and Dumpling Festival, to themed markets, street activities, occasions and workshops.
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has actually won the tender for a row of legendary shophouses around Smith Street in Chinatown. CBA includes stakeholders operating in Chinatown, including business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and merchants.
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street are going to view a brand-new line-up of way of life practices and eating experiences. It claims that CBA’s proposal of “separated lifestyle principles, corresponding programmes and upgrades to the general public realm aims to better promote local Chinese heritage and reinforce the identification of the location”.
She includes that CBA will introduce “distinctly Singaporean F&B offerings and worldwide food products for both locals and vacationers to appreciate at Smith Street”.
“This experience is one-of-a-kind to CBA, and we wish to utilize on our connections in the area and expertise of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and society to infuse even more excitement to Smith Road and Chinatown Singapore,” claims Lim.
The tender was reviewed based upon price and the high quality of each provided approach. It brought in 5 different prospective buyers when the tender came March, including CBA which submitted the winning offer of $123,000. As the master lessee, CBA will handle the properties for five years plus a second term of four years.
