Holland Village Market and Food Centre to close for renovations late next year

[The_King]

SINGAPORE - The market and hawker centre in the popular enclave of Holland Village will close for a six-month renovation some time in the fourth quarter of the next year.

The $1.26 million upgrade looks set to give the Holland Village Market and Food Centre new chairs, tables and cooked food stalls, with new electrical wiring to be installed, among other things.

An expression of interest posted by the National Environment Agency (NEA) earlier this month closed on Nov 20 with 17 respondents.

NEA said the aim of the works is to "enhance the condition of the centre and prolong its economic lifespan".

In response to queries about the plans, an NEA spokesman said the agency is currently at the stage of inviting consultants to express their interest in providing consultancy services for the works to the centre. Details about the plans have not firmed up.

According to Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao, the hawker centre has undergone regular maintenance works over the years and was last renovated in 2005. There are 21 cooked food stalls and 30 market stalls.

 

 

The NEA spokesman told The Straits Times that stall owners will be exempt from paying rent and service fees during the renovations and that rent will not increase after the revamp. She said the agency had been engaging stallholders in small groups on some of the possible changes.

 

"We will keep the stallholders and relevant stakeholders informed in good time on the duration and details of the R&R works."

While tenants agree the renovations will benefit them in the long run, some older tenants told The Straits Times on Wednesday they were worried that the long closure would hurt them financially and lose them customers. Some stall owners in their 60s and 70s also fretted about moving their things out of the stalls.

Fruit stall owner Lily Chua, 50, said it would be better for stall owners if the renovation could be postponed for a few years till the opening of the upcoming One Holland Village. The mixed-use development, which sits next to the hawker centre, is expected to be completed between 2022 and 2024.

"If we close for renovations, we will lose customers. The last time we closed for renovations for eight months and it took two years to establish ourselves again," said Madam Chua.

"But if the renovations are completed when One Holland Village is open, then it might be easier to get new customers since there will be residents there."

On the other hand, Madam Ng Bee Leng, 54, who works at a soya bean milk stall owned by her parents, said she was happy about the revamp.

"The surrounding area is being upgraded so we do need a makeover as well so that we can keep up. It will help with business in the long run," she said.

 

 

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/holland-village-market-and-food-centre-to-close-for-renovations-late-next-year

[ODACHEK]

So the economic bee hoon will no longer be cheap?