Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
Noontalk Media sent the greatest proposal of $180,000, followed by runner-up CBA. Other quotes ranged from $108,174 from Benlo Ventures to $68,177 from ABR Holdings and a $53,000 quote from IGYM Fitness.
The master lessee are going to carry out the integrated management of the shophouses and a nearby State land plot, which have a complete acreage of 34,066 sq ft and an approximated gross flooring area of 33,065 sq ft.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can look forward to more curated offerings and experiences for both citizens and tourists upon the completion of the Smith Street restoration venture. We are looking to bring in much more engaging and experiential neighborhood programs, as well as even more diverse offerings such as innovative way of living, retail industry and co-living/co-working approaches, while protecting and celebrating the place’s cultural and building culture,” claims Lim Yick Suan, managing supervisor, Chinatown Business Association.
“This experience is unique to CBA, and we intend to utilize on our partnerships in the community and knowledge of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and way of life to infuse more vibrancy to Smith Street and Chinatown Singapore,” says Lim.
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has won the tender for a row of renowned shophouses throughout Smith Street in Chinatown. CBA contains stakeholders running in Chinatown, such as business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and stores.
She adds that CBA will introduce “uniquely Singaporean F&B offerings and international food offerings for both residents and travelers to experience at Smith Road”.
The tender was evaluated based on price and the quality of each provided approach. It drew in five various bidders the minute the tender came March, including CBA which sent the winning offer of $123,000. As the master lessee, CBA will certainly take care of the real estates for five years plus a 2nd term of four years.
The tender to appoint an one master tenant to look after the historical row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was mutually released by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November in 2023.
Lim says that the tender exercise was “extremely competitive” but CBA took advantage of its active existence in the precinct for over twenty years. “Over the 2 decades, we have actually developed and nurtured partnerships, and this has actually 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, events and workshops.
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street are going to see a brand-new line-up of way of life concepts and dining experiences. It claims that CBA’s bid of “distinguished way of living concepts, corresponding programmes and upgrades to the general public realm intends to better promote local Chinese heritage and build up the identification of the location”.
