SINGAPORE (Jan 17): CapitaLand said that it has won the joint tender by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to appoint a single operator for the integrated management of Bugis Village and Bugis Street.
The integrated management has a proposed retail net lettable area (NLA) of about 195,000 sq ft.
CapitaLand will commence operation on April 1, 2020. The award has an initial tenancy term of three years, after which may be renewed for a further two tenancy terms of three years each, and a final tenancy term not extending beyond March 30, 2030.
All existing tenants in Bugis Village and Bugis Street will be allowed to continue their business operations under CapitaLand for a year at the prevailing rent until March 31, 2021.
To enhance the connectivity of Bugis Village and Bugis Street, CapitaLand says that it is exploring a new link bridge connecting Bugis Street to Bugis+ to provide visitors with seamless sheltered access from Bugis MRT station.
Leveraging CapitaLand’s retail stronghold in Bugis, plans are being explored for the integrated Bugis Village and Bugis Street to house retail concepts that complement existing offerings in the area. These include day-to-night market, retail incubator and shared economy spaces such as co-living and co-working areas.
The group plans to revamp Bugis Village and Bugis Street into a hub converging experiential retail, social experimentation and local entrepreneurship, offering established brands and new entrants an incubator space to innovate new ways of creating curated brand experiences or pilot new concepts.
With the addition of Bugis Village and Bugis Street, CapitaLand’s retail NLA in the Bras Basah and Bugis precinct will notch up to over 800,000 sq ft. It will also boost the group’s retail network in Singapore to 22 shopping malls with a total retail NLA of abou 6.6 million sq ft.
Ronald Tay, CEO of CapitaLand Singapore, Malaysia & Indonesia, residential & retail says, “Our bid for the integrated management of Bugis Village and Bugis Street is in line with CapitaLand’s precinct strategy to rejuvenate and maximise synergy in areas where we have an existing network and competitive advantage.”
“As the upcoming residential and commercial developments in the vicinity progressively reach completion, we foresee that CapitaLand’s expanded retail offerings in Bugis will enjoy an even larger captive catchment,” Tay adds.
Shares in CapitaLand last traded at $3.90 before the mid-day break.
