Clark Quay redevelopment set to draw bigger crowds next
year
SINGAPORE : An $80 million redevelopment plan - that's what the
owners of Clarke Quay are doing to bring the crowds back to the
area.
Landlord CapitaLand wants to make it a "cool" place again.
Come September next year, the streets will be covered with huge
transparent canopies.
A mechanical ventilation sytem will pass chilled air along the
streets and address the perennial complain that it is simply too
hot to visit Clarke Quay in the day.
Meantime, upgrading work has taken shape along the
riverfront.
Huge structures, resembling lily pads have been built overhanging
the Singapore River to give a new experience to al-fresco
dining.
Mr Lachlan Gyde, Vice President of Retail Singapore at CapitaLand
Retail, said: "We have done a lot of research, in excess of
$300,000 worth of research.
"We feel that we know our target market very well. Our focused
target market is 25-year-old plus, PMEBs, expats and of course the
local market, and probably about 20 percent of our visitors will be
tourists."
With activities like the daily circus performance during December,
the property manager hopes to increase visitorship threefold to
750,000 people per month.
The aim is to surprise visitors with lots of little events, every
day throughout the year.
And it appears these changes are going down well with
tenants.
Ms Pauline Graham, Executive Director of Quayside Dining, said: "We
are very positive and excited with the major renovations being
done, we see everything being upgraded. We have been here two years
with our Quayside Seafood, and now we have taken a second
restaurant. So we are very positive and very happy to stay on as
one of the tenants."
Mr David Lee, Owner of Fish Tales, said: "I personally felt that
there was enough commitment to make it a success. So why not? I
think it is great location and has great potential once people
knows about it."
Mr Clark Martin, Director of The Tapas Tree, said: "We thought we
could open up here, start an institution even though it is in its
infancy of development, already we see a marked increase in foot
traffic."
Looking ahead, there are plans to construct a new bridge across the
Singapore River.
This is to make it more convenient for commuters to travel from the
Clarke Quay MRT station to Clarke Quay.
However, this plan will only take place after the major
redevelopments are completed in 2006.