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 legendary shophouses throughout Smith Street in Chinatown. CBA contains stakeholders running in Chinatown, including business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and sellers.
The tender was evaluated based upon cost and the high quality of each sent concept. It drew in 5 various bidders the moment the tender closed in March, including CBA which submitted the winning offer of $123,000. As the master lessee, CBA will handle the buildings for five years plus a second term of 4 years.
Noontalk Media submitted 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 master tenant will undertake the combined management of the shophouses and a nearby 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.
“This experience is special to CBA, and we hope to leverage on our partnerships in the neighborhood and knowledge of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and society to infuse even more excitement to Smith Road and Chinatown Singapore,” claims Lim.
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street will view a brand-new line-up of way of life practices and dining experiences. It claims that CBA’s proposal of “distinguished way of life principles, complementary programs and improvements to the public scope intends to better promote neighborhood Chinese heritage and reinforce the identification of the area”.
Lim claims that the tender activity was “very competitive” but CBA gained from its active visibility in the precinct for over twenty years. “Over the two decades, we have actually developed and nurtured connections, and this has bought us an ingrained link to the ground,” she claims. The organisation has indeed organised past occasion such as wide-scale festival parties such as 5 Footway Festival and Dumpling Event, to motif markets, street tasks, occasions and workshops.
The tender to appoint a single master renter to supervise 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.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can expect more curated services and experiences for both locals and tourists upon the conclusion of the Smith Street restoration venture. We are looking to generate more engaging and experiential neighborhood programmes, along with even more different offerings just like imaginative way of living, retail industry and co-living/co-working practices, whilst maintaining and commemorating the location’s ethnic and architectural culture,” says Lim Yick Suan, executive head, Chinatown Business Association.
She adds that CBA will introduce “uniquely Singaporean F&B offerings and global food offerings for either residents and tourists to enjoy at Smith Road”.
