Orchard Road rejuvenation to include new navigation tools, new tenants for Cineleisure

Singapore’s famed Orchard Road will be made easier to navigate, as part of its rejuvenation plan. - LIANHE ZAOBAO

SINGAPORE (The Straits TImes/Asia News Network): It will eventually be easier to discover where to shop, dine and play in Orchard Road with the addition of wayfinding features, including “identity markers” to demarcate different zones along the famed shopping stretch.

These markers could even be combined with digital tools so that information is delivered to visitors via an app or a mobile phone to lead them to places of interest, said the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) deputy chief executive Yap Chin Siang.

He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of STB’s Tourism Industry Conference, held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday (April 5).

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan announced at the conference that STB will enhance the wayfinding system along the Orchard Road stretch to showcase areas across the precinct and help visitors navigate the area.

STB will call for proposals for these wayfinding solutions later in 2023.

Tan also announced that Instagram-friendly and creative street furniture will be installed along Orchard Road’s pedestrian mall for visitors to sit on and enjoy.

These initiatives are part of an Orchard Road rejuvenation plan first announced in 2019, which includes both private and public sector-led initiatives.

Tan said Cineleisure Orchard – which is among the malls in the Orchard area with high vacancy rates and low footfall, according to a Straits Times report – has started to search for new tenants.

This is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2023, with the mall expected to see a refreshed tenancy mix focusing on local brands.

Other areas along Orchard Road also have upcoming projects that will be ready within the next two years. These include Trifecta, a new sports-themed attraction at Somerset which will be ready later in 2023; a new 3,000-person event venue by Lendlease and Live Nation at the former Grange Road carpark, which will be ready from the fourth quarter of 2024; as well as new and refurbished hotels such as Pan Pacific Orchard and Grand Hyatt.

The Orchard Road Business Association is also leading a feasibility study to develop a sustainability road map to reposition Orchard Road as a leading, sustainable lifestyle precinct. This will be aligned with the sector-specific sustainability road maps that many Orchard Road businesses have already established, Tan said.