ST : Ten Mile Junction's rail-themed facelift

Nov 3, 2010

Ten Mile Junction's rail-themed facelift

$28m makeover for mall near future Bukit Panjang MRT station; renamed Junction 10, it will be finished by end-2011

By Esther Teo




An artist's impression of the mall on the 99-year leasehold site. Hypermarket Giant will be its anchor tenant, occupying more than 30 per cent of the mall. -- PHOTO: FAR EAST ORGANIZATION

TEN Mile Junction mall is set for a $28 million makeover with a nostalgic railway theme, just as the nearby Malayan Railway line is to become a memory.

Still, plans for the residential and commercial 99-year leasehold site include a link to a modern railway. It is linked to the Ten Mile Junction LRT station and near the future Bukit Panjang MRT station, part of the upcoming Downtown Line 2.

The plans for the site at the junction of Choa Chu Kang Road and Woodlands Road were unveiled by developer Far East Organization yesterday.

The two-storey mall, expected to be completed by the end of next year after addition and alteration works are completed, will be renamed Junction 10, with 92,000 sq ft of net lettable area (NLA), up from 81,000 sq ft before. Unit sizes will range from 400 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft.

The mall's makeover will give it a link to its past as a railway junction by 'marrying modern 21st- century design elements with the nostalgia of railway travel', said Far East. Its decor will feature rail elements like timber sleepers, runners and rivets to give it a 'distinct railway-chic flavour'.

Mr Kelvin Ling, chief operating officer for Far East's retail business group, said that although the site is no longer a junction, it still serves as a meeting point for the LRT network.

It will be a small development that will provide a cosy setting and cater to middle-income earners, mainly young families and professionals, who make up the demographic profile of the area, he added.

Far East's executive director of development and planning Chng Kiong Huat said Junction 10 will be a fusion of Holland Village and its Greenwich V project in Seletar. 'When we did Greenwich V... everything was very green, very open. This is an enclosed Greenwich V; it's air-conditioned and things are much more comfortable. You still have restaurants on the outside,' he said.

Hypermarket Giant has already been secured as an anchor tenant, and will occupy more than 30 per cent of the mall. The remaining space will house retailers such as mid-priced eateries and family and lifestyle outlets, said Far East.

Rental rates will range from $12 per sq ft (psf) to $22 psf per month, it said. Experts say Ten Mile Junction's average rental is now less than $10 psf.

Knight Frank group managing director Danny Yeo said tenants would still bite despite rent increases if the new concept adds value to business.

'It is visible and easily accessible...The residential component and the pull of the hypermarket will also provide a catchment of shoppers,' he said.

Its catchment area is about 381,000 strong, including residents of Bukit Panjang, Upper Bukit Timah, Bukit Batok and Choa Chu Kang, as well as students and professionals from nearby areas.

Far East added that 338 Soho-type (small office, home office) units located above the mall will also be launched in the first quarter of next year. The entire project's construction costs are estimated to be $100 million.

esthert@sph.com.sg