Great World City to undergo first major refurbishment in 20 years
Mall to remain open in its first major revamp in 20 years, estimated to cost more than $50 million
Great World City will get a facelift and more beginning mid-April, as it looks ahead to the opening of the Great World MRT Station on the upcoming Thomson-East Coast line in 2021.
Under its first major refurbishment in 20 years, the mixed-use development in River Valley will add 50 new tenants and three main access points to the MRT station.
Visitors to the mall will be greeted with a new design and facade and have a wider range of food and beverage offerings to choose from, owner Allgreen Properties said in a release yesterday.
Estimated to cost more than $50 million, works will be carried out over two years and should be completed by the third quarter of 2020.
The mall will remain open and major tenants such as Zara, Golden Village and Cold Storage will be unaffected, Allgreen said.
The mall's F&B offerings will increase from the current 20 per cent to 30 per cent of net lettable space when works are completed.
A key change will be a zone just for F&B on level one, where eateries can stay open for slightly longer hours on weekends and the eve of public holidays.
The food court will open to a new dining concept when it is relocated from the basement to level three in the first quarter of next year.
Basement one will house a new food hall concept alongside other retailers and F&B operators for a "marketplace experience", Allgreen said.
The new tenant mix will also feature a cluster of Japanese-focused retail and F&B tenants.
Anchor tenant Cold Storage, whose flagship supermarket is in the basement, said it would carry out its own store revamp to add "more experiential and technological initiatives", along with a new range of food and products.
An outdoor playground will also be built near the existing pedestrian overhead bridge on level two that leads to a bus stop along Kim Seng Road.
A new retail link in basement two will provide access between the mall and the upcoming MRT station.
Great World MRT station will also be accessible from level one and the pedestrian overhead bridge on level two.
Management for other malls located adjacent to upcoming stations along the new line - Thomson Plaza, Parkway Parade and Tanglin Mall - declined to comment on their plans.
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