Clarke Quay, Singapore’s iconic riverfront dining and lifestyle hub owned by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) and managed by CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI), is extending its appeal from a nightlife attraction to a day-and-night destination with a SGD62.0 million asset enhancement initiative (AEI).
The scope of the AEI includes improving the daytime thermal comfort of the property’s inner streets, introducing tenants with an exciting blend of lifestyle and F&B concepts that best utilise the reinstated godown typology of the conserved warehouses at Block B, enhancing the selection of day- and-night dining options, updating the outdoor refreshment areas (ORAs) and working with tenants to make the property a pet-friendly attraction.
Popularly known as “CQ” for short, the property has added its initials to its name and will be marketed as “CQ @ Clarke Quay” locally and internationally to reflect its modern interpretation of Clarke Quay’s rich heritage.
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Located along the Singapore River at the fringe of Singapore’s Central Business District, CQ @ Clarke Quay is a unique conserved landmark with beautiful shophouses as well as restored waterfront godowns which were Singapore’s key warehousing facilities in the nineteenth century. After the AEI, CQ @ Clarke Quay will comprise three main zones, each with an exciting mix of day-to-night offerings. The three zones are:
- The Riverfront (Blocks A and D), featuring riverside dining in an alfresco or heritage shophouse setting;
- The Warehouses (Block B), offering an exciting blend of retail lifestyle and F&B concepts in a conserved godown; and
- The Circuit (Blocks C and E), showcasing high-energy concepts, entertainment and F&B establishments.
To date, pre-commitment from tenants and leases in advanced negotiations have reached over 70 per cent of CQ @ Clarke Quay’s net lettable area. The new tenant mix will offer a wide spectrum of day trade activities and retail offerings including breakfast and lunch options. The Warehouses will feature an all-new brewery concept by an award-winning hospitality group.
Other tenants in The Warehouses include a new music lifestyle experience by Swee Lee; a grocer with in-store dining concept curated by FairPrice Finest; a grand coffeehouse flagship by a Singapore specialty coffee brand; and a beauty salon and pottery-themed café Catching the Waves by Initia Group. Tenants in the other zones include spa and massage chain Natureland and Chinese seafood restaurant Seafood Paradise. Adrenaline junkies can look forward to Asia’s tallest Slingshot, an exhilarating ride that catapults 70 metres above Singapore River. In addition, existing key tenants Zouk Group and 1-Group will be refining their concepts to expand their day-to-night offerings in line with the repositioning of CQ @ Clarke Quay.
CQ @ Clarke Quay will continue to operate throughout the AEI, which will be carried out in phases from 3Q 2022 to 3Q 2023. The property has been a pioneer in adopting innovative and sustainable energy management solutions, having received the “ASEAN Energy Efficient Building Award for Tropical Design” in 2006 conferred by the ASEAN Centre for Energy.
With the upcoming enhancement of its property management systems, CQ @ Clarke Quay is expected to upgrade its green building rating conferred by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) from Green Mark Certification to Green Mark GoldPLUS upon completion of this AEI. Around 34 per cent of the total project cost is dedicated to green features, such as a more energy-efficient chiller and a new ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene) canopy.
Mr Tony Tan, CEO of the manager of CICT, said, “Along with acquisitions and divestments, AEIs are part of CICT’s multi-pronged portfolio reconstitution strategy to rejuvenate and create more value in our portfolio. The repositioning of CQ @ Clarke Quay is a timely move that will broaden its appeal to families in tandem with the urban renewal of the Singapore River precinct to incorporate more leisure amenities and residential developments, such as the 696-unit CanningHill Piers sited adjacent to CQ @ Clarke Quay. In addition, the property income is expected to be sustainable on a stabilised basis post-pandemic and after the AEI. We are also pleased to take this opportunity to upgrade the green rating of CQ @ Clarke Quay, upon which all 21 properties in our Singapore portfolio would have achieved a minimum rating of BCA Green Mark Gold.”
Mr Chris Chong, CEO of Retail & Workspace (Singapore & Malaysia), CLI, said: “As Singapore eases its COVID-19 community measures and reopens its borders, we have been actively positioning our downtown properties to welcome the return of more shoppers and tourists with experiential lifestyle concepts and vibrant community events. We are confident that the transformation of CQ @ Clarke Quay into a day-and-night destination with a wide range of lifestyle and F&B offerings enjoyed in beautiful riverfront and heritage settings will become a key highlight in the rejuvenation of the Singapore River precinct. It will also complement and generate new synergies with CapitaLand’s other downtown properties. We look forward to working closely with our tenants to ensure that the revamped CQ @ Clarke Quay continues to be globally known and locally loved, popular with both tourists and locals.”
Design highlights
The rejuvenation of CQ @ Clarke Quay is conceptualised by Singapore firms Meta Architecture and Formwerkz Architects. A key focus of their design is uncovering the origins of CQ @ Clarke Quay and finding ways to enable the discovery of some of these hidden stories. To that effect, the facade of the Block B warehouses will be given a new paint of heritage colours, which reference historical palettes and highlight the characteristics of the reinstated godown typology.
In a nod to Read Bridge’s past as a social gathering place for storytelling, upgraded steps that double up as seats will be added to the landing of Read Bridge, alongside a new accessibility ramp with lookout points. In addition, heritage panels, cast iron manhole covers and bronze plate tiles narrating the history of the Clarke Quay precinct will be distributed throughout the area to engage visitors.
To increase the daytime thermal comfort of the property’s inner streets, the existing angel- shape canopy will be replaced by one of the best-performing ETFE membranes in the market, which can reduce solar heat gain by up to 70 per cent while maintaining a comfortable daylight condition. A new omni-directional angel fan will be installed to enhance air circulation, while achieving more than 50 per cent in energy reduction as compared to the current single-directional fan. The new fan is also equipped with evaporative mist cooling, which can lower the environmental temperature by approximately 2°C without creating water droplets on surfaces. Providing environmental design consultancy for CQ @ Clarke Quay is London-headquartered Atelier Ten, which was also involved in optimising the thermal comfort of Jewel Changi Airport and Gardens by the Bay.
Source: CapitaLand
