Little India Conservation Area
Little India Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 8 · Rochor, on land zoned COMMERCIAL under the URA Master Plan. It is 999-year leasehold. 1 transaction is on record since 1995, most recently in Jun 2011. ACRA records 5 live company registrations at this address.
What are the key facts about Little India Conservation Area?
- Asset class
- Commercial
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- Subject to Evaluation
- Tenure
- 999-year leasehold
- District / Area
- District 8 · Rochor
- Address
- 59 Jalan Besar
- Land area
- —
- Completed
- Not on record
- Storeys
- 2 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
- Submarket
- City Fringe
- Transactions on record
- 1 (records start 1995)
- Live listings
- None
- ACRA registrations
- 5
About Little India Conservation Area
Little India Conservation Area is a commercial conservation area in Rochor (District 08). It is located along Jalan Besar, Singapore 208810.
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 999-year leasehold, with about 899 years remaining on the lease.
1 transaction has been recorded here, at a median of S$3,069 psf. The most recent was in June 2011.
5 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA.
The nearest MRT is Jalan Besar MRT, 48 m away (about a 1-minute walk). The closest bus stop (Jln Besar Stn Exit A) is 86 m away (about a 1-minute walk).
What is Little India Conservation Area zoned as?
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- Subject to Evaluation
- Conservation area
- Little India
- 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 Do not quote a plot ratio, and do not compute buildable GFA from it.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 Little India Conservation Area sold for?
| Date | Use | Price | Area | PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2011 | Shop House | S$4.75M | 1,548 sqft | $3,069 |
URA/JTC records from 1995 — that is where the record starts, not when the building was built. Strata and land deals can mix in one building's history; compare like with like. sqm ↔ sq ft converter
What does space at Little India Conservation Area rent for?
Retail space on Jalan Besar
Street level · 2026Q3S$ per sq ft per month · median -19.1% on a year earlier
URA's percentiles of RETAIL rents (shop, F&B, entertainment, health & fitness) across every lease stamped with IRAS on this STREET in the quarter — the street's figure, not this building's rent and never a unit's. Retail rent swings with floor and frontage, so the spread matters as much as the median. A median needs at least 2 buildings and 3 contracts (percentiles need 4); a blank means below that threshold, not zero.
Source: URA rental statistics by street (IRAS-stamped contracts).
Office space on Jalan Besar
Street level · 2026Q3S$ per sq ft per month · median +7.1% on a year earlier
URA's percentiles of OFFICE rents across every lease stamped with IRAS on this STREET in the quarter — the street's figure, not this building's rent and never a unit's. URA publishes a median only where the street has at least 2 office buildings and 3 contracts that quarter (percentiles need 4); a blank means below that threshold, not zero.
Source: URA rental statistics by street (IRAS-stamped contracts).
Retail space — District 8 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 8 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 Little India 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.
What's been approved at Little India Conservation Area?
No new bars, pubs, nightclubs or karaoke lounges (a Historic Conservation Area). URA does not approve new eating houses (restaurants, coffee shops, cafes) here; an existing one's permission may be renewed.
Per URA circular DC23-08, Appendix A (2 Oct 2023: no new eating houses in shophouses on listed stretches); 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.
- 21 Apr 2026RenewedContinued use as backpacker hostel
Continued use of the 2nd & 3rd storey of the 3-storey conserved building with roof mezzanine as backpacker hostel (34 beds)
- 30 May 2024RenewedContinued use as backpacker hostel
Continued use of the 2nd & 3rd storey of the 3-storey conserved building with roof mezzanine as backpacker hostel (34 beds)
- 7 Sept 2023RefusedChange of use: shop → hostel
Proposed change of use of the 1st storey of the 3-storey conserved shophouse from shop to hostel at 59 jalan besar on lot 98082w ts 16 (little india conservation area)
- 15 Aug 2023RefusedChange of use: shop → restaurant
Proposed change of use of the 1st storey of 3-storey conserved shophouse from shop to restaurant
- 14 Nov 2022ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed additions & alterations to existing 3-storey conserved shophouse with roof mezzanine and change of use for 2nd & 3rd storeys from offices to backpacker hostel and use of 1st storey as shop and roof mezzanine as ancillary office
- 16 Nov 2016RenewedContinued use as backpackers' hostel and use of roof mezzanine as ancillary office
Continue use of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd storeys as backpackers' hostel and use of roof mezzanine as ancillary office at 59 jalan besar on lot 98082w ts16
- 5 Apr 2016ApprovedChange of use to backpackers' hostel and use of roof mezzanine as ancillary office
Continue use of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd storeys as backpackers' hostel and use of roof mezzanine as ancillary office at 59 jalan besar on lot 98082w ts16
- 20 Nov 2012ApprovedAdditions & alterations
Proposed additions & alterations to existing 3-storey conserved shophouse with existing roof mezzanine and change of use from 1st storey shop, 2nd & 3rd storeys offices to backpacker hostel and use of existing roof mezzanine as ancillary office on lot 98082w ts16 at 59 jalan besar (little india conservation area)
- 6 Jul 2000ApprovedChange of use: shop → aquarium & florist
Proposed change of use at 1st storey from shop to aquarium & florist
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$54.50 per unit).
