| |
![]() | |
Location | Orchard, Singapore |
---|---|
Coordinates | 1°18′16.11″N103°50′01.88″E / 1.3044750°N 103.8338556°E |
Address | 304 Orchard Road |
Opening date | 1977 (Podium), [1] 1981 (Apartment) |
Developer | Far East Organization, Ng Teng Fong |
Website | luckyplaza |
Lucky Plaza is a shopping centre located in Orchard in Singapore. Built by developer Far East Organization, Lucky Plaza was completed in 1981 and has proven to be one of the most successful shopping centres in Singapore. [2]
Before Lucky Plaza was built in 1977, Champion Motors stood at 304 Orchard Road. [3] The move-in of Champion Motors transformed Orchard Road into Singapore's ‘Motor Row’, displaying branded automobiles along the streets, and introducing the first-ever Volkswagen into Singapore. This form of brandishing signified the growing wealth in Singapore after the Second World War.
The 1960s heralded the explosive growth of the mass commercial aviation, facilitating the in-flow of tourists across the world. [4] This helped the State to identify the tourist market as having a massive growth potential – boost income, job and trade opportunities, and in 1963, the former Minister for Culture S. Rajaratnam, announced plans to develop tourism as a major industry in Singapore. [5] Thus, the newly formed STPB was appointed to carry out this massive plan. However, the private sector faced the challenge of limited resources to promote Singapore abroad as a tourist destination. This led to the State's effort to increase its funding for the development of the tourism industry in Singapore. One of the first places to be developed was the area of Orchard Road, where many hotels were erected. Therefore, beginning in the 1960s, Orchard Road began to undergo massive transformation, and the area was zoned for retail. [6] By the early 1970s, Orchard Road had already attained its status as the 'IN' shopping area and gained an international recognition as a shopping paradise in Singapore. [7]
Following the developments along Orchard Road, however, property values within this prime area began to grow, and motor traders were 'forced' to 'evacuate'. [3] By the late 1970s, many brands, including Volkswagen, shifted to Leng Kee Road and Alexandra Road, transforming the area into Singapore's new ‘Motor Road’.
The ‘exodus’ of the motor traders brought in the land developers. During the 60s and 70s, North Bridge Road and High Street were known as the prime dining and shopping areas in Singapore, accommodating many well-known retail stalwarts, e.g. Metro, Takral and Majeed Textiles. [8] On the other hand, at that time, Orchard Road was 'a leafy street lined with double-story shophouses'. Mr. Ng Teng Fong, the founder of Far East Organization, foresaw the shifting taste for better shopping and dining choice and envisioned the need for a 'vibrant main shopping street' in Singapore. Thus, Far East Organization became the first to venture into the development of Orchard Road, starting off with Far East Shopping Centre in 1974, followed by Lucky Plaza in 1977.
In 1978, many expected the 736 strata units and 30-storey commercial cum residential building (Lucky Plaza) to become a 'white elephant', despite that it was then one of the most expensive and largest development undertaken by a private developer. [8] Little did they expect that Lucky Plaza would turn into a huge success in 1978, drawing in waves of eager shoppers, mostly wealthy local shoppers who lived in Tanglin and Cairnhill areas, and Malaysians and Indonesians. [9] Lucky Plaza, designed by BEP Akitek Pte Ltd, pioneered the concept of a modern shopping mall – e.g. open vertical 'bazaar' as; the first multi-storey, fully air-conditioned shopping centre in the world [ citation needed ]; first golden bubble lift in South East Asia; well-designed positions of voids, foyers and concourses throughout the Plaza; wide corridors along shopping arcade; wide glass panels on both fronts of the shop for attractive display of goods. Such features won Lucky Plaza a mention in the National Geographic magazine. Furthermore, in the early years of its launch, small-scale businesses and individual shops selling luxury products such as jewellery, antiques, handicrafts and branded watches occupied the storefronts of Lucky Plaza.
On March 12, 2013, fast-food chain Jollibee opened its first branch in Singapore on the 6th floor of Lucky Plaza. [10] However the 6th floor store was shut down on November 30, 2023, [11] due to their opening of 10 more stores across Singapore. However, there is another Jollibee store was opened on the Basement 1 of the mall.
Back in 2014, there was an oversupply of retail spaces in Singapore. [12] These retail spaces were closer to neighbourhoods and away from the city area. The convenience of these suburban malls caused consumers to stay within their region to shop causing Orchard Road to suffer. In addition, newer malls within the City area have also affected the Lucky Plaza businesses.
Tenants in Lucky Plaza also suffered heavy losses from the heavy rain in 2015. The heavy rain resulted in leakages in the ceilings and damaging the property of the unitholders. [13]
On 29 December 2019, six Filipino domestic helpers were struck by a car that sped out of control outside Lucky Plaza's apartment block, with two of the women killed instantly, injuring four other women. The 64-year-old driver was arrested for reckless driving causing death. [14] [15] [16]
BEP Akitek Pte Ltd. developed the concept of an open vertical 'bazaar' as to its central position in the middle of the Orchard Road tourist district.
The prime location prompted the idea of placing the traditional arcade 'on end' in the form of a series of stacked galleries, interconnected by escalators and glass lifts, around a high open space. These internal pedestrian streets are linked to that outside and a multi-storey carpark at the rear.
