SINGAPORE – Tenants at HarbourFront Centre are getting ready to move out of their shop spaces, with shuttered stores already sighted when The Straits Times visited the mall on June 25.
The building will cease operations on July 27, ahead of its redevelopment into a 33-storey building with office and retail spaces.
Singapore Cruise Centre will relocate down the road to 5 HarbourFront Avenue from July 15, the mall said on its Facebook page on June 19.
HarbourFront Centre’s closure is timely given how dated the mall is, said James Sim, lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management, adding that its retail experience lags behind most other malls’ in Singapore.
The site sits within Singapore’s Greater Southern Waterfront development corridor, a prime stretch of real estate from which mall owner and developer Mapletree Investments can unlock far greater value through its planned mixed-use development, he said.
“With the mall’s closure, larger retail chains will be able to rationalise their networks, particularly those with an existing presence in VivoCity next door. However, tenants that do not have an outlet in VivoCity are likely to feel an impact. Don Don Donki, for instance, would see its nearest alternative at 100AM or Tiong Bahru Plaza, both of which are too far to conveniently serve ferry commuters,” Sim added.
The most vulnerable, though, are the small independent retailers which face rising costs and have little bargaining power to negotiate favourable terms elsewhere, he said.
Tenants that ST spoke to, however, said they have come to terms with HarbourFront Centre’s closure.
“It doesn’t really affect our business because we have outlets at other places like Wheelock Place and Plaza Singapura,” said Chua, an employee in her 50s at stationery and book store My Greatest Child who gave only her surname.
“Also, we knew about this closure a long time ago. We aren’t going to move to the new building; we are just going to close down this outlet.”
Life goes on despite the building’s closure, said the 42-year-old owner of NBC Beauty Shop who wanted to be known only by his surname Su.
He added that he will not be moving into the new building when it is completed. “The rent will probably be much higher. I’ll just have to find other places to lease my shop at. I don’t have a choice,” he said, adding that he had been at HarbourFront Centre for a decade.
From ferry commuters’ perspective, VivoCity is ideally positioned to absorb the displaced crowd. With more than a million square feet of retail space and a strong tenant mix spanning food and beverage, supermarkets, cafes and pharmacies, it serves convenience-driven shoppers well and is large enough to handle the additional footfall.
A shopper who spoke to ST expressed her disappointment at the news of the closure.
“I often go on ferry rides with my family, so the closure of HarbourFront Centre is a little sad to me as we have many memories of eating at the restaurants here,” said Ms Laura Ong, 38, who works in business administration.
“However, I also understand that places change with the times.”
A manicurist, who wanted to be known only by her surname Lee, said that although she lives in the area, she began visiting HarbourFront Centre only after becoming a new mother, as the flagship Mothercare store is located there.
“The mall is known for Mothercare and the enrichment classes available there. The Ya Kun Kaya Toast on the third floor is where most parents wait for their children. But other than that, nothing particularly stands out in the mall,” she said.
VivoCity’s current tenants should see a meaningful lift in footfall from the spillover, Sim said, though this may come with a longer-term trade-off: higher rents, as landlords respond to the stronger traffic.
