New Reporter
20-10-23, 11:21
Orchard Road’s rejuvenation excites, but will need fresh concepts beyond retail
Oct 18, 2023
REJUVENATING Orchard Road will require creativity on the part of the various developers undertaking mega mixed-used developments there.
Market watchers said they hope to see the area turn into a lifestyle destination incorporating not just the usual retail offerings but also luxury homes and hotels, offices, as well as healthcare and lifestyle facilities.
The area is about to see some of the most exciting redevelopments in years, but large sums of money will not be enough to make these plans succeed. Some observers have expressed concerns about the distinctiveness of these redevelopments – the key to drawing crowds back and returning the shopping belt to its halcyon days.
Far East Hospitality chief executive officer Arthur Kiong highlighted in a recent LinkedIn post that foreign and domestic investors are ploughing billions of dollars into Orchard Road’s rejuvenation.
About an 850-metre stretch of the top end of Orchard Road will go through immense and simultaneous redevelopment, he said, adding: “I hope that these developers will not be spending all this money to build blocks of sameness – upscale hotels and retail selling more or less the same things to more or less the same people.
“Singapore is given this one chance to think out of the box. May each one of these developers come up with something unique and spectacular, instead of more of the same old, same old, only newer.”
While the retail industry will always remain relevant to consumers, the form in which it is facilitated will evolve as times change, said Ethan Hsu, Knight Frank’s head of retail.
“Therefore, the sustainability of the retail concepts will largely be dependent on the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of the retail operators and business owners,” he said.
Changing consumer behaviours and market trends will also “pave the way for fresh ideas and new-to-market brand names to set up flagship stores along the prime Orchard shopping belt”, added Hsu.
Lam Chern Woon, head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie, pointed out that the belt of potential redevelopments between Paterson Road and Cuscaden Road could give rise to a new beauty and wellness precinct.
This would build on the existing concentration of medical aesthetic clinics at Wheelock Place and Delfi Orchard, he added. “The refresh and new development of several upscale hotels in the Tanglin area will also help support the growth of the medical tourism industry as travel demand returns.”
Orchard Road’s western end
Plenty of development is set to take place at the western end of Orchard Road, which is near some of Singapore’s priciest residential addresses such as Ardmore Park, Claymore Hill, Cuscaden Road and Nassim Road.
A prime example is the recently sold Far East Shopping Centre. The 999-year leasehold property along Orchard Road was bought in a collective sale last month by a company linked to Chinese businessman Du Shuanghua for around S$910 million.
The deal is currently pending approval from the government to participate in its Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme. Under the scheme, buyers can extend the gross floor area (GFA) of a redeveloped building by up to 20 per cent, on condition that the incoming buyer engages in a joint integrated redevelopment with adjacent sites.
Adjacent to Far East Shopping Centre is a stretch of buildings owned by Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties (HPL). HPL was recently given the green light to redevelop Forum The Shopping Mall, the Voco Orchard Singapore hotel, and HPL House.
With the SDI scheme, market watchers expect the upcoming integrated development – consisting of Far East Shopping Centre and HPL’s three land parcels – to span a massive GFA of more than 400,000 square metres.
There is also the freehold Tanglin Shopping Centre, which was bought by Indonesian tycoon Sukanto Tanoto for S$868 million, and freehold commercial complex Ming Arcade, which was sold to a Singapore-based family office for S$172 million, said Jeremy Lake, managing director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills. Both collective sales took place in 2022.
Other older Orchard Road properties could change hands. The nearby freehold Delfi Orchard and 99-year leasehold Concorde Hotel and Shopping Centre will also be making en bloc attempts soon, said Lake.
Taken together, the western part of Orchard – covering Tanglin Shopping Centre to Far East Shopping Centre – may form “the third Orchard Road zone” with higher-end offerings, said Sulian Tan-Wijaya, Savills’ retail and lifestyle executive director. “The (other zones) being central Orchard Road, from Ion to Mandarin Gallery, which has a good mix of luxury and mass market retail; and Somerset, which caters more to the youth market and has been attracting many street-fashion retailers.”
