Move over, Orchard Road: Downtown Core aiming to be new shopping haven

Is the iconic shopping belt under threat?

A new shopping haven is rising in Downtown Core, with over 1.5 million square feet of retail space expected to come onstream by 2016.

Data from Maybank Kim Eng show that this supply vastly outsizes previous supply, and is way above its projected demand of 0.5m sf a year.

“This move represents the remaking of the DC region as an alternative shopping enclave to Orchard as well as to serve the CBD office crowd,” stated the report.

Maybank Kim Eng noted that it remains to be seen if the remaking of the Raffles City-Suntec precinct could draw tourists away from the iconic Orchard Road belt.

“We do not expect this, given the long-standing appeal and wide-ranging offerings of Orchard Road,” the report noted.