SINGAPORE – Better known for its nightlife options, riverside lifestyle precinct Clarke Quay is getting a new lease of life as a day-and-night destination after a $62 million rejuvenation project.
Besides existing tenants like nightclub Zouk Singapore, the precinct – which has already seen 93 per cent of its tenancy spaces occupied – now also includes a FairPrice Finest and an upcoming fitness studio as part of its refresh.
CQ @ Clarke Quay’s official reopening on April 26 comes almost two years after a rejuvenation exercise that kicked off in August 2022.
The aim was to extend the appeal of CQ from a nightlife attraction to a vibrant day-and-night destination, said CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) management chief executive Tony Tan at the launch event.
CQ is owned by CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust and managed by CapitaLand Investment.
As part of the revamp, CQ @ Clarke Quay is split into three zones – namely The Riverfront (Blocks A and D), The Warehouses (Block B) and The Circuit (Blocks C and E), housing around 60 dining, retail and lifestyle concepts – of which half are new.
New-to-market and refreshed concepts
Many of the new food and beverage additions to the area are open till late, or round the clock, such as 24-hour modern kopitiam SG Hawker by the Fei Siong Group, and Mexican restaurant Senor Taco, which is open till 3am on Fridays and Saturdays.
New-to-market concepts include FairPrice Finest Clarke Quay, which has a Grocer Food Hall with vendors offering meals and heritage dishes that honour the area’s history. It also has a bar with curated cocktails infused with local flavours that are exclusive to CQ @ Clarke Quay.
This is the supermarket chain’s 40th Finest store in Singapore, but its first experiential store that pays tribute to the heritage of the precinct.
“Since the store’s opening in February, we have seen increased footfall from both locals and tourists,” said Ms Tan Huey Ling, head of channels (Hyper, Finest and eCommerce) for the retail business arm of FairPrice Group.
As for Clarke Quay’s reputation as a nightlife destination, CQ general manager Richard Phua said: “It’s about the balancing act to curate between the day, and day-and-night trade.”
In line with the repositioning of Clarke Quay as an all-day destination, venues like Home Singapore are offering both day and night options in one space. The dining spot offers brunch specialities in a cafe setting in the day, and live music in a lounge setting after sunset.
Mr Phua said that such venues help to lengthen the dwelling time of visitors in the area as well.