SINGAPORE / SHOPPING CULTURE / PARKLANE SHOPPING MALL HISTORY
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By The Memory desk · Historical reference · Sources checked 7 October 2026
Parklane Shopping Mall, at 35 Selegie Road, is a 1970s strata complex on the edge of the Bras Basah and Bugis arts district, best known in recent years for its basement of cyber gaming cafes, a comics shop and fast food. Its 99-year lease runs from 1 December 1974, and in August 2019 EdgeProp reported that 33 basement shop units were on the market together for S$55.7 million.
The Parklane Shopping Mall history is thinly recorded compared with its neighbours. We could not find a heritage survey, a developer’s account or a dated newspaper history of the building, so this guide is shorter than most in the series. It sets out what the property records and published guides do show, and is plain about what they do not, including the mall’s reputation for music.
Parklane Shopping Mall at a glance
| Address | 35 Selegie Road, Singapore 188307, in the Rochor area |
| Opened | Not documented in a primary source; the 99-year lease starts on 1 December 1974, the date at least one online directory gives for its opening |
| Developer | Not documented in the sources we checked |
| Building | Strata shops from the basement upward, with office units on the upper floors (listed as high as level 9) |
| Known for | Cyber gaming cafes, Comics World and a McDonald’s in the basement, according to EdgeProp in 2019 |
| Nearby | Peace Centre, Singapore Management University, LASALLE and the School of the Arts; Bencoolen, Bras Basah and Dhoby Ghaut MRT stations |
| Today | An operating strata mall with individually owned units (as of October 2026) |
1974: a strata mall on Selegie Road
Property records give Parklane a 99-year lease with effect from 1 December 1974, and at least one online directory gives that same date as its opening day. That places it in the first wave of strata shopping centres built around the old city in the 1970s, a year after its neighbour Peace Centre, whose podium was completed in 1973. Both stand on Selegie Road, between Dhoby Ghaut and Rochor.
We have not been able to confirm who developed Parklane, who designed it or which tenants it opened with. What the listings do show is the shape of the building: retail units from the basement up, and offices on the higher floors. Like other complexes of the period, it was sold unit by unit, so no single landlord decides what goes where. For another strata complex of the same decade, see our history of People’s Park Complex in Chinatown.
Is Parklane known for gaming or music?
Gaming is the better-documented of the two. When EdgeProp reported the 2019 basement sale, it named McDonald’s, Comics World and cyber gaming cafes among the occupants of the 33 units, which together covered about 25,317 sq ft and ranged from 248 to 2,002 sq ft each. The units were said to sit near the stairway leading up to the main entrance, and the tenancy leases on 14 of them were due to expire in 2020.
Music is harder to pin down. Parklane is sometimes described as a home for music schools and instrument services, but we found no reliable published source that documents this or dates it. The one firm music connection in the record is a record shop: Bandwagon’s 2020 guide to vinyl notes that Vinylicious Records had moved from Parklane to a larger unit at The Adelphi on Coleman Street. For guitars and amplifiers, the established cluster is the basement of Peninsula Shopping Centre.
Why would gaming cafes settle here? This is our reading rather than a documented fact. A gaming cafe needs floor space, power and long hours more than a shopfront on a busy corridor, and its customers are mostly students and young adults who will travel for a good rig and cheap hourly rates. A basement in an older strata mall, within walking distance of SMU, LASALLE and the School of the Arts, fits that brief. Comics and manga follow the same audience; our history of Comics Connection and Singapore’s manga and anime shops traces that trade.
2019: 33 basement units for S$55.7 million
The 2019 offer is the most detailed public record of the mall in recent years. The 33 strata retail units on basement 1 were marketed together for S$55.7 million, about S$2,200 per sq ft, through an expression-of-interest exercise that closed on 26 September 2019. EdgeProp noted that foreigners could buy, and that additional buyer’s stamp duty and seller’s stamp duty did not apply.
We have not found a report of how that exercise ended. Unlike Peace Centre, which was sold collectively in 2021, Parklane has not been reported as sold en bloc, and its units continue to be listed for sale and rent individually. With a 99-year lease that began in 1974, a little under half the tenure remains; our explainer on freehold, 999-year and 99-year leases explains why that matters to owners of older strata buildings.
Parklane and its neighbours today
As of October 2026, Parklane is an operating strata mall. Its nearest MRT station is Bencoolen on the Downtown Line, about a six-minute walk, with Bras Basah and Dhoby Ghaut a little further. Peace Centre, its old neighbour on Selegie Road, closed in January 2024 after its collective sale and is awaiting redevelopment, while Parklane carries on trading a short walk away. Tenants change often in a building like this, so check with a shop before you travel.
A Parklane timeline
- 1 December 1974: Start of the mall’s 99-year lease, a date also given for its opening.
- August 2019: 33 basement retail units are offered for S$55.7 million; tenants include cyber gaming cafes, Comics World and McDonald’s.
- By 2020: Vinylicious Records has moved from Parklane to The Adelphi.
- January 2024: Neighbouring Peace Centre closes after its collective sale.
Questions people ask
When did Parklane Shopping Mall open?
Its 99-year lease began on 1 December 1974, and at least one directory gives that as the opening date. We have not found a primary record confirming the day it opened to shoppers.
What is Parklane Shopping Mall known for?
In recent years, its basement of cyber gaming cafes, the Comics World shop and a McDonald’s, all named by EdgeProp in 2019. It sits close to SMU, LASALLE and the School of the Arts.
Is Parklane going en bloc?
No collective sale had been reported as of October 2026. In 2019, 33 basement units were offered together for S$55.7 million; we have not found a report of the outcome.
How do I get to Parklane Shopping Mall?
It is at 35 Selegie Road, about a six-minute walk from Bencoolen MRT on the Downtown Line. Bras Basah and Dhoby Ghaut stations are also within walking distance.
Sources and further reading
- EdgeProp: 33 retail units at Parklane Shopping Mall for sale at $55.7 mil (2019)
- EdgeProp: Parklane Shopping Mall project page (tenure and site details)
- CommercialGuru: Parklane Shopping Mall listing (address and transport)
- Bandwagon: Guide to vinyl shopping in Singapore (2020)
- Remember Singapore: Doors shuttered for good for Peace Centre (2024)
This is a historical reference, not a shop directory: tenants, units and opening hours change, so confirm with a shop before you travel. Read next: Peace Centre, Parklane’s neighbour on Selegie Road · Bras Basah Complex and the City of Books · Back to The Memory
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