Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
The tender to select a single master tenant to supervise the historical row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was collectively released by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November in 2023.
The tender was examined based on cost and the top quality of each sent approach. It drew in five several bidders when the tender closed in March, involving CBA which sent the winning bid of $123,000. As the master occupant, CBA will handle the buildings for 5 years plus a second term of four years.
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street will see a brand-new line-up of way of living concepts and eating experiences. It states that CBA’s proposition of “differentiated way of living concepts, corresponding programs and upgrades to the public field aims to further promote neighborhood Chinese heritage and reinforce the identity of the location”.
Lim claims that the tender activity was “very tough” however CBA took advantage of its energetic existence in the precinct for over twenty years. “Over the two decades, we have actually constructed and nourished partnerships, and this has afforded us an ingrained link to the ground,” she states. The organisation has indeed arranged past occasion such as wide-scale celebration events such as 5 Footway Celebration and Dumpling Festival, to motif markets, street tasks, events and workshops.
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has actually won the tender for a row of iconic shophouses around Smith Road in Chinatown. CBA contains stakeholders running in Chinatown, including business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and merchants.
“This experience is one-of-a-kind to CBA, and we wish to leverage on our relationships in the area and knowledge of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and way of life to infuse more excitement to Smith Street and Chinatown Singapore,” says Lim.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can anticipate even more curated services and experiences for both locals and travellers upon the completion of the Smith Street restoration venture. We are looking to bring in a lot more engaging and experiential community programmes, along with more various offerings just like creative lifestyle, retail and co-living/co-working strategies, while preserving and enjoying the area’s ethnic and building heritage,” claims Lim Yick Suan, managing director, Chinatown Business Association.
Noontalk Media submitted 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 bid from IGYM Fitness.
She adds that CBA is going to introduce “distinctly Singaporean F&B offerings and worldwide food offerings for both citizens and tourists to appreciate at Smith Road”.
The master occupant are going to embark on the integrated management of the shophouses and a nearby State land plot, which have a complete land area of 34,066 sq ft and an estimated gross flooring location of 33,065 sq ft.
