Stomper says final farewell to Peace Centre before it makes way for redevelopment: 'I feel very sad'

Peace out.

Visitors said their final farewells to Peace Centre over the weekend before the Sophia Road building was handed back to its owners on Jan 29 for redevelopment.

One of the visitors was Stomper Wei Sien who was there on Jan 27 and 28.

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"I feel very sad to hear about it being demolished, but what I understand is that they want to redevelop the area," said the Stomper.

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Built in 1977, Peace Centre was sold in a joint collective sale to CEL Development, Sing-Haiyi Crystal and Ultra Infinity in 2021 and slated for demolition in August 2023.

But the owners decided to postpone the demolition to 2024 after hearing about the building’s potential to house community-building efforts from Mr Gary Hong and Ms Yvonne Siow. who started PlayPan, a social movement to transform the 400,000 sq ft retail space into a vibrant playground for creative collaborations, businesses and events.

The mall in recent years was known for its printing shops and karaoke lounges, reported The Straits Times.

Taking over the building in October last year, PlayPan offered the space to various social enterprises and worked with about 50 collaborators to host events, such as the Rest.In.Peace Centre Horror Experience from Oct 13 to Nov 13.

On Jan 27, the Bring The Roof Down collective organised the PeaceOut festival, where 1,500 people partied to music spun by international DJs.

On Jan 28, PlayPan hosted a three-hour jam session led by singer-songwriter Clement Chow, who was the original singer of Count On Me Singapore.

Peace Centre’s lights went out for the last time at 5pm on Jan 29, but the old mall lives on in the memories of Singaporeans like the Stomper.