Bedok Mall over 85 per cent leased ahead of opening

SINGAPORE - Bedok Mall, a large basement shopping complex linked to Bedok MRT station, is already more than 85 per cent leased and will open before Christmas this year, CapitaMalls Asia said on Thursday.

It is part of an integrated development together with CapitaLand's 583-unit condominium Bedok Residences, which will stand above the mall.

At a topping-out ceremony for the mall yesterday, Senior Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said the building of Bedok Mall "marks the first phase of the town centre's exciting transformation".

Mr Lee, who is also adviser to East Coast GRC grassroots organisations, was the guest of honour at the ceremony.

He added that several agencies worked closely with the mall's developer to minimise inconvenience to residents from the construction works.

For instance, the Land Transport Authority helped widen some of the roads along Bedok North Street 2, he said.

Bedok is Singapore's largest estate with around 300,000 residents.

With a net lettable area of around 220,000 sq ft, Bedok Mall is around the size of the Junction 8 shopping mall in Bishan.

It has more than 200 shops spread across three levels. The anchor retail tenant is gourmet supermarket FairPrice Finest. Other retail tenants include clothing retailers Uniqlo, Dorothy Perkins, G2000 and Cotton On.

In a nod to the proximity of the popular Bedok hawker centre at Block 207, CapitaMalls Asia said yesterday that the mall will not have a foodcourt.

However, it will have dining outlets such as French bistro Poulet, ramen restaurant Menya Musashi, dim sum chain Din Tai Fung and cafe Old Town White Coffee.

The mall's lowest level will be directly connected to Bedok MRT station. The new air-conditioned Bedok bus interchange, which will begin operations next year, is located above the mall.

Bedok Residences, which sits above the mall, will be completed in 2015.

It is nearly 96 per cent sold, with 558 out of the 583 units moved as at the end of last month. New sale prices have ranged from $1,273 per sq ft (psf) to $1,355 psf since the start of this year.

Mr Philip Yim, general manager of Bedok Mall and Bedok Residences, said yesterday that the asking price for the unsold units was around $1,300 psf.

The completion of the mall will add another shopping centre to Bedok town centre.

Just down the street along New Upper Changi Road is Bedok Point, a four-storey mall which is slightly over a third the size of Bedok Mall with a net lettable area of 80,985 sq ft. It began operations in December 2010.

melissat@sph.com.sg

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