reporter2
05-09-12, 16:51
http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/friday/premium/singapore/story/residents-and-tenants-preparing-changes-20120831
Residents and tenants preparing for changes
Published on Aug 31, 2012
By Walter Sim
A DAY after news broke of the land acquisition for the new Thomson MRT Line, residents and shopkeepers at Pearls Centre in Eu Tong Sen Street were taking stock of the changes ahead.
They will have two years to relocate and some are seeking more time.
The 23-storey strata-titled property, which was completed in 1977, will make way for the Outram Park interchange station.
Most said they expected to face stiff competition in their search for an alternative location, given that all the occupants of the building's 44 residential units and its 243 shopkeeper tenants would be on the hunt.
"I hope there will be priority for us when we try to secure shop space elsewhere," said seamstress Karen Ow, 60, who has been renting a store specialising in cosplay and clothes alterations since 2001.
She was keen to stay on in Chinatown but said she was prepared to adapt: "In the worst scenario I'll shift my business online - I'm trying to learn about the Internet from my daughters."
Mr Selvam Komarasu, 45, director of a family-owned lottery business, said it has been operating in the centre since 1977. His family had also moved into a unit on the 20th floor of the building in 1992.
But he was not sentimental about the change. He said he was hoping for the best from a meeting with government officials in October, when he hoped to get an indication of the compensation.
Tomorrow, Ms Indranee Rajah, MP for the area, will be meeting some tenants to understand their concerns.
The Singapore Land Authority has said that compensation will be pegged to the market value of the property at the date of acquisition.
As a gauge, a 753 sq ft residential unit on the 13th floor was sold for $700,000 in February, and a 560 sq ft commercial unit on the fourth floor for $680,000 in June.
Residents in other areas to be acquired for the line were also preparing for the changes ahead.
Among these acquisitions are two landed properties. One is a bungalow in Stevens Road which is said to be rented out. Its owners could not be contacted.
The other is a bungalow owned by Mrs Grace Young, 90, on a land plot measuring nearly 11,000 sq ft in Robin Close.
Five other part lots of land will also be acquired by the Government.
In these cases, the main building structure will not be affected but some other minor changes will be required.
In Toa Payoh Rise, the open area of Lighthouse School, which teaches visually handicapped and hearing-impaired children, will be acquired, as will part of the entrance of the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped.
The boundary walls of Singapore Chinese Girls' School in Dunearn Road and condominium Yong An Park in River Valley Road will also need to be shifted, as will a grass patch near the office block of Great World City.
A spokesman for Great World City, which does not have an MRT station adjacent to it now, said she does not foresee much inconvenience for shoppers during construction.
"The increased foot traffic will definitely be a benefit for us when the station opens," she said.
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Residents and tenants preparing for changes
Published on Aug 31, 2012
By Walter Sim
A DAY after news broke of the land acquisition for the new Thomson MRT Line, residents and shopkeepers at Pearls Centre in Eu Tong Sen Street were taking stock of the changes ahead.
They will have two years to relocate and some are seeking more time.
The 23-storey strata-titled property, which was completed in 1977, will make way for the Outram Park interchange station.
Most said they expected to face stiff competition in their search for an alternative location, given that all the occupants of the building's 44 residential units and its 243 shopkeeper tenants would be on the hunt.
"I hope there will be priority for us when we try to secure shop space elsewhere," said seamstress Karen Ow, 60, who has been renting a store specialising in cosplay and clothes alterations since 2001.
She was keen to stay on in Chinatown but said she was prepared to adapt: "In the worst scenario I'll shift my business online - I'm trying to learn about the Internet from my daughters."
Mr Selvam Komarasu, 45, director of a family-owned lottery business, said it has been operating in the centre since 1977. His family had also moved into a unit on the 20th floor of the building in 1992.
But he was not sentimental about the change. He said he was hoping for the best from a meeting with government officials in October, when he hoped to get an indication of the compensation.
Tomorrow, Ms Indranee Rajah, MP for the area, will be meeting some tenants to understand their concerns.
The Singapore Land Authority has said that compensation will be pegged to the market value of the property at the date of acquisition.
As a gauge, a 753 sq ft residential unit on the 13th floor was sold for $700,000 in February, and a 560 sq ft commercial unit on the fourth floor for $680,000 in June.
Residents in other areas to be acquired for the line were also preparing for the changes ahead.
Among these acquisitions are two landed properties. One is a bungalow in Stevens Road which is said to be rented out. Its owners could not be contacted.
The other is a bungalow owned by Mrs Grace Young, 90, on a land plot measuring nearly 11,000 sq ft in Robin Close.
Five other part lots of land will also be acquired by the Government.
In these cases, the main building structure will not be affected but some other minor changes will be required.
In Toa Payoh Rise, the open area of Lighthouse School, which teaches visually handicapped and hearing-impaired children, will be acquired, as will part of the entrance of the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped.
The boundary walls of Singapore Chinese Girls' School in Dunearn Road and condominium Yong An Park in River Valley Road will also need to be shifted, as will a grass patch near the office block of Great World City.
A spokesman for Great World City, which does not have an MRT station adjacent to it now, said she does not foresee much inconvenience for shoppers during construction.
"The increased foot traffic will definitely be a benefit for us when the station opens," she said.
[email protected]