by Wan Ting Koh and Claris Ng
PEOPLE’S Park Complex is old. And its not just its worn-out facilities that reflect its age. A number of old tenants remain at the complex – since the mall’s construction was completed in 1973.
The mall’s stalwart, Overseas Emporium, has a management office on the fourth floor, in the same building. It has been anchored on the second floor of the complex since as early as 1972, though it has relinquished its hold on the third floor. The departmental store, which sells clothes, pharmaceutical items, and electrical appliances imported from China, has rented out its space on the third floor and settled for 20,000 sq ft on the second floor.
Another old-timer is Poh Heng Goldsmiths and Jewellers, now known as Poh Heng Jewellery. The jewellery shop had its flagship branch’s grand opening in People’s Park Centre in November 1970. The branch still stands on the ground floor of the complex today. Its neighbour, Nam Ho Travel, has been accompanying it for as long as 43 years.
On the second floor, an optometry has been overlooking the main atrium since 1982. Its owner, Steven Woei, 58, first started out as an apprentice at the optometry before taking over the business, named Associated Optical Company, in 1984.
Said Mr Woei: “In the 1980s, there were a lot of boutiques. The Sing dollar and Malaysian Ringgit were on par then, so Malaysian girls come here to buy a lot of clothes and they buy without trying them on. That was the booming period. Locals, Filipinos, Thais and Indonesians came here to shop and the mall became quite international.”
But the mall gradually lost its foreign clientele as the Sing dollar became stronger, according to Mr Woei. The flurry of new malls like Lucky Plaza, Katong Mall, City Plaza and Peninsula Plaza were to blame as well. “Faced with new malls, this mall lost its lustre,” said Mr Woei.
When asked how the mall became what it is today, Mr Woei said that travel agencies and beauty parlours started congregating in the mall in the late 2000s. Now when shoppers head to People’s Park, they “come here specifically for a purpose”, said Mr Woei, citing his own clients, who are long-time customers.
When it was first built, People’s Park Complex was home to a nightclub, cabaret, a Chinese restaurant and a coffee house. The $16.5 million complex, consisting of 31 storeys – 25 of them residential floors -was developed by People’s Park Development Pte Ltd. Its managing director Ho Kok Cheong lauded it as “the first and the grandest multiple complex in Asia, catering for everything under the sun in one roof”.
The complex, located right next to Chinatown MRT and along Eu Tong Sen Street, was developed with the notion of creating a modern Chinatown to attract tourists. However, Mr Ho hoped to engage the local population as well. “Our aim is to capture the bustling activity, the nightlife and the noise of the original People’s Park,” said Mr Ho, in 1969, adding that analysts estimated 30,000 pedestrians in the area daily.
These pedestrians would consist of people who come by for the “facilities for non-shoppers”. The vast void in the main atrium served as a performance area for musicians to bask, and models to display the latest fashions to the public, free-of-charge.
And even before the complex was fully opened, in its first phase in 1969, advertisements calling for companies to set up offices there were published. These advertisements claimed that the “superb offices” in the complex were the “ideal office accommodation or highly profitable investment” and was “designed for prosperity.”
Beauty parlours rule
When we visited on a weekday afternoon, the mall was still bustling with pedestrians, ranging from curious tourists, to Singaporeans visiting the money changers, and to regular customers visiting massage parlours. In fact, one well-known money changer on the outer atrium of the ground floor had a snaking queue.
Apart from those services, the mall’s main draw is its cluster of beauty parlours, travel agencies, and shoe shops spread throughout the five floors of the mall’s commercial concourse. The mall has a reputation as an “old-people place” and certainly, when we visited, we observed a substantial number of senior citizens.
The complex is no longer as lively as it used to be in the 1980s, however it still sees regular customers visiting the mall for its money changers, and beauty and massage services.
Another tenant noted that the mall has “quietened down quite a bit” as compared to the past. Ms Loh, the owner of a shop selling luggages on the first floor, said that apart from the usual suspects, shop spaces often change hands. “There is a change of hands every one to two years, but new tenants are quick to take over the vacant stores. Many become beauty parlours,” said the 48-year-old in Mandarin.
Three spaces on the first floor were for rent, while two were undergoing renovation on the second floor. On the third floor, where massage parlours reigned, two units were up for rent. The number of vacant units was more significant on the fourth floor, which was occupied by private companies. About four were vacant. The only two units on the first floor, previously occupied by Five Stars Tours and Canto Kitchen, were vacant. These companies left only rubbish in their wake.
Second life?
