Lim Xuan Qi, Author at Goody Feed

Singapore, obviously, has never been the best place to be if you’re interested in winter activities—it’s summer (and hotter summer) all year long, after all. Even so, for the past few years, we’ve at least had an Olympic-sized ice skating rink in this country, where you can go on particularly hot days to pretend you’re somewhere else in the world. Unfortunately, the rink’s due for closure soon, since JCube, the mall where it’s located, is shutting down. Rink Will Close In August Prepare to bid farewell to The Rink on 7 August, when it’ll be ceasing operations completely. This follows the closure of the mall that houses it, JCube. The site will be redeveloped into a 40-story residential project, with the first and second floors designated as a shopping mall. The expected launch of the new mall is the end of the year, and the last day the current mall will be open is 6 August, till 10pm. Shopowners Displeased However, even three months till its closure, it was observed that about 90% of shops were still operating normally, and footfall hasn’t decreased. Obviously, then, shop owners are displeased with its early closure, especially since some of them signed three-year leases, and the mall will close before the lease even expires. In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, 49-year-old Chen Xiuyue, who owns a watch shop, revealed that when she was signing the contract, she did not expect the mall’s closure. “After I signed the lease, I also signed a three-year contract to install an alarm and wireless network system with a third-party, and now I have to break that contract in early August,” she said. Because of this, she’ll have to pay a fee of S$1,056. She’d opened her shop in JCube in 2021, and signed a three-year contract that lasted till early 2024. “We sought help from the management of the mall last month, but we’re still waiting for their reply,” she expressed. Her shop at JCube will close on 31 July, but her business has branches in Choa Chu Kang and Yew Tee as well. It's not all equal, however. A 42-year-old shop owner, surnamed Chen, revealed that she’d been running a clothing store in JCube for around ten years. However, since the COVID-19 outbreak, business has decreased drastically, resulting in her losing approximately $5,000 in operating costs every month. Her shop will close on 31 July, and she does not plan to continue operations at another location. She told the Chinese media outlet that in the past, the second floor of JCube housed many small clothing stores, but there are only seven shops left now. Another clothing shop owner, Ms Guo, agreed that rent was too expensive nowadays no matter where she moved, so she decided to close her business as well. According to a third clothing store owner, Ms Lin, the management of JCube had suggested they move to Westgate instead, but rent there would be double the rent at JCube, and she could not afford it. The last day her shop will be open is 6 August. Music School Relocates; Loses 30% of Students A music school located in JCube shifted to a small shopping centre nearby, and even offered a free pick-up service on weekends—still, 30% of students chose to drop out. Previously, the fourth floor of JCube housed quite a few enrichment and tuition centres. Following its closure, they’ve all had to find new locations. Seimpi School of Music will move to Bestway Centre on 10 Science Centre Road at the end of July and resume operations in early August. A staff member revealed that some parents found their new location too far out and inconvenient to get to, so they had to provide free pick-up services for students on Fridays and weekends. “However, some parents still think it’s too far away and prefer locations like JCube, so we lost around 30% of our students,” they said. The four tuition centres on the same floor will also relocate in late July to early August. Only Five Tenants Moved Out Since Closure Announced JCube’s closure was announced on 7 February, but a spokesperson revealed that only five tenants have moved out since then. Currently, the mall has more than 100 commercial lease contracts, and of course, does not plan to replace the businesses that moved out. The spokesperson also said that JCube issued tenants an official notice of closure in August, in line with the lease agreement. Reportedly, the mall’s management is working closely with tenants to provide necessary assistance and smoothen the mall’s handover. Where Do I Go To Ice Skate Now? If you really want to ice skate, you can head down to the other skating rink, Kallang Ice World, located in Leisure Park Kallang. However, the rink there isn’t Olympic-sized, so expect it to be smaller and more densely packed, especially since it’s the only ice skating rink left in Singapore. If you still harbour secret figure skating dreams and want to practise your programme in a full sized rink, though, it’s unfortunately time to head down to Malaysia instead—the exchange rate just hit a new low. How convenient.