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With the Orchard Road shopping belt witnessing less traffic from Singaporeans, an Australian urban planning consultancy has been tasked to lead a $1.3 million study on how to breathe new life in the area, reported the Straits Times.
The international arm of Australian property advisory group Urbis, Cistri will lead a team which includes local players like DP Architects and DataSpark, a firm that analyses the movement patterns of people.
The proposals outlined in the six-month study, which began in April, will help produce the blueprint for the shopping district in the next 15 to 20 years.
The blueprint will support the continued relevance of the precinct as a vibrant lifestyle destination, explained the Singapore Tourism Board and Urban Redevelopment Authority.
“The team, with a wide range of expertise in economic, retail, urban planning and real estate, had submitted a strong overall project plan, in terms of the approach and methodology,” said the statutory board.
Jack Backen, one of Cistri’s founding directors, revealed that the first part of the study involves finding out how people think and use Orchard Road. It would also examine the physical environment of the precinct while analysing how it fares from an economic perspective.
Thereafter, Cistri would develop various strategies for the Singapore authorities.
United Overseas Bank economist Francis Tan welcomed plans to breathe new life into Orchard Road, which he believes is still popular among visitors.
“I think that rejuvenation should be an ongoing process. It is interesting and signals to the consumers there is something new and exciting coming up,” he said.
Courts Singapore country chief executive Ben Tan was also optimistic of the renewal plans.
“Orchard is close to our heart given that we opened our very first branch in Singapore on Orchard Road in 1974.”
He noted that the precinct has to “up its game and once again set the bar for local retail, and differentiate its offerings to win back customers who have been lost to heartland malls as well as online shopping”.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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