Yishun 10, S’pore’s first multiplex, set to make way for residential and commercial building

SINGAPORE – Singapore’s first multiplex, Yishun 10, is set to be redeveloped, based on a proposed change to the site’s land use.

On May 8, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) published the amendment proposing that the building, currently zoned for commercial use, be primarily for residential purposes, with commercial space on the first storey.

Opened in May 1992, the building – also commonly known as GV Yishun – is owned by Frasers Property, which has the neighbouring Northpoint City in its portfolio as well. URA said the proposed amendment was “to facilitate a development proposal” that the agency had received.

In response to queries, a spokeswoman for Frasers Property said the company regularly explores potential uses for its existing properties. This includes “assessing the highest and best use of our sites”, she said, adding that “having full ownership of Yishun 10 positions us well to unlock redevelopment value”.

On when the leases of the building’s existing tenants will expire, and if they will be allowed to see out their leases, the spokeswoman said: “It is business as usual at Yishun 10, and we will provide an update should any material development arise.”

Designed by Australian architect Geoff Malone and built at a cost of $37 million, the four-storey building has 10 strata-titled retail units on the first floor, a 1,477-seat Golden Village multiplex with 10 cinema halls and a basement carpark.

Its tenants include Arnold’s Fried Chicken, Sri Murugan supermarket and Indian eatery Komala’s.

Yishun 10 is on heritage non-profit Docomomo Singapore’s list of 100 significant modernist buildings in the country, and is notable for its postmodern design, with motifs drawn from science fiction.

One of the building’s developers, Mr John Crawford, was quoted in a 1994 Straits Times article saying that his brief to Mr Malone was “to create something that looked as though it had landed in Yishun from outer space”.

“Something that couldn’t be more different, if we tried, from its surroundings of HDB flats,” said Mr Crawford, who was from Australian cinema chain Village Roadshow, which partnered Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest to start Golden Village.

Docomomo Singapore chair Ho Weng Hin said the urban significance of Yishun 10 goes beyond its unusual appearance.

“Its presence in a new town made it a highlight, and it is a building that has been highly imageable for decades,” he said, adding that the building’s groundbreaking typology – Singapore’s first multiplex – spawned a whole generation of other multi-hall theatres and contributed to the country’s cinema-going culture.

Yishun 10’s value is also in the social memories that people have made there, said Mr Ho. He said that one way to retain memories of the building would be for the proposed residential and commercial development to retain elements of Yishun 10’s flamboyant facade, or to have spaces and events for the community that would allow the site to continue being a gathering space.

Mr Ho added that Yishun 10’s proposed redevelopment shows that new studies are urgently needed to assess the significance and potential conservation of buildings from around the 1990s that contribute to Singapore’s architectural history and represent the nation’s coming-of-age years.

The building’s site is on a 99-year lease that ends in March 2089.

Based on URA’s proposed amendment, the rezoned site for residential and commercial use will have an area of about 3,500 sq m – about half the size of a football field – and a gross plot ratio of 3.

Mr Alan Cheong, executive director for research and consultancy at real estate company Savills Singapore, said that based on these parameters, the site could yield 90 to 100 private residential units, and about 2,780 sq m of commercial space.

Asked if the proposed residential and commercial development will be more profitable for Frasers than keeping the building purely for commercial use, Mr Cheong said there is already a large amount of retail space in Northpoint City.

“Given that the site is located close to the Yishun MRT station and a bus interchange, the zeitgeist of the moment is for residential development,” he said.

“Mixed developments that are in proximity to transport nodes carry high sale value.”

He added that barring additional cooling measures for the private residential market, the proposed residential development at the site should, when launched, set the benchmark for prices in Yishun.

Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, said redeveloping the building into something that primarily has residential space for sale is a faster way for Frasers to monetise the capital value of the property, compared with collecting rental income from commercial units.

Noting plans to keep the ground floor of the redeveloped property for commercial use, Mr Mak said Frasers will benefit from its ownership of Northpoint City, as there will be economies of scale to operate, manage and market the commercial space in the new building on the Yishun 10 site.

Golden Village did not respond to ST’s queries on the future of its Yishun cineplex by publication time.

Besides the new homes being planned by Frasers, others are set to be built in the Yishun Central area, with three land plots near Yishun 10 also earmarked for residential use.

These include the site of the former Yishun temporary bus interchange, which is slated for demolition by 2027.