“The new redevelopments are likely to be mixed-use (projects) that could incorporate hotel, retail, hospitality and residential uses,” noted Edmund Tie’s Lam.
A sizeable hospitality component will help cater to the strong demand in the precinct from tourists and business travellers, said Knight Frank’s Hsu.
Other uses could include dining, lifestyle and entertainment, given the sites’ downtown location, he said. “Office and education (uses) would complete the mix and form a holistic ecosystem for Orchard Road to remain a lively and colourful lifestyle destination that is accessible to all.”
“Such multi-varied land uses will help inject vibrancy and a ready catchment, especially for the retail and hospitality components,” added Lam.
Desmond Sim, Edmund Tie’s chief executive officer, remains largely optimistic about the prospects of these redevelopment projects.
The developers involved in these projects have vast experience in real estate investment and development, and they bring a wealth of resources and knowledge, he noted.
HPL’s Ong, for instance, has cultivated an extensive network of contacts through the years, said Sim.
Together with his wife – Christina Ong, fashion doyenne and founder of Como Group, which has interests across hospitality, fashion and lifestyle – he could create a few flagship stores at the new redevelopment site, he said.
Sim highlighted that the developers and their partners will also bring in expertise from around the world to give shoppers a well thought-out and designed “shopping mall of the future” – taking into consideration technology, new shopping patterns, as well as best practices in terms of visual experience, wayfinding and tenant mix.
“This bodes well for Orchard Road as a precinct because the original stretch is getting a little bit jaded,” he said.
Although the integrated development will be a bit distant from any transportation node, which could be a potential pain point, this could be used to the developers’ advantage, he added.
They could curate their client base and the perspective of the mall to be more upscale and exclusive, similar to Paragon, he said.
Besides, connectivity to the development may improve in the future, Sim said. Other than the integrated redevelopment, the SDI scheme proposes the implementation of direct underground pedestrian links from Orchard MRT station.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/orchard-roads-rejuvenation-excites-will-need-fresh-concepts-beyond-retail
Oct 18, 2023
REJUVENATING Orchard Road will require creativity on the part of the various developers undertaking mega mixed-used developments there.
Market watchers said they hope to see the area turn into a lifestyle destination incorporating not just the usual retail offerings but also luxury homes and hotels, offices, as well as healthcare and lifestyle facilities.
The area is about to see some of the most exciting redevelopments in years, but large sums of money will not be enough to make these plans succeed. Some observers have expressed concerns about the distinctiveness of these redevelopments – the key to drawing crowds back and returning the shopping belt to its halcyon days.
Far East Hospitality chief executive officer Arthur Kiong highlighted in a recent LinkedIn post that foreign and domestic investors are ploughing billions of dollars into Orchard Road’s rejuvenation.
About an 850-metre stretch of the top end of Orchard Road will go through immense and simultaneous redevelopment, he said, adding: “I hope that these developers will not be spending all this money to build blocks of sameness – upscale hotels and retail selling more or less the same things to more or less the same people.
“Singapore is given this one chance to think out of the box. May each one of these developers come up with something unique and spectacular, instead of more of the same old, same old, only newer.”
While the retail industry will always remain relevant to consumers, the form in which it is facilitated will evolve as times change, said Ethan Hsu, Knight Frank’s head of retail.
“Therefore, the sustainability of the retail concepts will largely be dependent on the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of the retail operators and business owners,” he said.
Changing consumer behaviours and market trends will also “pave the way for fresh ideas and new-to-market brand names to set up flagship stores along the prime Orchard shopping belt”, added Hsu.
Lam Chern Woon, head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie, pointed out that the belt of potential redevelopments between Paterson Road and Cuscaden Road could give rise to a new beauty and wellness precinct.
This would build on the existing concentration of medical aesthetic clinics at Wheelock Place and Delfi Orchard, he added. “The refresh and new development of several upscale hotels in the Tanglin area will also help support the growth of the medical tourism industry as travel demand returns.”
