Northpoint extension will add 300 shops to mall
PUBLISHED ONAugust 03, 2014 11:15 PMByAw Cheng Wei
Singapore's first heartland shopping mall is to be extended, in a move that will see it boast almost three times as many shops as it does now.
Northpoint, in Yishun, currently has 170 retail outlets, but about 300 more will be added when Northpoint City is completed in 2018. Plans were unveiled yesterday by Foreign Affairs Minister and Law Minister K. Shanmugam - who is also an MP for Nee Soon GRC - at an exhibition at the mall. Construction work is already under way.
The upgraded shopping centre will feature an air-conditioned bus interchange, a 4,400-sq-m town plaza and a roof-top community garden, as well as Singapore's first community club based within a mall.
A 920-unit residential estate called North Park Residences will also be built.
Mr Cheang Kok Kheong, chief executive officer of development and property at Frasers Centrepoint Limited, said Northpoint City will be "seamlessly linked" to the nearby MRT station, the town centre and the current mall.
Business at Northpoint, which opened in 1992, will continue as usual, he said.
The development is part of the Housing Board's Remaking Our Heartland initiative that aims to spruce up mature estates. "Nee Soon was among the first heartland towns to be selected," said Mr Shanmugam.
Yishun is also set to be boosted by more than 18,000 residential units, both public and private.
Next year, it will get a 15km cycling path, while Northpoint City will provide 300 cycling lots to encourage residents to exercise. An exhibition showcasing the mall extension will run from now until Aug 10 at the atrium of Northpoint Shopping Centre. Mr Shanmugam expects Northpoint City to bring the community closer.
"The results in Nee Soon speak for themselves," he said, referring to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Yishun Pond and its lookout tower and the upgrades to existing parks.
"They have been delivered, and more will come."
This article was first published on August 2, 2014.
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