Red House Project on track to reopen by 2nd quarter of next year

The iconic Red House in Katong, which once housed a famous bakery, is on track to reopen by the second quarter of next year as a residential and commercial development, along with five adjacent shophouses.

The row of six conserved shophouses are being developed by Warees Investments, the real estate development arm of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).

The Red House Project will house 42 residential units and five retail shops.

There will be a new halal bakery and heritage gallery, showcasing artefacts from the old bakery which was in operation from 1925 to 2003.

In a tour of the site yesterday, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-In-Charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim was briefed on the progress of the project, which was officially launched in 2013 and is currently 90 per cent complete.

"We hope to appoint a vendor to run the bakery in a way that not just endears to the community but also to the wider Singapore because it's an important icon to Katong," he said. "We want the Red House bakery to be that icon again, in terms of its service and products."

The development is expected to get its temporary occupation permit in the first quarter of next year.

Warees is in talks with prospective tenants for the bakery as well as the five other retail spaces.

Meanwhile, more than two-thirds of the residential units have been sold. The four lofts, 10 suites and 28 residences range from 441 sq ft to 1,206 sq ft. Costing about $1,500 per sq ft, the smallest unit will set a buyer back by around $661,500.

The six properties, consisting of shophouses at 63, 65, 67, 69 and 71 East Coast Road and the Red House at 75 East Coast Road, are wakaf properties or religious bequests by Muslims, and managed by Muis.

They were put in trust by philanthropist Sheriffa Zain Alsharoff Mohamed Alsagoff in 1957, whose great-grandmother Hajjah Fatimah built Hajjah Fatimah Mosque in Beach Road.

mellinjm@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on December 11, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.