Today, I read with "horror" about the new tender site awarded by HDB for the new Sengkang market and Food Centre. The "horror" portion? $500,100 rental per month!
I did a little digging and I've managed to find the list of bids submitted to HDB here. I cannot speak for the rest, but I seriously do not expect a high class Kopitiam in a neighbourhood food centre or market. If I'm looking for high class, I will go to Orchard Road or Vivocity, not Sengkang.
With such a high rental, the food/market stalls will most probably get a higher rental, which translates to higher selling prices for people living in the neighbourhood. I might have higher expectations but I thought that the range of prices of the final goods and services sold should also be taken into consideration, and it should be higher in priority.
If you look at the HDB link, there are a few other bids that hover around a certain pricing. Using an analogy, I believe that for those bids, the price of a plate of char siew rice will most probably be at around $3. For the winner, I think the plate of char siew rice would most probably be at $3.80 (Kopitiam pricing). The market stalls pricing, I shudder to think about it.
On the flip side, it's also a bit too early to jump to conclusions when nothing has been announced except for the final bid price. However, knowing that the winner is not a co-op, I do not hold out high hopes that the final selling prices will be affordable. It might be that HDB is trying to create a "Jurong Point" in Sengkang, to attract more families to setup their homes in that area. The final Sengkang market/food centre might also have a certain "theme" that draws a niche crowd. Maybe a seafood theme to fit the Punggol 21 plus theme? I guess we'll know in a few years time.
One thing I learned from all these years in Singapore is that things are mostly done for certain reasons, which might not be apparent. Wish the winner of the bid the best of luck. This is not really an ideal climate for high selling prices. I hope they know what they are doing.
2 comments:
I haven't been there but how are the food prices there?
It is almost empty. I think the price is quite high though.
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