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Coming back from the dead: Do People’s Park Complex, Far East Shopping Centre and other strata-titled malls have a chance?

In the face of failed en bloc attempts, what can bring the glory days back to these ageing properties?

Jessie  Lim
Published Fri, Aug 2, 2024 · 03:00 PM — Updated Fri, Aug 2, 2024 · 10:05 PM
    • Strata malls comprise units owned by multiple landlords and were prominent in the 1970s and 80s.
    • To safeguard strata malls for future generations to enjoy, a whole-of-society approach is needed. 
    • Strata malls comprise units owned by multiple landlords and were prominent in the 1970s and 80s. ILLUSTRATION: SIMON ANG, BT
    • To safeguard strata malls for future generations to enjoy, a whole-of-society approach is needed.  ILLUSTRATION: TEOH YI CHIE, BT

    THEY are among some of the most iconic malls along Orchard Road and were the first shopping centres established in their neighbourhoods. 

    Some, such as People’s Park Complex, were lauded as Modernist masterpieces while others delighted Singaporeans with their high-tech features, such as Far East Shopping Centre’s escalators at a time when these were a novelty.

    They are Singapore’s strata malls, in which the units belong to different landlords, who may then lease them out. This fragmented type of ownership stands in contrast to malls that are owned and managed by single entities, such as a real estate investment trust (Reit) or a property company.

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