One unexpected tenant that has set up home in People’s Park Complex in recent years is LePark, a bar on the roof of the sixth floor at the complex. Its neon sign and distinctive metal shutter, which one has to draw open to enter the pub’s space, welcomes patrons as they climb the staircase landing from the fifth floor. The bar’s presence has injected a fresh lease of life into the mall’s usual older thoroughfare, drawing youngsters to the ageing mall.
An employee who has worked part-time at one of the offices in the mall for the past three years, recalled that she had encountered a number of teenagers who were wandering around the mall trying to get to the pub before asking her for directions. Ms Huang, who does admin for Tye Ah Pte Ltd on the fourth floor, said that in general, older Singaporeans as well as Chinese nationals visit the place for massages and beauty related purposes. She said that the faulty air con, which frequently leaks water, is symptomatic of the building’s age.
However, when asked about her impression of the mall, she said: “It’s weird. It gives me a weird feeling.” She described the building’s layout as “unique” as one could get an overview of the other tenants from the top floor.
Another tenant who wanted to be known as Ms Anna, disagreed about the number of youngsters who visited the mall. From her booth which sells clothing and blankets from the main atrium on the first floor, she rarely witnesses youngsters come by, except to change money at the changers.
Now she sees mainly Chinese nationals, who come during the weekends after receiving their salaries, and elderly Singaporeans. She blames poor foot traffic on the economy, as well as on the casinos which opened here six years ago. These factors drew tourists away from Chinatown, she said, adding that business in general tended to die down after the Chinese New Year period.
Ms Sally Tan, the owner of a massage parlour on the second floor, believes that for service-oriented businesses such as hers, the crucial factor lies in the “quality of service” provided. “As long as we provide quality service, customers will return,” she said.
And this was true to a certain extent. When we visited Mr Lim Foot Reflexology on the third floor, we found that the massage parlour was running a brisk business. Customers – mainly executives and tourists – were arriving every few minutes, most with loyalty cards that indicated their extensive patronage. The counter staff for the parlour, 70-year-old Madam Kek Ai Choo, first visited People’s Park Centre when it first opened to purchase Chinese New Year goodies. “There used to be a lot more people and shops selling clothes. Now it’s not so crowded,” said Madam Kek.
People’s Park Complex tried its best to retain its customers and gain new ones. Two decades after its first launch, the building underwent a $6 million facelift in order to lure more shoppers. Management Corporation Chairman Lim Fang Chee said that it was time to modernise the building to keep up with the other commercial properties around today, while retaining the distinct “Oriental flavour” of the place. Much effort was made to keep the “bazaar-like character” of the building.
Companies and shoppers weren’t the only thing the complex attracted however. In 1984, an Indonesian businessman who rented a flat on the 17th floor of the complex turned it into a hotel with five air-conditioned cubicles. He was fined $700. In 1990, two drug traffickers were found to have heroin in their possession at a flat on the 27th floor of the complex.
Problems
People’s Park Complex was also plagued by a soaring number of complaints filed against their travel agencies and mobile phone shops between 2011 and 2014. These included high profile cases in which two mobile shops, Mobile Alliance and Tele Infinity, had to cease operations after the numerous complaints lodged against them. The management then collaborated with the Consumers Association of Singapore and installed a self-service kiosk on the ground floor where consumers could file their complaints.
Complaints have been on an all time low ever since. Now Chinese nationals frequent the malls over the weekend, and come here to spend their cheques on Chinese goods. We spoke to Mr Dong Shan Su, 23, a Chinese national and team leader of Seletar Mall’s Sushi Express, who said that he visits the mall for “changing money, remittance, China cuisine and buying necessities.”
He added that People’s Park Complex offers a wide range of necessities that he used to purchase in China. First Emporium, which is located on the ground floor, is one of the grocers that offers imported Chinese goods. The grocer sells 20 satchets of Pu Er tea for $1.50, among other goods.
Mr Dong added with a smile: “This mall is like a meeting place for friends and colleagues. We come here together to have a good meal after receiving our pay, we love the food here.”
A Burmese tourist, Ms Maykhinehninphyu, came across People’s Park Complex as it was in Chinatown – a popular tourist destination. When asked what she liked about this mall, she said, “[The things they sell here are] cheaper than other malls”. She shared that she had been to Nex, the biggest mall in the North-East region of Singapore but that the things were pricier there. “Nex is more expensive. I will buy my stuff here [People’s Park Complex]. Especially their watches,” said the 17-year-old.
This is the third of a four-part series on old malls. Read about City Plaza and Golden Mile Complex.
Additional Reporting by Vishnu Preyei.
Featured image by Najeer Yusof.
If you like this article, Like The Middle Ground‘s Facebook Page as well!
For breaking news, you can talk to us via email.
The post [Old Malls] People’s Park Complex: Old players and old timers appeared first on The Middle Ground.