ST : $310m building plan for City Harvest

Jan 18, 2010

$310m building plan for City Harvest

Large complex in 'central south' district will also house shops, restaurants

By Yen Feng

CITY Harvest Church has announced a $310 million expansion plan to buy land, and to erect a building that will house shops, restaurants and a 12,000-seat auditorium.

Founder Kong Hee, 45, said during church services yesterday and last Saturday that the land sale would be completed later this month. He did not specify the location, but said the site would be in the 'central south' district.

He described the site as 'super large'. It is believed the site covers an area as large as three football fields - six times the size of the Protestant church's current home in Jurong West Street 91, which it owns.

'This is truly amazing,' Dr Kong said yesterday at the Singapore Expo, where it has been renting a hall for services. 'Finally, we will have a church in the marketplace, for the marketplace, to penetrate the marketplace.'

The church's plans to incorporate retail elements into its building project follow similar plans announced in 2007 by New Creation Church, another large Christian group in Singapore.

New Creation has teamed up with mall developer CapitaLand Retail to build an 'integrated hub' at Buona Vista. The $1 billion project, when ready in 2012, will house shops, a concert hall and a theatre.

Details of the City Harvest project remain fuzzy. It is not known how many floors the building will have, how much space will be for retail and religious use, or when construction will start and end.

It is also unclear if the church will rope in partners, as New Creation did, to develop the site.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Reverend Derek Dunn, City Harvest's executive pastor, said yesterday that a non-disclosure agreement prevented him from commenting on the project.

At yesterday's service, Dr Kong said only that there would be 'ample parking', and that the building would have 'eateries, restaurants and world-class facilities'. The news surprised many churchgoers, who cheered and waved their hands.

Last Saturday night, Dr Kong posted a message on his Twitter service that proclaimed: 'Told them the great news. People were laughing, crying, clapping. A new day for City Harvest Church.'

Yesterday, he told the congregation that expansion plans had been germinating since 2005, when the church began renting a hall at Singapore Expo to hold additional services for its growing congregation - now 27,000 strong. The Jurong West church seats only about 2,400.

According to City Harvest financial statements, it spent $3 million on rent from July 2007 to October 2008.

Dr Kong said he had considered 25 potential sites, including the Capitol Theatre at Stamford Road, The Pines Club at Stevens Road and the Toa Payoh Sports Complex, but had found them all unsuitable.

At $310 million, the proposed facilities would cost each member about $11,000 if they divided the amount equally.

Member donations make up more than 95 per cent of the church's annual income.

The church plans to pay for the project over seven to 10 years, although it has set an initial target of $17 million by June.

Members were optimistic, despite the recession, that they would reach the target. They also pointed to how New Creation Church members managed to raise $19 million in just one day last year in March - at a time when banks were failing and millions worldwide were out of jobs.