The Verge (shopping mall)

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The Verge

The Verge by Day.jpg

The Verge Shopping Mall
Location Little India, Singapore
Coordinates 1°18′18.4″N103°51′05.0″E / 1.305111°N 103.851389°E / 1.305111; 103.851389 Coordinates: 1°18′18.4″N103°51′05.0″E / 1.305111°N 103.851389°E / 1.305111; 103.851389
Address 2 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218227
Opening date 2003
Closing date July 2017
Developer Corwin Holding Pte Ltd
Management UEMS Solutions Pte Ltd
Owner DRB-HICOM
Architect L&L Consultants
No. of stores and services over 50
No. of anchor tenants 1
Total retail floor area 238,527 square feet (22,159.9 m2)
No. of floors 8
Website theverge.com.sg

The Verge, formerly Tekka Mall, (Chinese: 德卡廊), 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 just 14 years of operation, making it one of the youngest malls in Singapore to shut its doors.

Shopping mall complex of shops

A shopping mall is a modern, chiefly North American, term for a form of shopping precinct or shopping center, in which one or more buildings form a complex of shops representing merchandisers with interconnecting walkways that enable customers to walk from unit to unit. A shopping arcade is a specific type of shopping precinct which is usually distinguished in English for mall shopping by the fact that connecting walkways are not owned by a single proprietor and are in open air. Shopping malls in 2017 accounted for 8% of retailing space in the United States.

Little India, Singapore Subzone of Rochor Planning Area in Singapore

Little India is an ethnic district in Singapore. It is located east of the Singapore River—across from Chinatown, located west of the river—and north of Kampong Glam. Both areas are part of the urban planning area of Rochor. Little India is commonly known as Tekka in the Indian Singaporean community.

Singapore Republic in Southeast Asia

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with Indonesia's Riau Islands to the south and Peninsular Malaysia to the north. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its total size by 23%. The country is known for its transition from a developing to a developed one in a single generation under the leadership of its founder Lee Kuan Yew.

Contents

History

In 1915, Kandang Kerbau Market at the junction of Serangoon Road and Rochor Road was built by the Municipal Commission at the cost of S$107,690 on the original site of Tekka Mall. Back then, it was one of the more popular markets in Singapore because its stalls offered the best cuts of beef and mutton due to the market’s proximity to the cattle ranches in the area. However, by the early 1950s, the market became overcrowded and congested, and there was a pressing need for the market to undergo upgrading works.

Tekka Centre

Tekka Centre is a multi-use building complex comprising a wet market, food centre and shops, located in the northern corner of Bukit Timah Road and Serangoon Road, in Little India, Singapore.

Serangoon Road one-way street in Singapore

Serangoon Road is a major road in Singapore, running from Little India to Kallang. It is a one-way road, with Jalan Besar and Bendemeer Road running parallel to Serangoon Road in the other direction.

The City Council of Singapore, or the Singapore Municipal Commission before 1951, was the administrative council of the City of Singapore responsible for the provision of water, electricity, gas, roads and bridges and street lighting. It was dissolved in 1959 when Singapore became self-governing and subsequently abolished upon Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia in 1965. The first fully elected council was elected in 1957, followed with a by-election in 1958. Prior to 1957 franchise was limited and there were appointed members.

Originally called Kandang Kerbau (KK), [1] meaning “buffalo pens” in Malay, the market is actually referred to the cattle slaughtering houses at Serangoon in the early 20th century. Its name was later changed to Tekka Pasar (笛卡巴刹), a unique combination in a name that made up of Chinese dialect and Malay, similar to that of “kopitiam”. Tekka means “the foot of the bamboo” in Hokkien while Pasar is “market” in Malay. In the seventies, there were many makeshift stalls lined up along Serangoon Road outside Tekka Market. The bustling place, selling almost all sort of basic necessities, was extremely popular among the housewives, and attracted a large mixture of Chinese, Malay and Indian customers.

In 1982, the Old Tekka Market [2] was torn down to make way for the construction and widening of nearby roads. All the stallholders were relocated to the new double-storey Tekka Market, also known as Buffalo Road Market, situated opposite the former old market. The new building, which houses a wet market, a hawker centre and rows of retailer shops, continues to demonstrate the multicultural cohesiveness and harmonious relationship between the local races of Chinese, Malay and Indian.

Chinese people ethnic group

Chinese people are the various individuals or ethnic groups associated with China, usually through ancestry, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship or other affiliation. Han Chinese, the largest ethnic group in China, at about 92% of the population, are often referred to as "Chinese" or "ethnic Chinese" in English, however there are dozens of other related and unrelated ethnic groups in China.