Lucky Plaza has a range of shops selling perfume, Filipino products, cosmetics, bags, shoes, sports goods and electronics. There is a food court in the basement that sells local fare.
Orchard Road, often known colloquially as simply Orchard, is a major 2.5 km (1.6 mi)-long road in the Central Area of Singapore. A famous tourist attraction, it is an upscale shopping area, with numerous internationally renowned department stores, shopping malls, restaurants, and coffeehouses located in its vicinity.
Ngee Ann City is a shopping and commercial centre located on Orchard Road, Singapore. The S$520 million building was officially opened on 21 September 1993 by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.
Orchard MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) interchange station in Singapore, on the North South (NSL) and Thomson–East Coast (TEL) lines. Situated along Orchard Boulevard and underneath ION Orchard, the station serves various commercial and retail developments of the Orchard Road shopping district, including Liat Towers, Ngee Ann City, Wheelock Place, Wisma Atria and Shaw House, among others.
Raffles City is a large complex located in the Civic District within the Downtown Core of the city-state of Singapore. Occupying an entire city block bounded by Stamford Road, Beach Road, Bras Basah Road and North Bridge Road, it houses two hotels and an office tower over a podium which contains a shopping complex and a convention centre. The mall is managed by CapitaCommercial Trust and CapitaMall Trust. It was completed in 1986.
Plaza Singapura is a contemporary shopping mall located along Orchard Road, Singapore, next to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. The mall is managed by CapitaLand and owned by CapitaMall Trust. There are retail outlets over seven floors and two basements. The mall has a 752 lot seven-storey carpark at the rear of the building, and a two basement goods bay beneath it. The mall is popular with families, teenagers and young adults.
Bukit Bintang is the shopping and entertainment district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It encompasses Jalan Bukit Bintang and its immediate surrounding areas. The area has long been Kuala Lumpur's most prominent retail belt that is home to many landmark shopping centres, al-fresco cafés, bars, night markets, food street, mamak stalls as well as hawker-type eateries. This area is popular among tourists and locals, especially among the youths.
The Centrepoint is a shopping mall in Singapore which opened in 1983 as Centrepoint Shopping Centre until its renaming in 2006 as The Centrepoint.
Ng Teng Fong was a Singaporean real estate tycoon with a major presence in Hong Kong. He is the father of Robert Ng. In 1997, Forbes listed the two as the 30th richest people in the world.
This article shows the notable future developments in Singapore. Most of them are currently under construction with most to be completed within the next five years.
Tanglin is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Tanglin is located west of Newton, Orchard, River Valley and Singapore River, south of Novena, east of Bukit Timah, northeast of Queenstown and north of Bukit Merah.
The Paragon is a luxury shopping complex located in the Orchard Road area of Singapore.
Metro is an Indonesia based chain department store selling cosmetics, apparel and fashion accessories. Founded by Ong Tjoe Kim in 1953, Metro currently has 12 outlets located across Indonesia and 2 in Singapore.
The Verge, formerly Tekka Mall,, was the first and largest modern shopping mall at the Little India precinct in Singapore, being opened in 2003. The Verge had two buildings, the main building and Chill @ The Verge. It was located on the southern part of Little India, with the main building is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Sungei Road and the Chill @ The Verge is located at the junction of Perak Road and Sungei Road. Both of the buildings were separated by Clive Street and the mall lies opposite of Tekka Centre across Serangoon Road. The complex was demolished in 2017 to make way for redevelopment after 14 years of operation, making it one of the youngest malls in Singapore to shut its doors.
Golden Mile Complex is a high-rise commercial and residential building on Beach Road in Kallang, Singapore, within walking distance to Nicoll Highway MRT station. The building was formerly known as Woh Hup Complex. Prior to collective sale, the complex contained 411 shops and 500 parking spaces. The building was largely an ethnic enclave for the Thai population in Singapore.
International Plaza is a high-rise commercial and residential building at 10 Anson Road in Tanjong Pagar, within the Downtown Core of Singapore, next to Tanjong Pagar MRT station on the East West line.
West Coast Plaza, formerly known as Ginza Plaza is a mixed retail and residential development in West Coast, Singapore. The retail building is a 3-storey development totaling approximately 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) of retail space.
Far East Organization is the largest private real estate developer in Singapore. Founded in 1960 by Ng Teng Fong, the company has businesses in property development, retail, hospitality, and food and beverage brands in Asia and Australia. It is currently managed by Philip Ng, whose brother Robert runs the Hong Kong-based sister company Sino Group. The two refer to Far East Organization as a Christian enterprise.
Orchard Towers is an 18-story office building in Singapore located on the corner of Claymore Road and Orchard Road. Construction was completed in 1975. The first five floors are a combination of bars and retail outlets with the remainder leased as offices. During the day the building functions as a retail and office style building, but the building is best known as a landmark entertainment complex famously described as the "Four Floors of Whores" or simply the "Four Floors". In addition, one of the towers houses 58 freehold condominium residential units.
Chinatown Point is a shopping mall located in Chinatown, Singapore next to Chinatown MRT station at the junction of New Bridge Road and Upper Cross Street. It is a mixed development which includes a 25-storey office tower located right above the mall. Constructed in the 1980s, the mall opened in 1990. From 2011 to 2012, the mall underwent renovations after a change in the management. It held its soft core launch in year-end 2012 and was fully operational in the 2nd quarter of 2013.