Revamped Tiong Bahru Plaza features modern and sustainable designs

Tiong Bahru may be best known as one of the heritage enclaves of Singapore as well as for the many “hipster” cafés in the neighbourhood but Tiong Bahru Plaza, after undergoing a two-year Asset Enhancing Initiative (AEI) programme, has been revived as a focus point of the area — complete with a slew of new commercial tenants and features.

“The revamp of Tiong Bahru Plaza aims to offer more variety and convenience to residents and shoppers. We added linkways and a 24-hour access walkway, creating a seamless transition from various public transport modes to the mall and their homes. To stay relevant to our shoppers’ lifestyle, we have introduced more than 30% new-to-mall tenants,” said Tan Kee Yong, managing director, AsiaMalls Management.

Some of the many F&B options include Dolce Tokyo by MOF, Tea Valley, O Banh Mi, Ajisen Ramen, Old Street Bak Kut Teh and Bangkok Jam.

New features lead to increased footfall

Tiong Bahru Plaza’s latest façade gives it a refreshed and updated look but the real difference is in the mall. Now, there are new communal areas at the piazza at Level 1 and the open terrace at Level 4, both of which will be used for outdoor events including farmers’ markets and music performances.

Furthermore, a sustainability initiative has resulted in 680sqm of the mall’s rooftop area being retrofitted with solar panels to provide an estimated annual energy saving of 138,000kWh. The temperature of the air-conditioning in the mall is also controlled in order to achieve sustainability. This effort has been awarded the Green Mark certification by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) of Singapore, and Tiong Bahru Plaza will further be targeting a higher Gold Plus or Platinum certification.

Situated on Level 3, Tiong Bahru Plaza’s new playground was inspired by the iconic sparrow playground design of the 1980s, making it reminiscent of the classic Singaporean playgrounds of yesteryear. Nonetheless, it features modern designs and functionality, as well as all-inclusive play elements — even children with special needs will be able to join in the fun. This includes a merrygo-round with handicap-accessible ramps, which allows children of all abilities to play together.

Other features of the playground space include a slide, a bird’s nest swing, a hammock forest, horizontal ropes, a vertical spinner, a trampoline, a see-saw and musical play panels. Next to the playground is a community space, allowing the young and old to utilise this place in the mall.

Tan added: “Basement 1 is now a vibrant marketplace with FairPrice Finest anchoring the floor. We have also kept the working parents in mind and included a new childcare centre.

“It is additions such as these that we have purposefully integrated into the mall that has led to a double-digit [percentage] increase in traffic footfall and, ultimately, for the community and residents to benefit from an enhanced mall experience.”

Revamped AMperkz rewards

The revamped AsiaMalls mobile app, AMperkz, has also been introduced to shoppers to enhance their experience in AsiaMalls’ shopping malls. AMperkz’s one-stop platform enables a shopper to easily make restaurant reservations, track parking lots and redeem AsiaMalls shopping vouchers. It is also accessible on the Web and at counters in the mall.

AsiaMalls has also tied up with restaurant reservation platform Chope, allowing shoppers to e-queue at restaurants in Tiong Bahru Plaza.