Malays (ethnic group) ethnic group

Malays are an Austronesian ethnic group and nation native to the Malay Peninsula, eastern Sumatra of Indonesia and coastal Borneo, as well as the smaller islands which lie between these locations — areas that are collectively known as the Malay world. These locations are today part of the nations of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, and southern Thailand.

Indian people ethnic group

Indians are the nationals or citizens of India, the second most populous nation in the world, containing 17.50% of the world's population. "Indian" refers to nationality, rather than a particular ethnicity or language; the Indian nationality consists of dozens of regional ethno-linguistic groups, reflecting the rich and complex history of the country. Due to emigration, the Indian diaspora is present throughout the world, notably in other parts of Asia and North America.

In 2003, Little India, Singapore's first air-conditioned mall was built on the site of the old Kandang Kerbau Market, which made way for the construction of Tekka Mall, now known as The Verge.

In July 2017, The Verge was officially closed to the public and demolition started in September.

Panorama of The Verge and Chill @ The Verge TheVergePanorama.jpg
Panorama of The Verge and Chill @ The Verge

Makeover

Despite being the first shopping mall in Little India, many tenants had a hard time doing business in the mall, with a number of them closing down their outlet. To improve this situation, Tekka Mall was refurbished to give it a more contemporary and brighter feel, with the mall also being renamed to The Verge. Also, it will be transform into an IT, lifestyle and F&B hub. On 16 July 2008, the mall was revamped, which also brought about the name change from Tekka Mall [3] to The Verge. The adjoining block underwent a makeover to target the youth, being renamed to Chill @ The Verge. The makeover was completed in 2009. Currently, discussions are underway to secure a number of electronics outlets.

Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to store, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate data, or information, often in the context of a business or other enterprise. IT is considered to be a subset of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system is generally an information system, a communications system or, more specifically speaking, a computer system – including all hardware, software and peripheral equipment – operated by a limited group of users.

Youth time of life when one is young

Youth is the time of life when one is young, and often means the time between childhood and adulthood (maturity). It is also defined as "the appearance, freshness, vigor, spirit, etc., characteristic of one who is young". Its definitions of a specific age range varies, as youth is not defined chronologically as a stage that can be tied to specific age ranges; nor can its end point be linked to specific activities, such as taking unpaid work or having sexual relations without consent.

Facilities

The ground floor houses ethnic Indian wear, F&B outlets and services. The fifth floor houses a collection of craft and florist shops. The retail shops are complemented with service providers. The mix of tenants ensures that there is something for everyone at The Verge. The Verge has undergone major improvement in 2014 to improve the traffic flow and accommodate the growing number of shoppers. The mall has now added a greater variety of food & beverage options for shoppers, which serve local favourites. The Verge is popular with families, youth and has household retail brands as tenants. There used to be a departmental store known as Shop-In on one of the top floors.

Chill @ The Verge, Little India, Singapore Chill @ The Verge.jpg
Chill @ The Verge, Little India, Singapore

Main Building

Although it is considered the main building, it is about half the size of the Chill @ The Verge. Before the makeover, tenants in the main building were mainly thrift shops, ranging from jewellery to household items to clothings. A food court and a furniture store also opened at The Verge. There were also some food outlets, a music school, a betting outlet, some travel agencies, a department store, a fresh market and a money changer. There was once a Burger King outlet at basement 1 but it has closed down due to lack of business. After the makeover, most of the shops are new tenants. Sheng Siong hypermarket now occupies the 2 basement levels of the mall, and a loading bay at the ground level.

Chill @ The Verge

Bigger than the main building, the Chill @ The Verge was once occupied by Sheng Siong before it moved its operations to the Main Building. Chill @ The Verge is largely occupied by nightclub entertainment, a tattoo shop on the ground level and parking facilities on levels 3 to 7. The new Rochor MRT Station has an exit located next to Chill @ The Verge.

One can walk between the main building and Chill @ The Verge either by crossing the road that separates the two buildings or use any of the three link bridges located on levels 2, 3, 5 and 6 of both buildings.

Transportation

Situated on a corner site with high visibility along two major roads within the popular tourist district of Little India, Singapore, the building is served by local bus routes and connections to major cross-island expressways.

By Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) from Rochor on the Downtown Line, Little India on the North East Line, Jalan Besar on the Downtown Line. (Opening in 2017) and Bugis on the East West Line and |Downtown Line.

Directions to The Verge Car Park from Clive Street and Madras Street Directions to The Verge Car Park.jpg
Directions to The Verge Car Park from Clive Street and Madras Street

Several major roads - Bukit Timah Road, Sungei Road, Rochor Canal Road, Selegie Road and Serangoon Road lead to The Verge.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Kandang Kerbau Market" (PDF). Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Tekka Market" . Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Tekka Mall" . Retrieved 2 October 2013.
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