The Verge (shopping mall)

Coordinates: 1°18′18.4″N 103°51′05.0″E / 1.305111°N 103.851389°E / 1.305111; 103.851389

The Verge
Location Little India, Singapore
Address 2 Serangoon Road, Singapore 218227
Opening date 2003
Developer Corwin Holding Pte Ltd
Management UEMS Solutions Pte Ltd
Owner DRB-HICOM
Architect L&L Consultants
No. of stores and services over 50
No. of anchor tenants 1
Total retail floor area 238,527 square feet (22,159.9 m2)
No. of floors 8
Website The Verge

The Verge, formerly Tekka Mall, (Chinese: 德卡廊), is the first and largest modern shopping mall at the Little India precinct in Singapore, being opened in 2003. The Verge has two buildings, the main building and Chill @ The Verge. It is located on the southern part of Little India, with the main building is located at the junction of Serangoon Road and Sungei Road and the Chill @ The Verge is located at the junction of Perak Road and Sungei Road. Both of the buildings are separated by Clive Street and the mall lies opposite of Tekka Centre across Serangoon Road.

History

In 1915, Kandang Kerbau Market at the junction of Serangoon Road and Rochor Road was built by the Municipal Commission at the cost of S$107,690 on the original site of Tekka Mall. Back then, it was one of the more popular markets in Singapore because its stalls offered the best cuts of beef and mutton due to the market’s proximity to the cattle ranches in the area. However, by the early 1950s, the market became overcrowded and congested, and there was a pressing need for the market to undergo upgrading works.

Originally called Kandang Kerbau (KK),[1] meaning “buffalo pens” in Malay, the market is actually referred to the cattle slaughtering houses at Serangoon in the early 20th century. Its name was later changed to Tekka Pasar (笛卡巴刹), a unique combination in a name that made up of Chinese dialect and Malay, similar to that of “kopitiam”. Tekka means “the foot of the bamboo” in Hokkien while Pasar is “market” in Malay. In the seventies, there were many makeshift stalls lined up along Serangoon Road outside Tekka Market. The bustling place, selling almost all sort of basic necessities, was extremely popular among the housewives, and attracted a large mixture of Chinese, Malay and Indian customers.

In 1982, the Old Tekka Market [2] was torn down to make way for the construction and widening of nearby roads. All the stallholders were relocated to the new double-storey Tekka Market, also known as Buffalo Road Market, situated opposite the former old market. The new building, which houses a wet market, a hawker centre and rows of retailer shops, continues to demonstrate the multicultural cohesiveness and harmonious relationship between the local races of Chinese, Malay and Indian.

In 2003, Little India, Singapore's first air-conditioned mall was built on the site of the old Kandang Kerbau Market, which made way for the construction of Tekka Mall, now known as The Verge.

Makeover

Despite being the first shopping mall in Little India, many tenants had a hard time doing business in the mall, with a number of them closing down their outlet. To improve this situation, Tekka Mall was refurbished to give it a more contemporary and brighter feel, with the mall also being renamed to The Verge. Also, it will be transform into an IT, lifestyle and F&B hub. On 16 July 2008, the mall was revamped, which also brought about the name change from Tekka Mall [3] to The Verge. The adjoining block underwent a makeover to target the youth, being renamed to Chill @ The Verge. The makeover was completed in 2009. Currently, discussions are underway to secure a number of electronics outlets.

Facilities

The ground floor houses ethnic Indian wear, F&B outlets and services. The fifth floor houses a collection of craft and florist shops. The retail shops are complemented with service providers. The mix of tenants ensures that there is something for everyone at The Verge. The Verge has undergone major improvement in 2014 to improve the traffic flow and accommodate the growing number of shoppers. The mall has now added a greater variety of food & beverage options for shoppers, which serve local favourites. The Verge is popular with families, youth and has household retail brands as tenants.

Chill @ The Verge, Little India, Singapore

Main Building

Although it is considered the main building, it is about half the size of the Chill @ The Verge. Before the makeover, tenants in the main building were mainly thrift shops, ranging from jewellery to household items to clothings. A food court and a furniture store also opened at The Verge. There were also some food outlets, a music school, a betting outlet, some travel agencies, a department store, a fresh market and a money changer. There was once a Burger King outlet at basement 1 but it has closed down due to lack of business. After the makeover, most of the shops are new tenants. Sheng Siong hypermarket now occupies the 2 basement levels of the mall, and a loading bay at the ground level.

Chill @ The Verge

Bigger than the main building, the Chill @ The Verge was once occupied by Sheng Siong before it moved its operations to the Main Building. Chill @ The Verge is largely occupied by nightclub entertainment, a tattoo shop on the ground level and parking facilities on levels 3 to 7. The new Rochor MRT Station has an exit located next to Chill @ The Verge.

One can walk between the main building and Chill @ The Verge either by crossing the road that separates the two buildings or use any of the three link bridges located on levels 2, 3, 5 and 6 of both buildings.

Transportation

Situated on a corner site with high visibility along two major roads within the popular tourist district of Little India, Singapore, the building is well served by local bus routes and has excellent connectivity to major cross-island expressways.

By Mass Rapid Transit (MRT):

By public bus:

Directions to The Verge Car Park from Clive Street and Madras Street

By car:

Several major roads - Bukit Timah Road, Sungei Road, Rochor Canal Road, Selegie Road and Serangoon Road lead to The Verge. Entrance to the car park is accessible by Clive Street via Campbell Lane, and Madras Street via Dunlop Street.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kandang Kerbau Market" (PDF). Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Tekka Market". Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Tekka Mall". Retrieved 2 October 2013.

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