Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
Kreta Ayer Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 1 · Outram, on land zoned COMMERCIAL under the URA Master Plan. It is leasehold with roughly 46 years remaining. 1 transaction is on record since 1995, most recently in Oct 2015. 1 unit is currently listed for rent. ACRA records 0 live company registrations at this address.
What are the key facts about Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?
- Asset class
- Commercial
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- Subject to Evaluation
- Tenure
- Leasehold
- District / Area
- District 1 · Outram
- Address
- 72 Smith Street
- Land area
- —
- Completed
- Not on record
- Storeys
- 3 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
- Submarket
- City Fringe
- Listed as
- Food & Beverage
- Transactions on record
- 1 (records start 1995)
- Live listings
- 1
- ACRA registrations
- 0
About Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
Kreta Ayer Conservation Area is a commercial conservation area in Outram (District 01). It is located along Smith Street, Singapore 058969.
Under the URA Master Plan it sits on land zoned commercial. The site falls within a conservation area, so external alterations are subject to URA conservation guidelines. It lies inside the Central Area.
The site is leasehold, with about 46 years remaining on the lease.
1 transaction has been recorded here, at a median of S$4,016 psf. The most recent was in October 2015.
The nearest MRT is Chinatown MRT, 262 m away (about a 4-minute walk). The closest bus stop (New Bridge Ctr) is 62 m away (about a 1-minute walk).
What is Kreta Ayer Conservation Area zoned as?
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- Subject to Evaluation
- Conservation area
- Chinatown (Kreta Ayer)
- Conserved building
- Yes
- Urban design area
- Udga
- Central Area
- Yes
URA has not published a fixed plot ratio for this site — the Master Plan records "EVA" (Subject to Evaluation), meaning intensity is decided case by case on application. Do not quote a plot ratio, and do not compute buildable GFA from it.
What has Kreta Ayer Conservation Area sold for?
| Date | Use | Price | Area | PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2015 | Shop House | S$4.50M | 1,121 sqft | $4,016 |
URA/JTC records from 1995 — that is where the record starts, not when the building was built. Strata and land deals can mix in one building's history; compare like with like. sqm ↔ sq ft converter
What does space at Kreta Ayer Conservation Area rent for?
Retail space — District 1 retail
Region band · 2026Q3S$ per sq ft per month
A REGION BAND — URA's grid for the whole district or location, not this street or building. Say "across <district/location>, …", never that this building rents for it. The middle of URA's retail grid for District 1 across every floor and size band — a ground-floor shop and an upper-floor unit sit at very different points in it.
Source: URA REALIS retail rental analysis (district × floor × size grid).
Market context around Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
- Other City Areas: Rent S$21.21 psf/mth · Vacancy 7.4% (1Q 2026) · Planned / under construction 0.73m sq ft
Official series (URA, 2026Q3): Retail vacancy rate (Whole Island) 6.5 (-0.4 pp on the year) · Retail rental index (Central Region) 81.2 (+1.4% on the year).
Brokers draw submarkets and grades differently; each figure is the broker's own, for its own area, cited to its report. Rents are per square foot per month.
How fast units move at Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
Rent: between 6 Aug 2026 and 28 Aug 2026, 0 new listings appeared and 0 came off (sold, let or withdrawn). Days on market: not enough history yet — we began tracking on 6 Aug 2026.
One count per unit, however many agents list it. Asking prices are not tracked over time, so price cuts are not shown.
What's been approved at Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?
No new bars, pubs, nightclubs or karaoke lounges (a Historic Conservation Area).
Per URA's Use of Buildings in Conservation Areas. A planning guideline for the area, not a decision on any unit; it applies to new eating houses and bars, not to one already approved.
