Surprising Serangoon

Source : Straits Times – 18 Jul 2009

Big changes are happening in Little India.

More than just Mustafa and foreign workers, it is now an enclave of arts spaces, boutique condominiums and hip eateries.

Yes, along the side streets off the main thoroughfare of Serangoon Road there is still the whiff of curry powder and the blare of Hindi music.

But new entrants adding a contemporary urban flavour have been popping up among the rows of terrace shophouses.

And such is the changing vibe with more new buildings coming up, including an 11-storey shopping mall and a hotel.

Buildings making their mark on the area include small condo developments with sleek, geometric designs and plenty of glass and steel, including Soho 188 and Soho@Farrer, both located along Race Course Road, and Residences@Somme in Petain Road.

There are the high-rise developments such as the 481-unit Kerrisdale in Sturdee Road and the 910-unit City Square Residences in Kitchener Road.

Developers spotted a niche opportunity in the area sited close to town and becoming a trendy destination.

Ms Jain Shu, project coordinator with Tania Developments, which is redeveloping three shophouses and building a six-storey extension for residential use in Roberts Lane, says: ‘The company already had the property for some time and we realise the Serangoon Road market is upcoming. We see a lot of potential in the area.’

A spokesman for City Developments, developer of City Square Residences and the upcoming 11-storey City Square Mall, says the shopping centre will redefine the shopping and entertainment experience in the precinct, adding that the two projects ‘along with other upcoming developments, will gentrify the Serangoon Road vicinity’.

Residential property prices here are comparable with those elsewhere. At Studios@Marne in Marne Road, the average apartment is priced at $1,000 per sq ft.

Mr Chris Koh, director at Dennis Wee Properties, says the pricing is reasonable as the apartments are close to Farrer Park MRT station.

‘Its convenient location is an attraction and buyers will not mind that the area is congested,’ he says.

Indeed, a Serangoon Road resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr Saji, 34, says he has seen more people moving into the area in the last three years.

‘People used to think that this area was crowded, but now they realise it is so central,’ he says.

Long-time resident Srikanth Rajah, 33, who owns a printing shop, has been living in an HDB flat in Buffalo Road for 25 years.

He says the demand for flats in the area has been high, even for old ones like his.

‘Property agents have been asking residents if they wish to sell,’ he says, adding that he notices more young couples moving into the area.

Appealing to the young and trendy would be the Little India Arts Belt in Kerbau Road, set up in 2002 by the National Arts Council. It is a row of shophouses rented out to arts groups such as Bhaskar’s Arts Academy and Sri Warisan Som Said.

Art galleries have also popped up in the area, such as Post-Museum in Rowell Road and Your Mother Gallery in Hindoo Road.

Backpacker hostels have opened here, set in old shophouses which give them a unique charm. Among them are The InnCrowd Backpackers Hostel and Prince of Wales Backpackers Pub, both in Dunlop Street.

As for hip eateries, they include Zsofi Tapas Bar in Dunlop Street, which serves Spanish nibbles such as ham-and-cheese potato fritters, a change from the area’s many Indian restaurants.

Expect more new properties in the area over the next year, such as a hotel, at least two low-rise condos, a 20-storey mixed development building and a six-storey extension to Mustafa Centre.

And by year-end, City Square Mall in Kitchener Road will open with more than 250 stores. Anchor tenants include Metro department store, FairPrice supermarket and electronics retailer Best Denki.

With new homes and businesses popping up, just what do residents and regular visitors to Little India think?

Madam Doris Lim, 39, who lives at City Square Residences, says she chose to live here because of the development’s convenient location. ‘It is close to Farrer Park and Little India MRT stations and the main bus routes,’ she says.

As for teacher Wendy Koh, 34, who has been living at Kerrisdale since 2006, she picked the place because she likes the condominium’s design ‘I didn’t really consider the surroundings,’ she says.

Mr Rajakumar Chandra, 50, chairman of the Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association, says the new entrants ‘make the area more bustling and not so quiet. There is more vibrancy now’.

The new additions aside, it is still the food that draws trading and operations executive Jayakumar Mannar, 60, to the area twice a week from his home in Eunos.

‘It’s the nasi briyani – I can’t find the same taste anywhere else.’

Dr Kevin Tan, 48, president of the Singapore Heritage Society, says the transformation of Serangoon Road is interesting and exciting.

But he adds: ‘Much of the area is still under conservation so I don’t see the character of the place changing too rapidly or radically.’

Student May Lam, 23, is a fan of Little India. ‘The place is always so alive, regardless of whether it’s day or night,’ she says.

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‘Much of the area is still under conservation so I don’t see the character of the place changing too rapidly or radically’ – Dr Kevin Tan, president of the Singapore Heritage Society, on Serangoon Road’s transformation