Beach Road's Furniture Mall has closed its shutters to make way for a new block of serviced apartments operated by Pan Pacific Hotels Group.

A 180-unit block will replace the three-storey home furnishing mall. It will be ready by the first quarter of 2013.

The 104,000 sq ft Furniture Mall is located in a 32-storey mixed-use building called The Plaza, which is owned by local property developer UOL Group.

Pan Pacific Hotels Group is a subsidiary of UOL Group.

The Straits Times reported that 40 of the mall's 52 tenants have moved to a new building at 10 Toh Guan Road in Jurong. The remaining tenants have found alternative locations or shut down.

Many stores in the new mall have already started business, although the mall's official opening is on May 19.

According to the English daily, other buildings in the area have also closed down to make way for an office cluster which will complement the Marina Bay and Raffles Place financial district.

The old Keypoint will be converted into a new commercial and office development.

The South Beach project, with apartments, hotel rooms, offices and retail space, will be completed in 2015.

A property firm's group managing director said the new serviced apartments will provide another tier of commercial facilities on the fringe of the Central Business District to support businesses within it.

The entire location's proximity to town, offices and other amenities is an ideal location for serviced apartments he said.

The new serviced apartments will cater to expatriate professionals, managers and executives, The Straits Times said.

Tenants in the new mall are optimistic about their location due to its proximity to Jurong East MRT station, with the Furniture Mall's managing director expressing optimism in hitting its target $100 million in turnover a year for the mall's 40 tenants.

However, the handful of furniture shops left at The Plaza are worried that customers will no longer visit their shops.

paullim@sph.com.sg