Chinatown Business Association wins tender to manage iconic Smith Street in Chinatown
The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has won the tender for a row of iconic shophouses throughout Smith Road in Chinatown. CBA contains stakeholders running in Chinatown, such as business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan organizations, hoteliers, hawkers and stores.
“This experience is unique to CBA, and we want to take advantage of on our connections in the neighborhood and understanding of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and society to inject more dynamics to Smith Road and Chinatown Singapore,” claims Lim.
“Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can anticipate more curated services and experiences for both residents and tourists upon the completion of the Smith Street restoration project. We are looking to bring in a lot more engaging and experiential community programmes, along with more diverse offerings such as creative lifestyle, retail industry and co-living/co-working approaches, while preserving and commemorating the place’s cultural and building culture,” states Lim Yick Suan, executive supervisor, Chinatown Business Association.
The tender was reviewed based on cost and the quality of each provided principle. It brought in five various bidders the moment the tender came March, including CBA which sent the winning proposal of $123,000. As the master renter, CBA will certainly handle the properties for five years plus a second term of four years.
Lim claims that the tender movement was “very challenging” yet CBA benefitted from its energetic visibility in the district for over twenty years. “Over the 2 decades, we have developed and nurtured partnerships, and this has bought us an ingrained connection to the ground,” she claims. The organisation has arranged past event such as wide-scale festival parties such as 5 Footway Celebration and Dumpling Event, to themed markets, street tasks, events and workshops.
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.
She includes that CBA is going to present “uniquely Singaporean F&B offerings and global food offerings for either locals and travelers to enjoy at Smith Road”.
The tender to select an one master occupant to supervise the historical row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was collectively introduced by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November in 2023.
According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street will see a new line-up of way of life practices and eating experiences. It says that CBA’s proposal of “set apart way of life principles, corresponding programmes and enhancements to the general public realm aims to better promote neighborhood Chinese heritage and reinforce the identification of the area”.
The master occupant will embark 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.