- 14 Aug 2025ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed amendment to approved addition and alteration works to the existing 3-storey building and change of use at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd storey to restaurant and ancillary office at mezzanine on lot 99342p ts 06 at 72 smith street (chinatown (kreta ayer) conservation area)
- 9 Apr 2021ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed amendment to approved addition and alteration works to the existing 3-storey building and change of use at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd storey to restaurant on lot 99342p ts 06 at 72 smith street (chinatown (kreta ayer) conservation area)
- 23 Oct 2020RenewedContinued use as restaurant
Continued use at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd storey and roof mezzanine of the 3-storey building ts06 on lot 99342p at 72 smith street as restaurant (chinatown (kreta ayer) conservation area)
- 16 Oct 2019ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed amendment to approved addition and alteration works to the existing 3-storey building and change of use at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd storey to restaurant ts 06 on lot 99342p at 72 smith street (chinatown (kreta ayer) conservation area)
- 2 May 2017ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed addition and alteration works to the existing 3-storey building and change of use at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd storey and attic units to restaurant ts06 on lot 99342p at 72 smith street (chinatown (kreta ayer) conservation area)
- 10 Feb 2003ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Extension of written permission for proposed addition / alterations to existing 3-storey shophouse and change of use of 2nd & 3rd storey from residential to office and use of 1st storey as clinic
- 8 Feb 2002ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Extension of written permission for proposed additions / alterations to existing 3-storey shophouse and change of use of 2nd & 3rd storey from residential to office & use of 1st storey as clinic
- 7 Jan 2001ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed extension of written permission additions/ alterations to existing 3 storey shophouse and change of use of 2nd & 3rd storey from residential to office & use of 1st storey as clinic
- 28 Jan 2000ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Extn of wp - proposed additions and alterations to existing 3-storey shophouse
Source: URA planning decisions (URA Data Service), matched to this building by address or land lot. A past approval can lapse (a temporary permission) and belongs to the unit it names. The authoritative approved use of a unit comes from URA's Enquiry on Approved Use of Premises (S$54.50 per unit).
What do commercial rents run near Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?
Indicative area yield — District 1 retail
An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 1 retail — NOT this building's yield, and not any unit's. Commercial rents are published as a district percentile grid, so both halves describe the district.
Priced on STRATA sales only: rent is quoted per unit of lettable area, and commercial land PSF runs far above strata — mixing them would shift the ratio sharply.
Net deducts the 10% non-residential property tax ONLY — not vacancy, maintenance, agent fees, financing, or the 9% GST on purchase.
Retail rents — District 1 ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)
| Floor level · size band | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 2 & 3 · 30 & Below | $82.69 | $99.35 | $120.39 |
| Level 1 · 30 & Below | $172.73 | $245.52 | $332.57 |
| B1 & Below · 30 & Below | $87.33 | $172.91 | $321.72 |
| Level 2 & 3 · >30 - 100 | $77.43 | $95.09 | $183.52 |
| Level 1 · >30 - 100 | $106.77 | $168.33 | $217.05 |
| B1 & Below · >30 - 100 | $117.40 | $198.29 | $365.38 |
| Level 1 · >100 - 300 | $115.69 | $148.57 | $187.43 |
| B1 & Below · >100 - 300 | $148.73 | $233.33 | $396.56 |
Office rents — Central Area ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)
| Building class · size band | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 2 · 100 & Below | $54.65 | $69.39 | $88.80 |
| Category 1 · 100 & Below | $103.62 | $122.24 | $132.43 |
| Category 1 · >100 - 200 | $116.28 | $126.99 | $148.35 |
| Category 2 · >100 - 200 | $65.57 | $82.87 | $97.63 |
| Category 1 · >200 - 500 | $114.67 | $128.09 | $145.77 |
| Category 2 · >200 - 500 | $64.83 | $82.57 | $94.73 |
| Category 1 · >500 - 1000 | $106.56 | $137.78 | $148.23 |
| Category 2 · >500 - 1000 | $85.04 | $89.34 | $109.80 |
URA REALIS rental-contract percentiles for the district/location — an area benchmark, not this building's own rents. Office and retail are dimensioned differently and are never mixed.
What is available at Kreta Ayer Conservation Area right now?
