FCT to turn Causeway Point’s former cinema space into reading hub in mall revamp

[SINGAPORE] Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT) will repurpose the former cinema space at Causeway Point into a 32,000 square foot community reading destination as it moves to revamp the Woodlands mall.

The HomePage @ Causeway Point, developed with the National Library & Archives Board (NLB), is expected to open in 2028. It will occupy parts of the mall’s sixth and seventh floors, taking over the space previously occupied by Cathay Cineplexes.

Cathay Cineplexes exited the mall in 2025 after its parent company mm2 Asia entered a creditors’ voluntary liquidation due to massive financial losses and mounting debt.

The HomePage is part of Causeway Point’s asset-enhancement initiative (AEI), which is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2027 and to be completed by end-2029.

The reading hub is being developed under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Community/Sports Facilities Scheme (CSFS), with NLB paying a service charge to cover operating costs.

“The integration of the CSFS initiative within the AEI also provides opportunities to optimise the mall’s commercial space allocation,” said FCT in response to queries from The Business Times. It added that this will enable “higher-yielding trades to be strategically positioned across more commercially attractive levels”.

The revamped Causeway Point will span more than 425,000 sq ft – from around 420,000 sq ft currently – and house close to 250 stores, versus about 230 currently, FCT said.

It added that the AEI is still in the planning and design stage, and details such as capital expenditure, return on investment and the associated financial impact have not been finalised.

The NLB facility will house one of Singapore’s largest publicly accessible collections of pre-loved books, alongside a showcase of Singapore literature and local authors. It will also feature a children’s play area and an indoor theatre.

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Metro “would like to” remain

Meanwhile, department store operator Metro, formerly an anchor tenant, could adopt a different retail format at Causeway Point after the revamp.

Richard Ng, CEO of FCT’s manager, said that the Reit is discussing potential modular retail concepts with Metro. “They would like to,” he said when asked whether Metro would remain at the mall, adding: “We do see the value that they bring.”

Metro was Causeway Point’s largest tenant by gross rental income (GRI) in FY2025, accounting for 8.3 per cent of the mall’s GRI, including Clinique, FCT said in its annual report.

Other major tenants include Courts and NTUC FairPrice.

Causeway Point generated gross revenue of S$97.7 million in FY2025, up 2.8 per cent year on year, while net property income remained largely flat at S$69.9 million.

The AEI comes as FCT seeks to capitalise on growth in northern Singapore, where more than 50,000 new homes are planned and Woodlands Regional Centre is expected to support over 100,000 jobs.

The mall is directly connected to Woodlands MRT station and the bus interchange, and is located near the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System Link.

“Causeway Point has been there for a long time. We last did our AEI quite some time ago, so it’s the right timing for us to refresh as the place is growing,” said Ng. “We need to change, we need to customise certain things, bring in freshness, bring in something new to the community that’s growing in that area.”