Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has actually won the tender for a row of renowned shophouses around Smith Road in Chinatown. CBA contains stakeholders running in Chinatown, such as business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan associations, hoteliers, hawkers and retailers.
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street are going to view a new line-up of way of living concepts and eating experiences. It claims that CBA’s pitch of “set apart way of life ideas, corresponding programs and enhancements to the general public scope intends to better promote neighborhood Chinese heritage and build up the identification of the area”.
The tender to select a sole master tenant to oversee the historical row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was collectively launched by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November in 2023.
Lim states that the tender exercise was “really challenging” but CBA gained from its active existence in the district for over two decades. “Over the two decades, we have actually developed and nourished partnerships, and this has actually bought us a deep-rooted connection to the ground,” she claims. The organisation has indeed organised past event such as wide-scale celebration parties such as Five Footway Festival and Dumpling Event, to themed markets, street tasks, events and workshops.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can look forward to even more curated services and experiences for both residents and visitors upon the conclusion of the Smith Street rejuvenation project. We are looking to bring in extra engaging and experiential community programmes, along with even more diverse offerings just like innovative way of living, retail industry and co-living/co-working practices, while protecting and enjoying the place’s ethnical and building heritage,” says Lim Yick Suan, executive head, Chinatown Business Association.
The tender was assessed based on rate and the quality of each sent principle. It drew in 5 several prospective buyers the minute the tender came March, involving CBA which submitted the winning proposal of $123,000. As the master renter, CBA will manage the real estates for 5 years plus a second term of 4 years.
“This experience is one-of-a-kind to CBA, and we hope to leverage on our connections in the neighborhood and understanding of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and way of life to infuse more dynamics to Smith Road and Chinatown Singapore,” states Lim.
The master lessee are going to take on the integrated management of the shophouses and a surrounding State land story, which have an overall land area of 34,066 sq ft and an approximated gross flooring location of 33,065 sq ft.
She includes that CBA will present “distinctly Singaporean F&B offerings and global food offerings for both locals and visitors to experience at Smith Road”.
Noontalk Media sent the highest possible 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 bid from IGYM Fitness.
