SINGAPORE \u2013 Several malls on Orchard Road have changed hands in recent years, but the shopping belt\u2019s transformation may unfold more slowly than the deal-making suggests.<\/p>\n
This comes even as competitors in Seoul, Bangkok and other Asian cities have stepped up their game with new retail destinations and experiences.<\/p>\n
Take Paragon\u2019s $3.9 billion sale in April,<\/span><\/a> for instance.<\/p>\n The freshly acquired freehold mall is expected to remain largely intact, with its new owner, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, focused on refreshing tenant mix rather than major redevelopment.<\/p>\n The same goes for at least two other malls in the heart of the 2.2km-long road \u2013 the ageing Delfi Orchard and the rear block of The Centrepoint.<\/p>\n In 2024, City Developments (CDL) bought Delfi Orchard for $439 million<\/span><\/a>, completing control of the property after already owning most of the strata units.<\/p>\n The sale of Delfi Orchard sparked speculation that the building could be redeveloped with the adjoining Orchard Hotel and Claymore Connect.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The sale sparked speculation that the building could be redeveloped with the adjoining Orchard Hotel and Claymore Connect \u2013 both held by CDL Hospitality Trusts \u2013 under a government scheme to boost urban renewal.<\/p>\n But a CDL spokesman told The Straits Times that the three properties will remain status quo for now, as the group focuses on maximising income in the short term.<\/p>\n Similarly, Frasers Property acquired the rear plot of The Centrepoint<\/span><\/a> earlier in 2026, consolidating more of the property under one owner. But it will make no immediate changes to the property.<\/p>\n Frasers Property acquired the rear plot of The Centrepoint earlier in 2026.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Meanwhile, regional competition is heating up.<\/p>\n In Seoul, there are projects such as The Hyundai Seoul, the largest shopping mall in the city, covering an area the size of 13 football fields. Its appeal lies not only in scale, but also in how it uses architecture, greenery and pop-up stores to draw younger locals and tourists. The mall has dedicated 49 per cent of the property to indoor parks and recreational areas.<\/p>\n Bangkok has also introduced large-scale projects such as The Emsphere, which has a nightlife zone on the fifth floor, a rooftop beach club with an infinity pool, and an entertainment arena that can host up to 6,000.<\/p>\n But in Singapore, the economics of redevelopment holds many owners back.<\/p>\n Closing a well-performing mall for redevelopment would mean years of lost rent, business disruption, construction costs and financing costs, analysts noted.<\/p>\n Sing Tien Foo, provost\u2019s chair professor of real estate at National University of Singapore\u2019s (NUS) Business School, said some Orchard Road buildings are already in strong locations, which means new owners may be able to make the asset more profitable by refreshing the tenant mix and introducing higher-value retail concepts, instead of tearing down and rebuilding the mall.<\/p>\n Redevelopment will take place only if a new project creates incremental value to the owner, whether through a higher plot ratio or higher rental values, added Sing.<\/p>\n The most visible physical transformation is taking shape elsewhere, at sites that are older or more underused, said property experts.<\/p>\n At the Tanglin end of Orchard Road, Pacific Eagle Real Estate has demolished the former Tanglin Shopping Centre which it bought for $868 million in 2022.<\/p>\n It is planning a mixed-use development with retail, office, wellness and cultural uses<\/span><\/a>, with early images released by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) showing extensive greenery and landscaped terraces.<\/p>\n Also in 2022, nearby Ming Arcade was sold for $172 million to Singapore-based Royal Group<\/span><\/a>. The freehold commercial complex has been demolished to build a 165-room luxury hotel, which is expected to open in 2027.<\/p>\n An artist’s impression of the redeveloped Tanglin Shopping Centre.<\/p>\n PHOTO: PACIFIC EAGLE REAL ESTATE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Meanwhile, Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) has obtained approval to redevelop Forum The Shopping Mall, voco Orchard Singapore, and HPL House.<\/p>\n Jeremy Lake, managing director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, said Orchard Road remains a world-renowned street and properties for sale there always excite the market.<\/p>\n Whether buyers acquire them for redevelopment depends on the property, he said.<\/p>\n This is especially so for older or strata-titled properties, said Joseph Ooi, co-director of the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies (IREUS) at NUS and professor of real estate at NUS Business School.<\/p>\n He added that some may be ageing, harder to lease, or in need of more proactive upgrading.<\/p>\n Recent sales handled by Savills \u2013 including Tanglin Shopping Centre, Ming Arcade and Concorde Hotel and Shopping Mall \u2013 were sold for redevelopment.<\/p>\n Paragon, by contrast, was probably acquired more for its value-add and asset enhancement potential, said Lake. He also handled the sale of Delfi Orchard and part of The Centrepoint.<\/p>\n Paragon mall is expected to remain largely intact, with its new owner, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, focused on refreshing tenant mix rather than major redevelopment.