People’s Park Complex assessed to be of ‘high heritage significance’, may affect collective sale

SINGAPORE: People’s Park Complex may be considered for conservation due to its “high heritage significance” and the collective sale effort should take that into account, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday (Dec 22).

Completed in Chinatown in 1973, People’s Park Complex was the first mixed-use commercial and residential development in Southeast Asia. At 31 storeys tall and occupying more than 10,358 sqm, it was the largest shopping complex in Singapore.

The buildings’ owners initiated a collective sale process after its multi-storey carpark sold in 2021 for S$39.33 million (US$29.7 million). The current reserve price for People’s Park Complex is S$1.3 billion.

“URA has reached out to the MCST (management corporation strata title) and Collective Sales Committees representatives for People’s Park Complex, and informed them that URA has assessed the building to be of high heritage significance, and that the collective sale effort should take into account the on-going conservation study and its findings,” said a URA spokesperson in response to CNA queries.

Tag Realty business development director Anna Tan, the sales agent, told CNA it has been engaging in dialogue with URA to understand the conservation plans, adding that conservation efforts may generate heightened interest from potential buyers.

“While conservation initiatives may often present limited opportunities, collaborating with URA to facilitate the conservation process during the ongoing collective sale could open up new possibilities,” she said.

“We firmly believe that a synergistic approach with URA not only safeguards the heritage of People’s Park Complex but also makes a positive contribution to the overarching development objectives for the central region, creating enhanced opportunities for potential buyers.”

Non-profit group Docomomo previously criticised the People’s Park Complex’s collective sale, arguing that the building’s demolition would be a major loss to Singapore’s built heritage.

“The conservation of post-independent People’s Park Complex and the neighbouring People’s Park HDB flats would go far in preserving the integrity and place identity of the entire city block, and the richly layered heritage landscape of Chinatown,” said the group in a statement on its website.

If gazetted as a conserved building, People’s Park Complex’s future developers will have to abide by conservation guidelines, making its redevelopment trickier than for other buildings.

To ensure that conservation does not undermine the owners’ collective sale efforts, the authorities may have to offer incentive packages to make development options more attractive to buyers, as was the case for the sale of the conserved Golden Mile Complex in 2022.