Singapore (7th November 2006) - In the last three years, over 40 businesses have vied for seven parcels of land in Tanglin Village. These property launches by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) have attracted businessmen and entrepreneurs to take advantage of the convenient locality and develop projects compatible with its rustic charm.
Recent visitors would have seen several improvements by SLA to improve the visitors' experience to Tanglin Village. These include landscaped plazas with visitor information, entrance and building markers and improved directional signage in this approximately 40 ha site.
Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee, Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, who was Guest-of-Honour at a morning site tour of Tanglin Village, pointed out that the mindset of adapting to the changing business and social environment is essential for Singapore's continued growth and vitality. Tanglin Village is a physical representation of this adaptive rejuvenation as these old buildings get a fresh lease of life and entrepreneurs create their unique value propositions in the village.
The tour related the story of Tanglin Village from its days as a plantation to an army camp, to its present day evolving enclave of lifestyle, education and arts interests. Tanglin Village is nestled near the good class bungalow area opposite the Singapore Botanic Gardens. This idyllic setting has become increasingly popular with a small diverse community of businessmen and entrepreneurs, chefs and educators, dancers and artists, architects and designers. At present, over 30 businesses and organizations call Tanglin Village home.
The main interest areas are in lifestyle services, education services and art events.

LIFE STYLE CONCEPTS
A number of new lifestyle concepts have taken residence in Tanglin Village in recent years. PS Café opened in December of 2005 and has proven to be a favorite haunt for celebrities. In 2006, two more alfresco dining concepts opened, namely Hacienda and Oosh. These will add to the existing stable of notable establishments including Highwood, the Wine Company and the Wine Network.
These concepts are not merely places to tantalize the palates but also opportunities for architects and designers to show off their skills. Two of these establishments, "PS Café" and "Oosh" are known to have engaged Aamer Tahler Design Studio to helm their projects. Oosh is touted as Singapore's largest alfresco bar and restaurant and sits on 110,000 square-foot land. The establishment houses several restaurants and bars, including a specialty Japanese restaurant, garden dining area serving quality European and Asian fares and a fine wine and cigar lounge - a concept that is both unique and exhilarating.

EDUCATION CONCEPT
St James Kindergarten with some 650 kids in its enrolment, is the largest kindergarten in Singapore. Developing its own curriculum, this kindergarten is one of the few in Singapore who can truly lay claim to "Nature and Nurture".
Other education concepts taking residence in Tanglin Village include the Overseas Family School and The Ballroom, a dance school for ballroom and different genres of dances.

ATRS CONCEPTS
Tanglin Village is one of the venues for the Singapore Biennale 2006 which will last from 4 September 2006 to 12 November 2006. A cluster of three buildings became exhibition sites to showcase a selection of 55 works by artists such as Agus Suwage & Titarubi (mixed media installation), Agathe de Bailliencourt (wall painting installation) and Alwar Babasubramaniam (mixed media installation).
Tanglin Village is chosen as one of the sites because it is a part of Singapore's history and opens up new spaces of imagination and inspiration for artists to present their works. It is also a prime location, just five minutes away from Orchard Road and accessible to visitors.

IMPROVEMENTS TO TANGLIN VILLAGE
Tanglin Village is organized into three clusters, named for the main arterial roads. They are the Dempsey cluster, the Minden cluster and the Loewen cluster.
In early August this year, the Singapore Land Authority undertook upgrading works in Tanglin Village to cater to the increased traffic and visitors. Two landscaped plazas were built to serve as information points and future event spaces. The two plazas, each carrying a village map, a tenants directory and a history storyboard, are located in the Dempsey and Minden clusters.
The entrances to Tanglin Village were marked by better signages, intersections carry directional signs, and each block has its own building markers carrying the names of the main tenants.

THE NEXT CHAPTER
The Singapore Land Authority expects to launch at least two more tenders for Tanglin Village over the next six months. Further details will be released in due course on SPIO.
The Singapore Land Authority intends to make further improvements to the surrounding infrastructure of Tanglin Village. These will include road improvements, night lighting improvements and improved signages to notable establishments. We remain committed to balance the need for safety and convenience while retaining as much of the rustic character of the Village.
The Singapore Land Authority welcomes ideas and feedback on the Village and would be proud to have Tanglin Village become a vibrant urban sanctuary for businesses and people to enjoy. This is a key demonstration project of the Singapore Land Authority for the adaptive reuse of government surplus properties.
Interested parties who wish to learn more about the properties available in Tanglin Village can refer to www.sla.gov.sg, for more information.

Issued by:
Singapore Land Authority
7th November 2006

Enclosures -

Appendix 1: Background and History of Tanglin Village
Appendix 2: Upcoming Properties for Tender

Appendix 1

Background and History of Tanglin Village
EARLY 1800s - 1860

Sir Stamford Raffles revamped the entire town four years after the founding of Singapore in 1819. Various land parcels were distributed to the ethnic groups for their businesses and trade.

The Chinese, particularly the Teochews, engaged largely in the agricultural business. They cleared large pieces of land for the cultivation of pepper, gambier and nutmeg. The former Tanglin Barracks was one of the flourishing nutmeg plantation sites. Due to a blight, the nutmeg cultivation came to an abrupt halt in 1857.

1860 - PRESENT

In 1860, a large portion of the nutmeg plantation at Tanglin was carved out for the construction of the Tanglin Barracks. This was intended as accommodation for the military troops in Singapore .

In 1867, there were plans to station a European regiment at the Tanglin Barracks. Extensive renovations were carried out. By 1893, Tanglin Barracks was home to 26 officers and 661 men of the only infantry battalion in Singapore, two artillery batteries, one company of Royal Engineers, and a few Sikh soldiers from the Chine Gun Lascars.

On 10 Feb 1972 , the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) decided to shift its headquarters to Tanglin Barracks, which had been vacated by the British Far East Land Forces. This move enabled MINDEF to centralise the Ministry and most of its main command and support organisations in one location. In 1989, after a 17 year stay in Tanglin, MINDEF HQ moved into its new home at Bukit Gombak. Tanglin Barracks was returned to the former Land Office in the early 1990s and subsequently progressively let out to the private sector.

Appendix 2

UPCOMING PROPERTIES FOR TENDER

Location : Blocks 25, 25A, 25B, 25C, 25D & 26B Dempsey Road

Site area : 13,356.70 sqm

Gross floor area : 2,164 sqm

Tenure : Till 2015

Usage : Retail shops, Furniture shops, Restaurant, Cafes, F&B outlets, Dance/Drama/Art School, Studio, Fencing Martial Arts/Archery School, Health and Fitness Centre, Spa and Yoga Studio, Exhibition Centre, Museum, Pet shop, Pet Café, Kindergarten, Pre-School, Cooking School, Corporate Retreat, Boutique Hotel, Bed & Breakfast.

Tentative date of Tender : December 2006

Location : Blk 45 Minden Road

Site area : 854 sqm (estimated)

Gross floor area : 468 sqm (estimated)

Tenure : Till 2016

Usage : Art/dance/drama studio, Restaurants/F&B/Café, Childcare/Student care/Kindergarten

Tentative date of Tender : First quarter 2007

About SLA

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimize land resources for the economic and social development of Singapore . SLA is responsible for the direct management of State land and buildings. It is also in charge of land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitized land information services. In addition, SLA is the national land registration authority for property transactions, and the issuance and guarantee of land titles in Singapore . It also manages and maintains the national land survey system, including the definition of legal limits of properties based on a coordinated cadastre survey system.