Change in Tanjong Pagar

Through the process of urban renewal, Singapore’s Central Business District rose above the ashes of a colonial town. From the 1960s to the 1990s, countless historic buildings were torn down for multi-use complexes and office skyscrapers.

But the wheels of urban renewal have not stopped turning - well-oiled by an open property market and the lure of good monetary returns. Some of these complexes and skyscrapers have been sold to developers and torn down to be replaced by newer buildings. The cranes and heavy machinery rumble on night and day.

This is playing out in the Tanjong Pagar area, between Tanjong Pagar Plaza and Keppel Road.

In 1983, 16-storey Euro-Asia Centre was completed at 15 Hoe Chiang Road. Nearby, 38-storey Fuji Xerox Towers at 80 Anson Road was completed in 1987. Then, in 1991, 27-storey Keppel Towers at 10 Hoe Chiang Road was completed, opposite Euro-Asia Centre. Not to be outdone, renovations were done on Euro-Asia Centre to extend its height by 13 storeys to 29 storeys in all; they were completed in 2004, and thereafter, it was renamed Tower Fifteen.

Base picture credit: Google Maps.

Not one of these buildings will reach their fourth decade of existence. All of them were recently sold for redevelopment. Demolition of Keppel Towers and Tower Fifteen commenced earlier this year, and is still ongoing. Woe to the residents of 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, who have front-row seats to a cacophony of drilling and hacking (below).

Keppel Towers in the foreground, Tower Fifteen in the background.

A close-up of Keppel Towers.

And their woe looks set to continue as demolition of Fuji Xerox Towers is about to begin.

For now, Fuji Xerox Towers is still standing tall; meanwhile, in the foreground, work has begun on One Bernam, a 35-storey condominium project at 1 Bernam Street.

At ground level: In front, a building about to be born; behind, a building about to go.

One Bernam should be completed by 2026.

Credit: HY Realty & MCC Land.

The skyline of the southern part of Tanjong Pagar will be transformed in the next five years. Watch this space.

Daffodil Snack Bar

Chanced upon this shuttered shop on the second floor of the Fook Hai Building, an ageing complex completed in 1976 at the junction of South Bridge Road and Upper Hokien Street. The shop is called Daffodil Snack Bar.

I love the old signboards.

A check on the name of the shop reveals that it was registered on 16 September 1976, around the time the Fook Hai Building opened.

There are two possibilities:

1. The shop opened here in 1976;

2. It opened somewhere else, then moved here later with the signboards.

Unfortunately, according to the same corporate profile, the business’ operating status was cancelled in 2017. I guess since then, no tenant has taken up the space.

Gone too soon, and when will the rest of the building follow?

A historic junction

This is the junction of Upper Thomson Road, Sembawang Road, and Mandai Road - a geographical landmark that has existed for around 170 years.

The junction used to be far smaller, as the trunk roads were not as wide - they started out as single-lane dual carriageways, but were progressively widened to accommodate heavier vehicular traffic. Today, Upper Thomson Road-Sembawang Road is a three-lane dual carriageway, while this stretch of Mandai Road, a single-lane dual carriageway, meets the junction as a two-lane dual carriageway.

The junction in 1954, marked with a blue dot.

At the time, it was the heart of Nee Soon Village.

Credit: Ministry of Information and the Arts Collection, courtesy of National Archives of Singapore.

The junction in the 1940s, including a sign for Nee Soon Post Office, which served the eponymous village. I wish the old, classic signs were kept!

The same location today - the attap house behind the men is gone, replaced by trees, bushes, and grass.

The junction in 1975, marked with a blue dot. More roads in the area had been built and / or named, such as Transit Road, Chong Kuo Road, and Thong Bee Road.

The junction in 1976. Nee Soon Post Office was the building on the left, along Mandai Road. The two-storey concrete building on the right was more than a century old, owned by 71-year-old Soh Chee Kim.

Credit: Singapore Press Holdings.

Mr Soh outside his dwelling. Sadly, this lovely, historic building - which had been occupied by the Japanese as an operational headquarters during World War II - was soon demolished for the widening of Sembawang Road.

Credit: Singapore Press Holdings.

The same location today. Somehow, the area doesn’t look as rural anymore. Perhaps it is because some of the greenery has been trimmed.

Nee Soon Police Station used to be at the southwest corner of the junction, but it has also been demolished, and the former site taken up by road widening and the creation of a filter lane connecting Upper Thomson Road to Mandai Road.

Fortunately, Nee Soon Post Office, just slightly to the west of the police station, has survived.

Today, the post office has been converted to Mandai Pet Sanctuary, at 5 Mandai Road.