Retail News CRM

Tag: mixed-use development

  • Central Park Draws 25 Million Visits in First Year

    Central Park Draws 25 Million Visits in First Year

    Thailand’s Central Pattana has unveiled the next phase of growth for Central Park in Bangkok as the shopping centre marks its first anniversary in September 2026.

    The centre welcomed more than 25 million visits in its first year, including over 10 million visits from international tourists, placing it among the top-tier performers in the developer’s portfolio.

    Three Pillars for International Footfall

    Work on the next stage centres on a campaign dubbed Bangkok’s World Stage. This framework splits tenant curation and event programming into three tracks: Global Firsts, Global Culture, and Global Audience.

    Global Firsts secures exclusive product launches, debut store formats, and international brand partnerships new to Thailand. Global Culture runs live music, design exhibitions, and art installations throughout the complex. Global Audience steers marketing spending toward overseas tourists, touring creators, and commercial partners beyond Southeast Asia.

    Mixed-Use Integration in Central Bangkok

    The mall anchors the wider Dusit Central Park mixed-use development alongside grade-A corporate offices, a luxury hotel, and private residential towers. It features more than 1.12 hectares of elevated public green space. That parkland channels foot traffic between the retail concourses and the surrounding Silom and Rama IV commercial districts.

    Across Southeast Asia, retail developers are pivoting away from standard leasing toward event-driven programming. Operators in Bangkok, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur compete for big-spending tourists through regional brand exclusives and large cultural draws. But the strategy carries higher execution costs. Continuous programming and rapid turnover of experiential concepts demand heavier capital commitments than traditional leases.

    Building Out the Dusit Joint Venture

    Central Pattana conceived the retail asset to replace the historic Dusit Thani hotel through a joint venture between Central Group’s property arm and Dusit International. Construction launched under a multi-billion-baht master plan to protect downtown market share against rival mega-projects along the Sukhumvit and Chao Phraya corridors.

    Tenant handovers and new flagship openings under Global Firsts will roll out over the coming quarters. Remaining office and residential towers across Dusit Central Park will hit completion in phases over that stretch.

  • Singapore Land to Close Marina Square for 76,000-Square-Metre Revamp

    Singapore Land to Close Marina Square for 76,000-Square-Metre Revamp

    Singapore Land will close its Marina Square retail mall on March 31 to begin a multi-year redevelopment across more than 76,000 square metres of gross floor area. The project converts the standalone four-storey shopping centre into a mixed-use complex slated for completion in 2031.

    The overhaul will add three new towers to the site. These buildings will contain 204 luxury homes, a 260-key serviced apartment development, a 304-key hotel, and approximately 13,000 square metres of Grade A office space.

    New Towers and Rooftop Links

    Plans for the redesigned four-storey podium focus on experiential retail, sports, wellness facilities, dining, and pet-friendly outdoor areas. Direct roofscape links will connect the mall to the new towers and the precinct’s three existing hotels, which will remain open during construction.

    Singapore Land intends to use the retail podium as an active conduit between residential, commercial, and hospitality traffic throughout Marina Bay across different hours of the day. The developer plans to run community activations and events before the shutdown to maintain tenant sales and visitor footfall.

    “By adding residences, serviced apartments and workplaces alongside the existing hotels and repositioning the mall around experience-led retail, sports, wellness and community, we are creating a new ecosystem where people can live, work, stay and connect,” said Jonathan Eu, chief executive of Singapore Land.

    Rethinking Prime Downtown Retail

    The project reflects a broader trend across prime Asian commercial districts, where landlords are dismantling single-use suburban-style malls in favour of dense, mixed-use assets. With e-commerce shifting retail spending patterns and office attendance remaining flexible, central developers in Singapore and Hong Kong increasingly rely on on-site residential and hotel populations to guarantee daily mall traffic.

    Tenants at Marina Square will vacate ahead of the March 31 shutdown, with construction work running through to the targeted delivery date in 2031.