In forgotten parts of Singapore's iconic Orchard Road shopping street, a new era is taking shape

The Far East Shopping Center along Singapore's Orchard Road has seen better days.

Despite being five minutes' walk from the Orchard MRT station, one of Singapore's busiest subway stations, the 42-year-old mall suffers from very poor footfall. Around one-fifth of the units are vacant and up for sale or rent, and the occupants are more likely to be maid agencies rather than the high-end stores or restaurants associated with a prime shopping district.

This same feeling of emptiness pervades many of the older malls along the upper stretch of Orchard Road, which extends from the posh Tanglin residential area near the Singapore Botanic Gardens to where the Orchard MRT is located.

Orchard Road, Singapore's main shopping street, is 2.2 km (1.3 miles) long but much of the activity takes place in the middle of the stretch as well as at selected malls linked via underground walkways to subway stations. Far East Shopping Center isn't connected to Orchard MRT unlike several of its neighbors.

This situation could be about to change, however. Many of the older properties along Orchard Road's periphery are expected to be redeveloped in the coming years following a slew of financial incentives from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore's land planning agency. But the investments required will still be significant, likely running into the billions of dollars due to the high cost of land and construction in Singapore.

At the Tanglin section of Orchard Road, Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL), controlled by billionaire Ong Beng Seng, last year obtained approval to knock down three of its properties and build a massive 114,150 square-meter mixed-use development with a hotel and residential units across two tower buildings as well as retail