How does Jalan Besar price?
Street figures cover strata deals only — land and strata PSF are not comparable.
What do commercial rents run near Little India Conservation Area?
Indicative area yield — District 8 retail
An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 8 retail — NOT this building's yield, and not any unit's. Commercial rents are published as a district percentile grid, so both halves describe the district.
Priced on STRATA sales only: rent is quoted per unit of lettable area, and commercial land PSF runs far above strata — mixing them would shift the ratio sharply.
Net deducts the 10% non-residential property tax ONLY — not vacancy, maintenance, agent fees, financing, or the 9% GST on purchase.
Retail rents — District 8 ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)
| Floor level · size band | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 2 & 3 · 30 & Below | $67.76 | $96.11 | $143.21 |
| Level 1 · 30 & Below | $76.14 | $92.59 | $171.04 |
| B1 & Below · 30 & Below | $90.68 | $93.21 | $137.37 |
| Level 2 & 3 · >30 - 100 | $46.15 | $61.63 | $86.96 |
| Level 1 · >30 - 100 | $73.94 | $90.91 | $97.19 |
| B1 & Below · >30 - 100 | $82.17 | $88.77 | $163.62 |
| Level 1 · >100 - 300 | $59.57 | $69.55 | $95.87 |
| Level 2 & 3 · >100 - 300 | $43.92 | $47.03 | $64.17 |
Office rents — Central Area ($ 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 near Little India Conservation Area?
Getting around
- Jalan Besar MRT48 m · ~1 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 Little India Conservation Area
nearest MRT/LRT Jalan Besar (DT22) 47 m, about 21,000 taps a weekday; 7 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 7, about 17,000 taps a weekday; Rochor: 31,654 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 30,000 residents within 1 km (June 2026); 3 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
- Jalan Besar (DT22)47 m · about 21,000 weekday taps
- Rochor (DT13)219 m · about 22,000 weekday taps
- Bugis (EW12 / DT14)446 m · about 109,000 weekday taps
- Little India (NE7 / DT12)570 m · about 55,000 weekday taps
- Farrer Park (NE8)730 m · about 57,000 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 Little India Conservation Area. Transfers between lines don't tap, so interchanges read low.
Bus
7 bus stops within 400 m, with about 17,000 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.
Public car parks within 500 m
- Backlane (Dickson Rd - Dunlop St) (URA)87 m
- Backlane (Dickson Rd - Upp Weld Rd) (URA)93 m
- Perak Rd (URA)117 mS$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 11 car lots
- Dickson Rd (URA)130 mS$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 48 car lots
- Blk 632/633/635 Veerasamy Road (HDB)132 mS$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · gantry 4.5 m · 85 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.
Public car parks only, by straight-line distance, with the operator's published rates. Little India Conservation Area's own car park, if it has one, and its charges are not in the open data.
Who's registered at Little India Conservation Area?
- Accommodation and food services2
- Financial and insurance2
- Professional, scientific and technical services1
Registered businesses, not who occupies the space: companies, LLPs and branches whose REGISTERED address is this building (ACRA), by industry. Sole proprietors are not counted; no business is named. ACRA, as of 2026-09-16.
Frequently asked questions about Little India Conservation Area
Where is Little India Conservation Area?⌄
Little India Conservation Area is at 59 Jalan Besar, Singapore 208810, in the Rochor planning area.
What is Little India Conservation Area zoned as?⌄
Little India Conservation Area sits on land zoned commercial under the URA Master Plan.
What is the tenure of Little India Conservation Area?⌄
Little India Conservation Area is 999-year leasehold. About 899 years remain on the lease.
Is Little India Conservation Area a conserved property?⌄
Yes. Little India Conservation Area falls within a URA conservation area, so external works are subject to conservation guidelines.
What have units at Little India Conservation Area sold for?⌄
Across 1 recorded transaction, the median price is S$3,069 psf. The latest was in June 2011.
What is the nearest MRT station to Little India Conservation Area?⌄
Jalan Besar MRT is the closest, 48 m away (about a 1-minute walk).
How many businesses are registered at Little India Conservation Area?⌄
5 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA. That is a measure of registered addresses, not of how many businesses physically occupy the building.
The facts are here — now get the verdict on Little India 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.