Tengah's first supermarket and food court open at neighbourhood centre

SINGAPORE: Tengah's first supermarket and food court began operations on Friday (Jun 28), providing residents with retail and dining options.

The Giant supermarket and Koufu food court are located at Plantation Plaza, Tengah's first neighbourhood centre. Fast food chain McDonald’s has also opened at the retail street of the centre.

More shops will open progressively from the third quarter of this year, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said in a media factsheet.

As Tengah was being developed, there had been complaints about the lack of amenities and food options. Interim measures were introduced, such as a mobile grocery truck and vending machines. 

With the opening of the supermarket, the grocery truck service will cease operation on Friday, HDB said. The food and drink vending machines remain available.

To meet residents' needs, HDB said it "prioritised the calling and awarding of tenders for a supermarket and food court at Plantation Plaza".

The tender for the first batch of shops was called in September 2023, while the neighbourhood centre was still under construction.

"Both operators were informed of their successful bids within two months so that they could start planning early," HDB said.

RENOVATIONS IN JUST OVER TWO MONTHS

HDB said it worked closely with Giant and Koufu to expedite their move into Plantation Plaza.

This included facilitating site meetings, allowing them to conduct site measurements ahead of time and streamlining the renovation process.

HDB also prioritised the review of their renovation designs and accelerated the approval of necessary permits so that renovations could start immediately once the Temporary Occupation Permit for the neighbourhood centre was obtained in April.

This enabled both operators to complete their renovations in just over two months.

Giant, located in Basement 1 of Plantation Plaza, spans over 1,800 sq m and operates from 8am to 10pm daily.

Koufu, at Level 3, spans over 900 sq m and has 12 food stalls, with nine currently running. The remaining three stalls are set to open in August. 

The food court can seat 372 people at full capacity and has an outdoor section that overlooks Plantation Farmway, a linear green connector.

As part of HDB’s budget meal initiative, all food stalls offer a budget meal option priced at S$3 (US$2.20) or below, while the drink stall offers coffee and tea without milk at S$1 each.

ACCESS TO PLANTATION PLAZA

Plantation Plaza is connected by sheltered linkways to Build-to-Order (BTO) project Plantation Village, which was completed in January.

The neighbourhood centre is also within a 10-minute walk from all currently completed Tengah BTO projects.

Tengah residents may also choose to take an interim free shuttle bus provided by HDB or public bus services 870 and 992 to Plantation Plaza.

There is also a basement car park in the neighbourhood centre.

OTHER SHOPS

"A key aspect in the planning of new generation neighbourhood centres is the curation of tenant mix by HDB, taking into account the needs of residents," said the Housing Board.

There will be a mix of food and beverage outlets at Plantation Plaza, such as I Love Sukothai, Lau Wang Claypot Delights and Kei Kaisendon.

Other shops include Skechers and beauty service Japan IPL Express, while indoor swimming facility Happy Fish Swim School will also open its doors.

To support retailers while the resident population of Tengah is building up, HDB has provided staggered rent rates to retailers to help them ease into operations in a new town.

"HDB will continue to provide the necessary support to our tenants as they start their business operations to serve the needs of Tengah residents," it said.

When fully open, Plantation Plaza will feature over 10,000 sq m of retail space over five floors, as well as a retail street with eateries and shops that extends along Blocks 127A to 126A of Plantation Village.

The whole development will offer 75 shops. The remaining shops will open progressively from the third quarter, with the majority of the shops expected to be operational by the fourth quarter.

HDB's deputy CEO of estate Mike Chan said: “We are pleased that, after two months of tireless work by the operators, the supermarket and food court are now opened so that residents can get their groceries conveniently and have more food choices in the new estate.

"In the next few months, they can look forward to more shops in Plantation Plaza.

"Amenities and facilities require some time to build up in new towns as we develop the infrastructure, and we will continue our work to make Tengah a vibrant and liveable place for the community."

The stretch of Plantation Farmway that is located between Plantation Acres and Plantation Grange BTO projects was completed in May.

It features themed playgrounds, fitness corners and landscaped seating areas.

The next stretch, between the Plantation Village and Plantation Grove BTO projects, will be completed progressively from September, HDB said.

The entire stretch of Plantation Farmway will be opened by December.