Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
The tender to assign an one master occupant to oversee 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 last year.
The master tenant will take on the integrated management of the shophouses and an adjacent State land plot, which have an overall acreage of 34,066 sq ft and an estimated gross flooring location of 33,065 sq ft.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can eagerly anticipate more curated services and backgrounds for both residents and visitors upon the completion of the Smith Street rejuvenation project. We are looking to bring in more engaging and experiential neighborhood programmes, as well as more various offerings such as imaginative way of life, retail and co-living/co-working concepts, whilst protecting and celebrating the area’s ethnic and architectural ancestry,” claims Lim Yick Suan, executive head, Chinatown Business Association.
She includes that CBA will introduce “uniquely Singaporean F&B offerings and international food offers for either residents and visitors to appreciate at Smith Road”.
Noontalk Media sent the highest possible proposal 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 quote from IGYM Fitness.
The tender was evaluated based upon price and the top quality of each provided concept. It brought in 5 several bidders the moment the tender closed in March, involving CBA which sent the winning offer of $123,000. As the master occupant, CBA will manage the buildings for 5 years plus a 2nd term of 4 years.
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street will see a brand-new line-up of way of life practices and dining experiences. It states that CBA’s proposal of “distinguished way of life concepts, complementary programs and improvements to the public world intends to better promote neighborhood Chinese heritage and build up the identification of the area”.
“This experience is one-of-a-kind to CBA, and we wish to take advantage of on our connections in the community and knowledge of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and way of life to inject more vibrancy to Smith Road and Chinatown Singapore,” states Lim.
Lim says that the tender activity was “really competitive” however CBA benefitted from its energetic existence in the district for over 20 years. “Over the 2 decades, we have constructed and nurtured partnerships, and this has actually afforded us an ingrained connection to the ground,” she states. The organisation has indeed arranged past event such as wide-scale celebration events such as Five Footway Festival and Dumpling Festival, to themed markets, street activities, events and workshops.
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has actually won the tender for a row of legendary shophouses around Smith Road in Chinatown. CBA contains stakeholders running in Chinatown, like business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and sellers.
