A ROW of 13 state-owned shophouses from 11 to 37 Smith Street is up for tender to a single master tenant, under a plan to rejuvenate the historic Chinatown conservation area.

The master tenancy will cover a total land area of about 3,166 square metres (sq m), with a gross floor area of about 3,073 sq m. The lease is for five years, with an option to renew for another four.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) said on Thursday (Nov 30): “The rejuvenation project aims to inject vibrancy and drive greater footfall into the area, with community programmes and more diverse offerings such as creative lifestyle, retail and co-living/co-working concepts, while preserving the area’s cultural and architectural heritage.”  

Bids for the Smith Street project will be assessed according to price, capex and the quality of proposals on the managing of the properties and the existing pedestrian mall there.

Proposed business plans should include financial and visitorship projections in the long-term planning for the space.  

Pricing will take up 30 per cent of the assessment, with capex given a 20 per cent weightage; the quality of the proposal will account for the remaining 50 per cent, said SLA.

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In 2017, the authority offered a similar price-quality tender for conserved state properties at 26, 28, 30, 32 and 36 Orchard Road.

The lease was awarded to Temasek Trust for a period of three years, with an option in the lease to renew it for another two terms of three years, SLA said. The lease is still running.

Other clusters of state-owned commercial properties managed by a master tenant include a lifestyle development by The Lo & Behold Group at 46 and 58 Kim Yam Road in River Valley, and Orto Park Leisure at 27 West Coast Highway. 

SLA is also exploring the feasibility of handing over some residential estates with black and white houses to private developers for longer leases of 30 to 60 years, Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong told Parliament in July.

The Smith Street tender, jointly launched by SLA, the Singapore Tourism Board and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, closes on Feb 21, 2024.