One of Singapore’s oldest hotels - New 7th Storey Hotel at Rochor Road - will be demolished to make way for the new Bugis MRT station for the Downtown Line.
The hotel’s owners and occupants will have to move out by the end of December.
The owners – who said they only heard about the news from the media - are upset over the decision. They said they have spent some S$100,000 in renovations this year.
An old employee also expressed his sadness.
Lee Chong Fu said: “I’ve worked here for about 58 years… I’m very sad because I have been working here for so long. It’s a part of my life. I have strong feelings for the building.”
According to the Land Transport Authority, the hotel is not an iconic building and has no conservation status.
The quaint hotel was well-known in the 1960s and 1970s when its pub was one of the main nightspots in Singapore.
Its iconic spiral staircase has been a favourite backdrop of photographers, and the hotel still has a lift which is manually operated.
The authorities say the demolition is unavoidable due to engineering constraints.
The new Bugis station is one of the six stations that make up the 4.3-kilometre Downtown Line One, which is scheduled to open in 2013.
Once completed, commuters will have more transport choices in the city as the Downtown Line One will serve existing and upcoming developments in the Marina Bay area, including One Raffles Quay, The Sail @ Marina Bay, Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort and the Marina Bay financial centre. - CNA/ac
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