JCube mall to close down on Aug 6 to make way for 40-storey residential development

JCube mall will shut down on Aug 6 at 10pm. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

SINGAPORE - JCube mall in Jurong East Central will close down on Aug 6 to make way for a 40-storey residential development that will include commercial space on the first and second storeys.

The new residential building, targeted for completion in 2027, will complement the Government’s plans to bring new homes, businesses, recreational facilities and amenities to the Jurong Lake District, CapitaLand Development said on Tuesday.

The mall will shut down on Aug 6 at 10pm. CapitaLand said it is working closely with the tenants and providing the necessary support to ensure a smooth handover of the premises.

The new residential development will be linked directly to the Jurong East MRT interchange station, Westgate and IMM Building via J-Walk, which is a covered elevated pedestrian network in the district, the statement added.

Jurong East interchange station now serves the East-West and North-South lines, and will link up with the future Jurong Region Line, which will open in phases from 2027.

The planned development will also be linked to the upcoming Jurong East Integrated Transport Hub, which will include an air-conditioned bus interchange, a public library, a community club and a sports centre, among other commercial spaces.

CapitaLand Development Singapore’s chief executive, Mr Tan Yew Chin, said the development is expected to be launched for sale in the second half of 2023.

The Jurong Lake District development is expected to become Singapore’s largest business district outside the central area.

It is slated to provide about 100,000 new jobs and 20,000 new homes between 2040 and 2050, adding to the one million residents already living in Singapore’s west region, CapitaLand added.

JCube is home to Singapore’s only Olympic-size ice-skating rink and is a training venue for national athletes from the Singapore Ice Skating Association and the Singapore Ice Hockey Association. The only other ice rink is located at Leisure Park Kallang.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a Sport Singapore spokesman said the organisation is “working with the respective national sports associations for ice sports on plans for alternative facilities to support our athletes’ short- and long-term training needs”.

Recreational figure skater Willis Lau, 24, called the closure of the ice rink “a shame”.

“This will mean that many skaters would lose a key practice venue. This is especially important for competitive skaters,” said Mr Lau, who has been skating at JCube once or twice a week since 2017.

JCube is home to Singapore’s only Olympic-size ice-skating rink. ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
CapitaLand said it is working closely with the tenants of JCube and providing the necessary support to ensure a smooth handover of the premises. ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO

Adding that he hopes a replacement rink will open soon, Mr Lau, a fourth-year environmental studies student at the National University of Singapore, said his ice-skating plans after the rink’s closure remain uncertain.

“I am likely going abroad for a year, so I will shift overseas for ice-skating. But not many people are given this opportunity,” he said.

“I think I might go to Kallang if a new rink does not open by the time I am back or I might just stop skating if the ice conditions at Kallang are not up to par.”

Mr Edwin Lim, a co-founder of pasta takeaway kiosk PastaGo, a JCube tenant, said the company is hoping to find a suitable replacement in Jurong because of its ideal demographic and vibrant food and beverage scene.

“Maybe malls such as Jurong Point, Jem and Westgate, but we are expecting the rental there to be much higher,” he said.

Come August, employees at PastaGo’s JCube outlet will be transferred to its new outlet at Hillion Mall in Bukit Panjang, which is slated to open in March.

PastaGo opened in JCube in May 2022. Mr Lim said that when the company was negotiating with CapitaLand on a three-year lease in February 2022, there was no mention that JCube would be closing down to make way for a residential development.

Correction note: An earlier version of this article stated that the Jurong East MRT station will serve the upcoming Cross Island Line. This is incorrect.

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