Authorities to assess lease end, find alternatives for 195 Pearl's Hill Terrace tenants: Shanmugam

With the lease expiring in March 2025, tenants at an independent arts cluster in Chinatown recently voiced concerns about plans for the future of the community.

In response, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam asked relevant agencies to assess the lease and explore alternative options for the tenants of 195 Pearl's Hill Terrace (195PHT).

Shanmugam toured the conserved former police barracks on Feb 2, and spoke with over 20 sub-tenants there. The building is leased out by Singapore Land Authority (SLA), under Ministry of Law.

After the lease for 195PHT expires in 2025, the area is set to house 6,000 public and private homes over the next decade.

On URA's masterplan for land use, Shanmugam said: "I told the tenants, 'look we will try and help to see whether, first of all, in terms of timelines whether there is any discretion available'.

"Secondly, whether there are any alternate places where they can go together, we will look."

Some of the 148 sub-tenants there include arts and craft studios, eateries, and a cluster of tattoo artists.

On whether they can get an extension on the lease or the "alternative place", Shanmugam said that it would "depend on the assessment by the agencies of their value and the service they provide to the community".

"The tenants seem to put a lot of heart and soul into what they are doing, and these are just first impressions," he added.

"I haven't dealt with any of them before, but I can say they are passionate, they are committed and they want to do some things.

"Generally, this is good to see in Singapore. It makes for a better soul for Singapore."

chingshijie@asiaone.com