Red flag to green flag: Orchard Towers cleans up its act

SINGAPORE – Cornerstone Community Church’s co-founder Pastor Yang Tuck Yoong was riding the lift at Orchard Towers on his way up to the church on the fourth floor.

The 66-year-old says: “There was a group of people in it, and they didn’t know who I was. One of them was talking about the church, saying, ‘There was carolling, I’ve never seen it before at Orchard Towers. I took photos.’”

He adds: “I was smiling. We had a really good crowd. We had wanted to bring some life to this part of Orchard Road and it went extremely well.”

Cornerstone had organised Christmas carolling sessions on Dec 19 and 20 at the entrance to the front block of Orchard Towers.

Indeed, the transformation of the development, once known for vice, sleaze and even murder, is well under way. It started in 2022, when the Government announced it would stop renewing and granting new public entertainment licences beyond May 2023.

The girlie bars moved out. Some new businesses moved in, but there were – and still are – many empty shop spaces in a development that sits on prime real estate.

In 2025, Cornerstone bought the fourth-floor space in the front block of Orchard Towers for about $54 million, space that used to house the Top Ten and Crazy Horse clubs. Then it set about turning the space into a church, at the cost of about $5 million.

On Jan 16, it held a dedication ceremony to mark the official opening of the church. Sunday services had started there on Dec 14. In January 2026, it added a service on Saturdays, in addition to three on Sundays.

The Christmas carolling was just a start. Pastor Yang is looking to rent two shop spaces, one to house a bookstore and another for the church’s thrift store.

The complex is less of a ghost town now. Cornerstone can seat 440 people in the church, with 80 additional seats in a separate overflow room, where the congregation watches the service on screens.

On weekends, thousands of people descend on a place that people used to avoid because of its shady reputation. Hoardings are up for new restaurants and businesses that will cater not just to churchgoers, but also to parents and kids who will flock to the new Math Vision tuition centre taking shape in the rear tower.

New faces

Since The Straits Times reported on the state of Orchard Towers in October 2025, new businesses have set up shop.

On the third floor of the front tower, there are OxyTap, which sells a device to oxygenate tap water; and Harmony Wellness, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and physiotherapy business.

At the basement is Yan Lin Fang, a 24-hour eating house serving mala hotpot and local dishes.

There is also activity in the rear tower. In the large space vacated by casual French restaurant SO France, hoardings are up for a “new concept” by the Cloud Restaurant Group.

Those interviewed say they see potential tenants traipsing through the building, looking at empty shop spaces.

Mr Wilson Tan, 57, chief executive of OxyTap, opened his showroom in December 2025. He tells The Straits Times he spent about $300,000 doing up the 1,800 sq ft space, which used to house a pub.

The light and bright space now houses the showroom, as well as a cafe with a La Marzocco espresso machine, a high-end brand from Italy, and beans from Allpress, a New Zealand brand. Prices start at $4.50 for an espresso. A cappuccino is priced at $6.50.

Visitors can see how the machines – which sell for $3,950 each – work; and order espresso drinks, trying them with and without oxygenated water added, to taste the difference.

Mr Tan decided to take up space at Orchard Towers, he says, because of its central location, and the fact that he is in the health and well-being business.

“We are all about renewal and bringing health back,” he says. “This building has a dark past. But we think we can bring good to the place.”

The gambit seems to be working. Over the two days ST spent at Orchard Towers, the showroom saw a stream of curious customers.

“Business is slowly picking up,” he says. “People who have tried our coffee come back.”

On the same floor, Ms Yuan Mumu, 30, owner of Harmony Wellness, also focuses on health and well-being.

The Chengdu native opened her business two months ago, and offers tuina, physiotherapy and consultations with two TCM physicians.

Her expansive, 3,000 sq ft space is a haven from the harsh lighting outside, with water features, tinkling music and mood lighting. The facilities include a pink Himalayan rock salt sauna.

She says she had looked for a suitable space, but found one large enough only at Orchard Towers.

“Some customers ask me why I opened here, but I say this place is undergoing change,” she says. “We have a church here and the atmosphere is different.”

She plans to rework the facade of her shopfront, to better message the TCM part of her business.

Mr Wu Min, 47, who opened Yan Lin Fang in November 2025, chose Orchard Towers because it was a good location from which to send out food for delivery. It is open 24 hours because he gets late-night food delivery orders from residents in the area.

The building, especially food businesses at the basement, where his restaurant is, attracts crowds from nearby offices at lunchtime.

Yan Lin Fang serves malatang and hotpot, steamed fish, yong tau foo and other zi char-type dishes such as Sweet & Sour Pork Rice ($6.80) and Cereal Chicken Rice ($6.50). Mr Wu has another restaurant in West Coast and stalls in foodcourts.

“Business has been growing since the church opened,” he says, adding that it might get better when the tuition centre starts operating.

Cloud Restaurant Group, which runs Cloudfields, a brunch cafe in Tan Boon Liat Building, did not respond to queries from ST.

Village vibes

Two Sundays a month, Cornerstone Community Church rents OxyTap’s premises for an hour each time, so that its Filipino congregation can meet before attending their service.

One floor up, Ms Val Lim, 38, owner of pet-friendly Cafe Blossom, caters the church’s weekly Sunday breakfast for volunteers.

She says: “A few church members say they are keen to take along their pets. We have received a lot of positive feedback from the church’s volunteers on our breakfast. Some of them look forward to what will be on the breakfast menu each week. This is very heartening for us to know.”

Her cafe serves homespun dishes such as Ginseng Chicken Soup with rice ($10.80) and Assam Fish with rice ($12.80), and non-Asian options like Grilled Salmon with fries or rice ($13.80) and Burger with fries or salad (from $10.80). For dogs, she offers meals starting at $4.80 for chicken and mixed vegetables. Options include pork, beef and kangaroo meat.

At the basement, Kin Hoi Thai Food is filled with churchgoers on the weekend. Business is up about 10 per cent.

Owner Daniel Teo, 42, says his business has had a new lease of life, and not just because churchgoers are dining at his restaurant.

“The feeling and kindness of the people bring a very good vibe to my staff and the other stallholders,” he says.

Popular among the new diners are Kin Hoi’s Basil Pork Rice ($8), Melting Beef Rice ($15.80) and the restaurant’s Signature Thai Teochew cockles ($19).

He is looking to add more set menus to cater to students and those looking for value meals.

Pastor Yang hopes a good fast-food chain will set up shop at Orchard Towers, to cater to young churchgoers.

He says the church – which is also at The Odeon Katong in East Coast Road – has been attracting new members. Some 60 to 70 per cent of those he shakes hands with are fresh faces, people he has not met at Cornerstone in Katong, or when it ran services in Bugis.

He says: “It’s been very encouraging to see the entire place jam-packed with people. The news has been spreading. A lot of people have been coming. It’s been beyond my wildest expectations.

“I hope the tenants do not perceive this as some kind of takeover. It is not. We are here to be a blessing to them.”