future
fragments of the future
new tenants
first gen owners
vs
What’s in for Far East Plaza’s future?
Most of business owners we interviewed have a pessimistic outlook, like shown in the video above. The store owners seem almost trapped by the lack of available choices - instead, they are left to watch the situation unravel.
On the other hand, a small group of tenants are taking advantage of the slashed rents and Far East Plaza’s location in Orchard Road to test their business models. They work on a small budget, and their goal is to meet monthly costs. Whether these ideas ideas will work, however, remains to be seen.
hope for far east?
For example, Anthony Ho, owner of Leftfoot, does not display price tags on his sneakers so that customers are forced to ask for the price, creating moments of interaction.
Apart from the personal touch, he says that another selling point is the unusual designs he stocks.
If my tastes are crazy, my customers are crazier!
- Mr Ho
Director of property consultancy R'ST Research Mr Ong Kah Seng suggested that Far East Plaza reposition itself as an hub for budding entrepreneurs like Mr Ho and Jin Goh.
One possibility could be to divide vacant units into smaller shops and offer them rent-free to young retailers with innovative products for the initial period.
If such an energising, new vibrant concept gets mass appeal and recognised, then it will earn accolades for the mall
-Mr Ong
ANswers seem to point to no
However, the management shows no signs of repositioning the mall in such a manner.
The mall has not aged well and has a dated look. A majestic fountain used to stand in the middle of the atrium, but now the vast space is only occasionally filled with elderly dancers trying to recapture their youth.
The last time the mall was renovated was in 2005, when $6.5 million was spent to upgrade the floors, ceilings and walkways.
LEFT TO DECAY
There is little to draw families or youths.
A hop onto the Far East Plaza’s website shows that their News and Events page is completely blank.
The management should organize more events” to draw crowds as there is “nothing happening nowadays”.
- Ms Lin
the inevitable
end
?
Despite the sentiments that the store owners hold, the future for Far East Plaza is at best uncertain and at worst bleak. Signs point to the fact that the mall will eventually end up in an en-bloc sale. If it does, the building will probably end up being demolished and rebuilt. Perhaps it will be replaced with shinier surfaces and roofs that don’t leak.
But the question remains of what will happen to icons such as Johnny Two-Thumb or The Corner Shop. Far East Plaza is now a faint memory of what it used to be.
“Maybe I should just retire,”
Maurice Low said with a sad laugh. But he reflects the sentiment of older tenants: there is nothing they can do about the state of things but wait for the inevitable.
That memory is something that they still want to hold onto. In our trip to the mall, we got to snatch a glimpse into a past where it was bustling and full of life; a time where none of our group members had even been born yet.
Bowie saw something worth capturing in Far East Plaza back in the ‘80s. Even after the bubble elevators are gone and the Far East Kids are far past their prime, it will stand as an iconic part of Singapore’s history.