Yishun 10 Multiplex Set to Make Way for Residential and Commercial Redevelopment

Opened in May 1992 and commonly known as GV Yishun, the building was designed by Australian architect Geoff Malone and built at a cost of S$37 million. It features 10 strata-titled retail units on the first floor, a 1,477-seat Golden Village multiplex with 10 cinema halls, and a basement carpark. Its tenants include Arnold’s Fried Chicken, Sri Murugan supermarket, and Indian eatery Komala’s.

The building is on heritage non-profit Docomomo Singapore’s list of 100 significant modernist buildings in the country, notable for its postmodern design with motifs drawn from science fiction. One of the developers, Mr John Crawford, was quoted in a 1994 Straits Times article saying his brief from Mr Malone was “to create something that looked as though it had landed in Yishun from outer space.” The building has spawned a whole generation of multi-hall theatres and contributed to Singapore’s cinema-going culture.

Frasers Property, which also owns the neighbouring Northpoint City in its portfolio, said the company explores potential uses for its existing properties as part of “assessing the highest and best use of our sites.” A spokeswoman added that having full ownership of Yishun 10 positions it well to unlock redevelopment value.

The building sits on a 99-year lease that ends in March 2089, giving any redevelopment a remaining lease of about 63 years. Based on URA’s proposed amendment, the rezoned site for residential and commercial use will have an area of about 3,500 sq m, roughly half the size of a football field, and a gross plot ratio of 3. Alan Cheong, executive director for research at Savills Singapore, estimated the site could yield 90 to 100 private residential units and about 2,780 sq m of commercial space.

Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at Mogul.sg, said redeveloping the building into a primarily residential property is a faster way for Frasers to monetise the capital value of the property compared with collecting rental income from commercial units. He noted that plans to keep the ground floor for commercial use make sense given Frasers’ ownership of Northpoint City, as there will be economies of scale to operate, manage, and market the commercial space.

Mak added that barring additional cooling measures for the private residential market, the proposed residential development should, when launched, set the benchmark for prices in Yishun. The site’s proximity to Yishun MRT station, within 200 metres, and its location next to Northpoint City give it strong locational attributes for a mixed-use development.

The Yishun Central area is also seeing other new residential supply, with three land plots near Yishun 10 earmarked for residential use. These include the site of the former Yishun temporary bus interchange, which is slated for demolition by 2027. The broader transformation of the precinct is expected to elevate property values across the Yishun Central corridor.