More precincts join scheme to transform
Stakeholders plan to remake public spaces to rejuvenate them
More public spaces will be made attractive and vibrant as business owners, developers and other stakeholders of nine precincts, including Raffles Place and City Hall, join the Business Improvement District (BID) programme to drive their transformation.
They follow Singapore River One, the first BID set up under the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) last year.
The pilot project saw stakeholders and the local community taking greater ownership in the remaking of public spaces to rejuvenate an area. This, in turn, helped generate higher visitor traffic and more business to the precinct.
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong said at the URA's Place Management Seminar yesterday: "These positive examples highlight the importance of place-making and why it is essential for government and businesses to work together to embrace the concept and raise it to a higher level in Singapore...
"That's why last year, we announced we wanted to scale up place-making efforts and expand the BID pilot we started with Singapore River One nationwide to more business owners, associations and pre-cincts."
Interest has been "overwhelming", he noted.
Nine submissions were received after URA invited stakeholders in September last year to submit a preliminary business plan, including outlining their initiatives to bring vibrancy and proposed membership fees to fund these.
All nine - representing a mix from historic and civic districts to mixed-use precincts inside and outside the city centre - were selected.
These are China Place, City Hall, Jurong Gateway, Kampong Glam, Marina Bay, Marina Centre, Paya Lebar, Raffles Place and Tanjong Pagar. Together with Singapore River One, there are now 10 BIDs.
Mr Cheng Hsing Yao, chairman of Tanjong Pagar pilot BID and group managing director of GuocoLand Singapore, said: "The capacity of place-making by an individual stakeholder is insufficient to activate the precinct.
"With the coming together of multiple stakeholders (for the first time), we can have a more coordinated effort to contribute to the transformation of Tanjong Pagar."
The partnership includes GuocoLand, Carlton City Hotel, Far East Organisation, Orchid Hotel, Downtown Gallery and Tian Teck Investment Holding.
The Tanjong Pagar pilot BID is expected to be launched in the first half of next year and aims to expand to Tanjong Pagar Road, Duxton Hill and Keong Saik Road.
SUSTAINABLE
Stakeholders of City Hall plan to showcase the precinct through the arts, history and architecture, while those at Jurong Gateway and Paya Lebar are looking to build more environmentally and socially sustainable community spaces.
Mr Wong noted that businesses and retailers are catching on to the idea of place-making.
"Shoppers will need a reason to go to the store other than buying things... As one consultant put it to retailers, you have to 'stage experiences or go extinct,'" he said.
The nine are required to develop detailed business plans and get at least 51 per cent support from stakeholders, and then form pilot BIDs, which are entities that collect membership fees from stakeholders and drive place-making efforts.
The Government will provide dollar-for-dollar matching for the membership fees collected by each pilot programme up to a cap of $500,000 a year, for the first four years.
"We are studying the possibility of legislation to provide legal backing for the BIDs," Mr Wong said.
"How this unfolds really depends on the pilots. We want the pilots to be successful, so that... more stakeholders will come on board; and with legislative backing, they can take place-making to a higher level."
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