Redevelopment of Golden Shoe

Golden Shoe refers to an 80-acre (about 0.3 sq km) plot of land located in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District where the financial and banking sector is concentrated.^[1] The area was earmarked for urban redevelopment in 1970 following the enactment of the Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act of 1969.^[2]

The area derived its name from its resemblance to an upturned shoe^[3] and its value as prime land.^[4] The Golden Shoe zone covers Collyer Quay, Shenton Way, Shenton Circus, Telok Ayer Street, McCallum Street, Stanley Street, Cheang Wan Seng Place, Cheong Hong Lim Street, Telok Ayer Street, Church Street, Synagogue Street, South Canal Road, Boat Quay and Fullerton Square.^[5]

Prior  to government intervention, the area was already  functioning  as Singapore’s commercial  and  financial  district.^[6] However, the 1947 Rent Control Act, which was instituted during the post-war years to protect tenants from excessive rent increases in an environment of housing scarcity, affected development activities in the area. Subsequently, buildings in the city core became run-down and dilapidated due to the lack of incentives given to landowners for refurbishment initiatives.^[7] Urban redevelopment was essential to address Singapore’s growing population and quest towards modernisation and economic progress.^[8] The legislation of 1969 to decontrol the area empowered landowners to repossess properties under rent-controlled areas that had been identified as development zones. A Tenants’ Compensation Board was also established to facilitate compensation to affected tenants.^[9]

Golden Shoe was the first urban renewal project in a commercial area undertaken by the Urban Renewal Department.^[10] Besides rent decontrol, the government also acquired fragmented plots of land for redevelopment. To avoid government acquisition, owners of private holdings initiated projects involving the amalgamation and redevelopment of fragmented land plots.^[11] The rapid transformation of the city centre was thus spurred by the combination of rent decontrol, sale of government land and private development.

Redevelopment efforts by both the government and private enterprises reached their peak in the 1970s^[12] and by 1988, 735 of the original 770 rent-controlled properties in the Golden Shoe area had been redeveloped.^[13] Some of the iconic buildings constructed during this period included the OCBC Bank Centre, United Overseas Bank Building and the Chartered Bank Building.^[14]

References
1. Yeung, Y. (1973). National development policy and urban transformation in Singapore: A study of public housing and the marketing system (p. 36). Chicago: University of Chicago, Dept. of Geography. Call no.: RSING 309.23095957 YEU; Perry, M., Kong, L., & Yeoh, B. (1997). Singapore: A developmental city state (p. 203). Chichester; New   York: Wiley. Call no.: RSING 307.76095957 PER.
2. Republic of Singapore. Government Gazette. Subsidiary Legislation Supplement. (1970, February 25). The Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act 1969 (Commencement) Notification (S61/1970), p. 117). Singapore: [s.n.]. Call No.: RCLOS 348.5957 SGGSLS.
3. Chia, P., Teo, P., & Fong, L. (1970, February 28). Golden Shoe: 80 acres of the choicest.. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
4. The Straits Times, 28 Feb 1970, p. 1.
5. Republic of Singapore. Government Gazette. Subsidiary Legislation Supplement. (1970, February 25). The Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act 1969 (Act 10 of 1969) Declaration under Section 3(1) (S62/1970), pp. 118–119). Singapore: [s.n.]. Call No.: RCLOS 348.5957 SGGSLS.
6. Chua, B. H. (1989). The Golden Shoe: Building Singapore’s financial district (pp. 31-54). Liu, G. (Ed.). Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority. Call no.: RSING 711.5522095957 CHU.
7. Chua, 1989, p. 23.
8. Wong, T. C., & Yap, L. A. (2004). Four decades of transformation: Land use in Singapore, 1960–2000 (pp. 16–20). Singapore: Eastern University Press. Call no.: RSING 333.73095957 WON.
9. Phang, S. Y. (1992). Housing markets and urban transportation: Economic theory, econometrics and policy analysis for Singapore (p. 29). Singapore: McGraw-Hill. Call no.: RSING 363.5095957 PHA.
10. Chua, 1989, pp. 16–18.
11. Chua, 1989, p. 58.
12. Chua, 1989, p. 11.
13. Phang, 1992, p. 32.
14. Chua, 1989, p. 57.