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Part of Orchard Road\u2019s ongoing transformation can be attributed to the Strategic Development Incentive<\/span><\/a> (SDI)<\/span><\/a> scheme,<\/span><\/a> which was introduced in 2019.<\/p>\n The scheme aims to encourage the redevelopment of older buildings into bold and innovative projects that will positively transform the surrounding environment.<\/p>\n Under this scheme, developments in strategic areas such as Orchard Road and Singapore River may be able to increase their gross plot ratio or gross floor area (GFA), if they have innovative proposals that transform the precinct they are a part of.<\/p>\n Such ideas include the provision of high-quality public spaces, car-lite measures and conservation efforts, for example.<\/p>\n Any bonus GFA or increased intensity is subject to the standard land betterment charge.<\/p>\n A land betterment charge (LBC) is a tax levied on the increase in land value when planning permission is granted for development.<\/p>\n To qualify for the scheme, the buildings must have a minimum age of 20 years from the date of the last temporary occupation permit. Submissions will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n Under this scheme, an older property such as the former Faber House in Somerset is being redeveloped into a hotel with skyrise greenery.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether with the planned adaptive reuse of 37 Emerald Hill for cultural and lifestyle uses, these projects will introduce new experiences and strengthen connections within the precinct, contributing to Orchard Road\u2019s continued rejuvenation,\u201d said a URA spokesman.<\/p>\n To date, eight of 13 applications received under the scheme, including for Orchard Road, have received in-principle approval, with two under construction, she added.<\/p>\n \u201cOwnership changes can create opportunities for owners to refresh and enhance developments and their surroundings,\u201d said the URA spokesman. But the specific approach depends on each owner\u2019s plans and commercial considerations, she added.<\/p>\n In some cases, rejuvenation does not require redevelopment.<\/p>\n Proposals that retain existing buildings while achieving positive transformation can also qualify for the Strategic Development Incentive scheme, said URA.<\/p>\n Still, analysts say such incentives may not be enough to transform older, underused properties into bold, mixed-use projects.<\/p>\n For one thing, land betterment charges are often high and paid upfront, eroding the financial appeal of redevelopment, Lake said.<\/p>\n Ooi noted that owners and developers may also be put off by construction costs, financing costs and lost income during redevelopment.<\/p>\n ION Orchard, which opened 17 years ago in 2009, remains the last mega development to make a major architectural impact on Orchard Road\u2019s central stretch.<\/p>\n Analysts suggested that the way forward should be to look beyond retail.<\/p>\n Developers should be allowed to include a meaningful office component, Lake said.<\/p>\n He pointed out that major cities such as London, New York and Tokyo have offices in or near their prime retail streets.<\/p>\n If there are private homes in a new development, cash flow could be improved because of progressive payments during construction, he added.<\/p>\n ION Orchard, which opened in 2009, remains the last mega development to make a major architectural impact on Orchard Road\u2019s central stretch.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Rejuvenation is complex because the street is mature and highly built up, said Mark Shaw, who chairs the Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA).<\/p>\n Often, there are \u201cmultiple stakeholders, ownership structures and infrastructure constraints\u201d involved, he added.<\/p>\n For example, it is more challenging for older strata developments like Lucky Plaza, Far East Plaza and Far East Shopping Centre to undergo coordinated redevelopment.<\/p>\n Yet these older properties add character to the precinct with their eclectic tenant mixes, making them different from larger malls, said analysts.<\/p>\n What Orchard Road also needs is something more organic and more distinctly Singaporean, while remaining commercially viable, Ooi added.<\/p>\n Its future is unlikely to come from \u201ca single landmark alone\u201d, but from a precinct with greener buildings, better pedestrian connections, more varied uses, stronger street-level activity and, over time, perhaps more residents, said Ooi.<\/p>\n The challenge is to make Orchard Road \u201cnot just a string of malls, but a place to walk through, linger in and enjoy\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Several malls on Orchard Road have changed hands in recent years, but the shopping belt\u2019s transformation may unfold more slowly than the deal-making…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":69693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/69693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=69692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=69692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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Where the change is really happening<\/h2>\n
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A broader precinct, not just a retail strip<\/h2>\n
More than shopping<\/h2>\n
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