Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street are going to see a new line-up of way of life methods and dining experiences. It says that CBA’s pitch of “separated lifestyle principles, complementary programs and enhancements to the general public scope intends to better promote neighborhood Chinese heritage and reinforce the identification of the location”.
Noontalk Media submitted the greatest proposal 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 proposal from IGYM Fitness.
She includes that CBA is going to present “uniquely Singaporean F&B offerings and international food products for both locals and visitors to indulge in at Smith Road”.
“This experience is distinct to CBA, and we want to leverage on our partnerships in the community and understanding of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and culture to infuse more vibrancy to Smith Street and Chinatown Singapore,” states Lim.
Lim says that the tender exercise was “very competitive” however CBA benefitted from its energetic existence in the precinct for over twenty years. “Over the two decades, we have developed and fostered relationships, and this has actually afforded us an ingrained connection to the ground,” she claims. The organisation has arranged past occasion such as wide-scale event events such as Five Footway Celebration and Dumpling Festival, to motif markets, street tasks, events and workshops.
The tender to select a single master renter to oversee the historic row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was jointly introduced by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November last year.
The master lessee will carry out the combined management of the shophouses and a surrounding State land plot, which have a total land area of 34,066 sq ft and an estimated gross flooring location of 33,065 sq ft.
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has actually won the tender for a row of legendary shophouses along Smith Street in Chinatown. CBA consists of stakeholders running in Chinatown, such as business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and sellers.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can eagerly anticipate more curated services and backgrounds for both citizens and visitors upon the completion of the Smith Street rejuvenation project. We are looking to bring in more engaging and experiential community programs, along with even more different offerings just like creative lifestyle, retail and co-living/co-working concepts, while maintaining and celebrating the place’s ethnic and building ancestry,” claims Lim Yick Suan, executive director, Chinatown Business Association.
The tender was examined based on price and the high quality of each provided concept. It brought in 5 various prospective buyers the moment the tender came March, involving CBA which submitted the winning proposal of $123,000. As the master occupant, CBA will manage the properties for 5 years plus a second term of 4 years.
