Part of National Aerated Water Factory will be conserved
A defunct bottling factory that produced soft drinks such as Kickapoo Joy Juice and Sinalco will now be conserved partially, an event welcomed by heritage lovers who had feared that the factory would be torn down.
Yesterday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced that the main building of the former National Aerated Water Factory in Serangoon Road will be conserved.
Its two-storey L-shaped building will be retained while the shed will make way for residential development.
URA said the conserved building will be integrated into a new residential development and kept fenceless along the main road and river.
Key features of the main building will be kept, including its signage tower, balcony with brick parapets, Art Deco timber transom panels and concrete sun shading ledge that spirals out of a circular window. The news comes after the factory site was sold in December last year to a developer who wanted to demolish it to make way for a private condominium, sparking appeals from heritage lovers.
Yesterday, URA said the building's new owner, Selangor Dredging, "is supportive of the conservation efforts and is working closely with URA to keep the building as part of our national history".
The freehold site with a land area of 31,705 sq ft is near Potong Pasir MRT station and could potentially yield 117 apartments averaging 70 sq m each, it was reported last year.
Selangor Dredging's managing director Teh Lip Kim said yesterday that the building will be transformed into a unique and lively commercial area next to the Kallang River.
Home-grown National Aerated Water was set up in 1929 in Jalan Besar. It moved into a factory off Serangoon Road in 1954. Itceased operations in the 1990s.
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