Orchard Road’s western end
Plenty of development is set to take place at the western end of Orchard Road, which is near some of Singapore’s priciest residential addresses such as Ardmore Park, Claymore Hill, Cuscaden Road and Nassim Road.
A prime example is the recently sold Far East Shopping Centre. The 999-year leasehold property along Orchard Road was bought in a collective sale last month by a company linked to Chinese businessman Du Shuanghua for around S$910 million.
The deal is currently pending approval from the government to participate in its Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme. Under the scheme, buyers can extend the gross floor area (GFA) of a redeveloped building by up to 20 per cent, on condition that the incoming buyer engages in a joint integrated redevelopment with adjacent sites.
Adjacent to Far East Shopping Centre is a stretch of buildings owned by Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties (HPL). HPL was recently given the green light to redevelop Forum The Shopping Mall, the Voco Orchard Singapore hotel, and HPL House.
With the SDI scheme, market watchers expect the upcoming integrated development – consisting of Far East Shopping Centre and HPL’s three land parcels – to span a massive GFA of more than 400,000 square metres.
There is also the freehold Tanglin Shopping Centre, which was bought by Indonesian tycoon Sukanto Tanoto for S$868 million, and freehold commercial complex Ming Arcade, which was sold to a Singapore-based family office for S$172 million, said Jeremy Lake, managing director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills. Both collective sales took place in 2022.
Other older Orchard Road properties could change hands. The nearby freehold Delfi Orchard and 99-year leasehold Concorde Hotel and Shopping Centre will also be making en bloc attempts soon, said Lake.
Taken together, the western part of Orchard – covering Tanglin Shopping Centre to Far East Shopping Centre – may form “the third Orchard Road zone” with higher-end offerings, said Sulian Tan-Wijaya, Savills’ retail and lifestyle executive director. “The (other zones) being central Orchard Road, from Ion to Mandarin Gallery, which has a good mix of luxury and mass market retail; and Somerset, which caters more to the youth market and has been attracting many street-fashion retailers.”
“The new redevelopments are likely to be mixed-use (projects) that could incorporate hotel, retail, hospitality and residential uses,” noted Edmund Tie’s Lam.
A sizeable hospitality component will help cater to the strong demand in the precinct from tourists and business travellers, said Knight Frank’s Hsu.
Other uses could include dining, lifestyle and entertainment, given the sites’ downtown location, he said. “Office and education (uses) would complete the mix and form a holistic ecosystem for Orchard Road to remain a lively and colourful lifestyle destination that is accessible to all.”
“Such multi-varied land uses will help inject vibrancy and a ready catchment, especially for the retail and hospitality components,” added Lam.
Desmond Sim, Edmund Tie’s chief executive officer, remains largely optimistic about the prospects of these redevelopment projects.
The developers involved in these projects have vast experience in real estate investment and development, and they bring a wealth of resources and knowledge, he noted.
HPL’s Ong, for instance, has cultivated an extensive network of contacts through the years, said Sim.
Together with his wife – Christina Ong, fashion doyenne and founder of Como Group, which has interests across hospitality, fashion and lifestyle – he could create a few flagship stores at the new redevelopment site, he said.
Sim highlighted that the developers and their partners will also bring in expertise from around the world to give shoppers a well thought-out and designed “shopping mall of the future” – taking into consideration technology, new shopping patterns, as well as best practices in terms of visual experience, wayfinding and tenant mix.
“This bodes well for Orchard Road as a precinct because the original stretch is getting a little bit jaded,” he said.
Although the integrated development will be a bit distant from any transportation node, which could be a potential pain point, this could be used to the developers’ advantage, he added.
They could curate their client base and the perspective of the mall to be more upscale and exclusive, similar to Paragon, he said.
Besides, connectivity to the development may improve in the future, Sim said. Other than the integrated redevelopment, the SDI scheme proposes the implementation of direct underground pedestrian links from Orchard MRT station.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/orchard-roads-rejuvenation-excites-will-need-fresh-concepts-beyond-retail