For rent (1)
- Smith streetS$45k/mo · 4,200 sqft
What is near Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?
Getting around
- Chinatown MRT262 m · ~4 min
Amenities nearby
Competing premises nearby
Retail and F&B premises competing for the same footfall — context for an occupier, not a selling point.
Straight-line distances. Source: PropKaki amenities data.
Getting there and parking at Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
nearest MRT/LRT Chinatown (NE4/DT19) 105 m, about 97,000 taps a weekday; 7 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 13, about 44,000 taps a weekday; Outram: 38,402 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 24,000 residents within 1 km (June 2026); 9 other malls within 1 km. Ranked against 12,856 retail buildings by PropKaki's model: a relative score, not a footfall count.
A relative score from PropKaki's model (station and bus taps nearby, workers and residents around, and competing malls), not a count of people.
Stations within 1 km
- Chinatown (NE4 / DT19)105 m · about 97,000 weekday taps
- Maxwell (TE18)258 m · about 23,000 weekday taps
- Outram Park (EW16 / NE3 / TE17)434 m · about 78,000 weekday taps
- Telok Ayer (DT18)494 m · about 37,000 weekday taps
- Clarke Quay (NE5)538 m · about 31,000 weekday taps
Taps are fare-card taps in and out at the station's gates on an average weekday (Jul 2026 to Sep 2026) — people passing through, not visitors to Kreta Ayer Conservation Area. Transfers between lines don't tap, so interchanges read low.
Bus
13 bus stops within 400 m, with about 44,000 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.
Public car parks within 500 m
- Backlane (Smith St) (URA)24 m
- Blk 335 Kreta Ayer (Lub) (HDB)86 mno short-term parking · gantry 1.9 m · 5 car lots
- Backlane (Temple St - Pagoda St) (URA)101 m
- Temple St (URA)122 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 61 car lots
- Blk 335 Smith Street Kreta Ayer Mscp (HDB)128 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · gantry 1.9 m · 396 car lots
HDB season (car): Tier 1 $80/month (a resident's or registered HDB shop/industrial tenant's first car); Tier 2 (other cars, non-residents) $90 Rest of Island, $150 Designated Area, $165 Restricted Zone (surface). Which zone this car park is in is not published as data.
Nearest URA season parking: Blair Road-Everton Roa D Area, 1.0 km away, S$80/month.
Public car parks only, by straight-line distance, with the operator's published rates. Kreta Ayer Conservation Area's own car park, if it has one, and its charges are not in the open data.
How many companies are registered at Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?
- Live registrations
- 0
- Registered last 3 years
- 0
Company REGISTRATIONS at this address (ACRA), not a tenancy schedule. Registration does not mean the company physically occupies space here, and a low count does not mean the building is empty. Do not describe this as occupancy or vacancy.
Frequently asked questions about Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
Where is Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?⌄
Kreta Ayer Conservation Area is at 72 Smith Street, Singapore 058969, in the Outram planning area.
What is Kreta Ayer Conservation Area zoned as?⌄
Kreta Ayer Conservation Area sits on land zoned commercial under the URA Master Plan.
What is the tenure of Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?⌄
Kreta Ayer Conservation Area is leasehold. About 46 years remain on the lease.
Is Kreta Ayer Conservation Area a conserved property?⌄
Yes. Kreta Ayer Conservation Area falls within a URA conservation area, so external works are subject to conservation guidelines.
What have units at Kreta Ayer Conservation Area sold for?⌄
Across 1 recorded transaction, the median price is S$4,016 psf. The latest was in October 2015.
What is the nearest MRT station to Kreta Ayer Conservation Area?⌄
Chinatown MRT is the closest, 262 m away (about a 4-minute walk).
The facts are here — now get the verdict on Kreta Ayer Conservation Area.
Ask what a unit here would fetch, what the zone allows, or how it compares.
PropKakiHere's the building's zone, its recorded deals and every live unit — and where the asking prices sit against them.