The start of Orchard Road’s rejuvenation? Scotts Square to commence revamp, repositioning in H1 2027

[SINGAPORE] Scotts Square will undergo a radical overhaul to emerge as a new lifestyle destination comprising new-to-market concepts, experiences and programming by early 2028.

Its new owners are shaping the four-level retail mall to become a “new face” for the Orchard shopping and lifestyle district, and spark off much-needed rejuvenation in the area.

“We are looking at it from a greenfield perspective,” RB Capital’s founder and CEO Kishin RK told The Business Times. Kishin bought the property – which is being redesigned by DP Architects – with his father, Royal Holdings’ owner, Raj Kumar.

It is the latest addition to their Singapore property portfolio. This includes a stretch of Robertson Quay that Kishin rejuvenated from the former Gallery Hotel and the old Quayside retail podium, before anchoring with InterContinental Singapore.

He also owns Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay and RB Capital Building in Malacca Street, among others.

“It will be a lifestyle mall with a social wellness angle focusing on fitness, wellness, curated dining and athleisure retail,” he noted. “These are just four uses to create experiences that break away from the current format of Orchard Road, which are ‘containers’ for brands.”

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He added that the revamp will “change the ways in which we have always interacted” with the precinct and provide an alternative for visitors who stay at hotels in the area.

Media reports have noted that Orchard Road’s much-talked-about revival has yet to materialise. The last major project to make a big impact on the area was Ion Orchard mall in 2009.

With the shopping strip losing some of its shine compared to other Asian cities, analysts have suggested looking beyond retail as the way forward.

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However, the precinct’s prime malls are mainly held by real estate investment trusts, whose yield-maximising mandates filter out tenant risk and reduce the impetus to create new experiences. Meanwhile, strata ownership in older buildings prevents coherent repositioning.

A new, reorientated entrance

Scotts Square sits in a prime Scotts Road location just off Orchard Road, but has an uninviting, nondescript entrance along its 50-metre frontage. This will change.

To take advantage of the heavy human traffic outside, its main entrance will move to the corner of the building facing Orchard MRT station and the adjacent Tang Plaza.

A dedicated vehicular drop-off point near this new entrance is on the cards for the mall – the only one in the vicinity that doesn’t have a lay-by. Scotts Square could also potentially sport a facade installation that will be differentiated from current offerings.

Another entrance will be located at the other end of the building, next to Grand Hyatt Singapore. In addition, there is an existing pedestrian access to Nutmeg Road on the third level.

Under the new format, an alfresco dining experience next to the open walkway outside the mall is a possibility.

Given the overhaul, is there a chance Scotts Square’s retail podium will be given a new name? “We’ll review it,” was all Kishin would say.

No collective sale for now

The mall’s S$310 million sale was completed on Nov 10, purchased from Wharf Estates Singapore, formerly known as Wheelock Properties (Singapore) – a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Wharf Real Estate Investment Company.

The price works out to S$2,369 per square foot (psf), based on the gross floor area of 130,875 sq ft. With the revamp, the lettable area is expected to be significantly higher than the current 76,660 sq ft.

Scotts Square is a mixed development completed in 2011 that includes two residential towers located behind the retail podium. The two components have their own parking areas within the development.

The mall, which occupies three levels plus a basement, accounts for about 43.3 per cent share value in the strata-titled development; the owners of the 338 apartments in the residential towers hold the remaining 56.7 per cent.

This has led to rumours of a possible en bloc of the entire development, which sits on a 56,000 sq ft freehold site. However, Kishin said that his focus is on repositioning and reinvigorating the mall.

Visitors today will find that most of the mall’s units are unoccupied. RB Capital “will work closely” with the remaining tenants, which include FairPrice Finest supermarket, Bang & Olufsen and Vivenne Westwood, in preparation for the revamp.

The overhaul is likely to cause some disamenities to those living in the apartments, but John Ting, a resident, is sanguine. “They can do whatever they need to inside. I can walk outside,” he said. “But they should keep the supermarket because it draws a lot of footfall.”

Having lived in the Orchard area for some 30 years, the architect noted that wellness is “an interesting positioning” for the mall. “Orchard shouldn’t just be a shopping precinct anymore. Those days are gone. But with the population ageing fast, wellness is the sunrise industry with those staying in the hotels around here being another captive audience.”