Isetan tipped to open at nex mall in Serangoon

Cold Storage will operate gourmet supermarket at $1.3 billion mall

JAPANESE retailer Isetan is expected to open a department store of about 54,000 square feet at nex mall in Serangoon, which is scheduled for completion late next year.

Supermarket chain Cold Storage, part of the Dairy Farm group, will also run a 12,000 sq ft gourmet supermarket at nex, BT understands.

Isetan’s store is expected to be on levels one to three of the six-storey mall, which is being developed at an estimated cost of $1.3 billion. BT understands there were at least two other contenders for the department store spot at nex – Robinsons and BHG. The latter is anchor tenant at Bugis Junction.

Market watchers note that this will be the first time in about 15 years that Isetan would be setting up a department store in Singapore. The last time it did so was in 1995 when it opened its 40,000 sq ft-plus store at Tampines Mall.

Isetan’s other department stores here are located at Shaw House along Scotts Road, Wisma Atria on Orchard Road and Parkway Parade in Marine Parade.

In April this year, Gold Ridge Pte Ltd, the developer of nex, announced several major tenants that have signed up at the mall – including NTUC FairPrice (for a 60,000 sq ft FairPrice Xtra hypermarket); Shaw Organisation, which has leased 40,000 sq ft for a 10- screen cineplex that will also mark the launch of its first luxury theatre concept; and Food Junction Holdings, which will run a 17,000 sq ft food court that can seat 500.

Another tenant secured is F&B group RE&S Enterprises, the company behind Japanese restaurants Kuriya and Ichiban Sushi. It will have a 12,000 sq ft food zone themed ‘Japan Today’ at nex.

The six-level mall (four storeys above ground and two basements) will have about 600,000 sq ft of net lettable area. It will be integrated with a new bus interchange, the Serangoon North East Line and the Circle Line MRT stations.

Developer Gold Ridge’s owners include institutional investors advised by Pramerica Real Estate Investors (Asia) Pte Ltd. Guthrie Consultancy Services is project manager, retail consultant and marketing manager for the retail development.

Gold Ridge is developing nex on a 99-year leasehold site that it clinched at a state tender conducted by the Land Transport Authority that closed in March last year. Its winning bid of $800.9 million worked out to $850 per square foot of potential gross floor area.

nex will also feature a food and beverage zone that operates on extended hours. Isetan Singapore last traded on the Singapore Exchange on Monday at $3.07.

Source: Business Times, 15 July 2009