New Bahru: how an old school in Singapore is getting new life as a creative, shopping, wellness and lifestyle enclave, with the focus on home-grown brands

Aug 7 , 2024

New Bahru, Singapore’s first lifestyle enclave, shines the spotlight on home-grown brands. Photos: Handout

Similar in concept to Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun and PMQ, historic buildings converted into arts and creative destinations, New Bahru was ‘upcycled’ from a former girls’ school

Featuring local brands like Ginlee, Ong Shunmugam, The Coconut Club and Hideaway, the space will be a hub for home-grown retail, dining and wellness experiences

A former girls’ school has been reimagined as Singapore’s first lifestyle destination focused on local brands in retail, F&B, wellness and hospitality. The venture is spearheaded by home-grown hospitality company, The Lo & Behold Group.

The city state may be small in size but it has long nurtured a vibrant creative scene. Yet home-grown talent has often been underrated, in part because mainstream and international brands tend to dominate the scene.

New Bahru has been repurposed from a former girls’ school

This is set to change with the launch of Singapore’s first lifestyle enclave, which features a curated range of proudly home-grown boutiques, restaurants and lifestyle brands. Called New Bahru (which means “new” in Malay), the name translates to “New New” to reflect the project’s hopes of bringing together a new creative community, according to Wee Teng Wen, managing partner of The Lo & Behold Group.

“We’ve seen an incredible amount of talent emerging from our shores and the region, but we remain dwarfed by our international counterparts. Home-grown brands are dispersed and in commercial malls, prime locations are dominated by the same permutations of chains,” says Wee, whose company’s other concepts include contemporary French restaurant Odette and boutique heritage hotel, The Warehouse Hotel.

“This inspired us to create New Bahru, a space that would enable our own local talent to put their best foot forward, to create bold expressions of a brand that would defy the confines of a traditional mall and to coexist alongside like-minded individuals,” he adds.

Alma House, a new-to-market serviced apartment concept, adds a fresh spin to New Bahru

The cluster will house about 40 concepts, with half of them currently open and the rest slated to progressively launch over the next few months. Embodying the ethos of creativity, many coming tenants intend to add a fresh spin to what they are already known for.

For instance, Alma House is a new-to-market serviced apartment concept. Wellness junkies can also look forward to the launch of Hideaway, a new brand by holistic wellness concept Trapeze Rec. Club that focuses on healing and recovery, and featuring massages that blend traditional practices such as gua sha and tui na with modern techniques and contrast therapy like cold plunges and saunas.

New Bahru features a range of home-grown boutiques, restaurants and lifestyle brands

“We are taking a design forward approach in the space, intentionally creating a tranquil oasis that is unlike any other massage spot in Singapore. We aim to fill the niche as an upscale and inclusive business,” says Grant Wee, the founder of both establishments.