The Chinatown Business Association (CBA) has won the tender for a row of iconic shophouses along Smith Street in Chinatown. CBA consists of stakeholders operating in Chinatown, such as business leaders, grassroots leaders, Chinese clan associations, hoteliers, hawkers and retailers.

The tender to appoint a single master tenant to oversee the historic row of shophouses at 11 to 37 Smith Street was jointly launched by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) back in November last year.

"Visitors to Chinatown Singapore can look forward to more curated offerings and experiences for both locals and tourists upon the completion of the Smith Street rejuvenation project. We are looking to bring in more engaging and experiential community programmes, as well as more diverse offerings such as creative lifestyle, retail and co-living/co-working concepts, while preserving and celebrating the area’s cultural and architectural heritage," says Lim Yick Suan, executive director, Chinatown Business Association.

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She adds that CBA will introduce "uniquely Singaporean F&B offerings and international food offerings for both locals and tourists to enjoy at Smith Street".

The master tenant will undertake the integrated management of the shophouses and an adjacent State land plot, which have a total land area of 34,066 sq ft and an estimated gross floor area of 33,065 sq ft.

The tender was evaluated based on price and the quality of each submitted concept. It attracted five different bidders when the tender closed in March, including CBA which submitted the winning bid of $123,000. As the master tenant, CBA will manage the properties for five years plus a second term of four years.

Noontalk Media submitted the highest bid of $180,000, followed by runner-up CBA. Other bids ranged from $108,174 from Benlo Ventures to $68,177 from ABR Holdings and a $53,000 bid from IGYM Fitness.

According to SLA, the revitalised Smith Street will see a new line-up of lifestyle concepts and dining experiences. It says that CBA’s proposal of “differentiated lifestyle concepts, complementary programmes and enhancements to the public realm aims to further promote local Chinese heritage and strengthen the identity of the area”.

Lim says that the tender exercise was "very competitive" but CBA benefitted from its active presence in the precinct for over 20 years. "Over the two decades, we have built and nurtured relationships, and this has afforded us a deep-rooted connection to the ground," she says. The organisation has organised past event such as wide-scale festival celebrations such as Five Footway Festival and Dumpling Festival, to themed markets, street activities, events and workshops.

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"This experience is unique to CBA, and we hope to leverage on our relationships in the community and knowledge of Chinatown Singapore’s heritage and culture to inject more vibrancy to Smith Street and Chinatown Singapore," says Lim.