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Icon Village Review

Icon Village Review
Retail & F&B Podium Review — District 02

Icon Village

The ground-floor dining and retail podium beneath The Icon, on the fringe of the CBD at Tanjong Pagar.

SGCPI Research Desk Updated August 2026 12 Gopeng Street, Singapore 078877 99-YR LEASEHOLD FROM ≈2002

Street-level view of Icon Village, 12 Gopeng Street. Imagery: Google Street View (user-contributed imagery), accessed August 2026.

Project Overview

Building NameIcon Village
Address12 Gopeng Street, Singapore 078877
DistrictDistrict 02 (Downtown Core / Tanjong Pagar)
Tenure99-year leasehold, ≈commencing 2002
Zoning / UseCommercial — retail & F&B podium (Commercial & Residential mixed development)
Built FormSingle-storey retail podium beneath two residential towers (40 & 46 storeys)
Land Area / GFA≈6,566 sqm land / retail NLA ≈29,838 sq ft
Completion Year2007
Nearest MRTTanjong Pagar (EW15), ≈3 min walk; Maxwell (TE18)
Key Road AccessECP and AYE, via Neil Road / Cantonment Road
Transacted PSF Range≈S$1,700 – S$2,300 psf (strata retail, indicative)
Sale Price Range≈S$1.0m – S$3.5m (per retail/F&B unit, size-dependent)
Asking Rent RangeS$12 – S$18 psf/month
Occupier BaseF&B operators, cafés, convenience & lifestyle services; ≈90–95% occupancy

Location & Connectivity

Icon Village occupies the ground-floor podium of The Icon, a twin-tower residential development along Gopeng Street in Tanjong Pagar. The site sits at the southern fringe of the Central Business District, a pocket of the Downtown Core that has densified steadily over the past decade with a mix of Grade A office towers, boutique hotels and high-rise residential blocks. Its position places it within an easy stroll of Tanjong Pagar’s shophouse dining belt and Chinatown’s heritage core, giving the podium a catchment that blends office lunch crowds with residential and tourist footfall.

Connectivity is one of the property’s stronger attributes. Tanjong Pagar MRT station on the East-West Line is roughly a three-minute walk away, and the newer Maxwell station on the Thomson-East Coast Line adds a second interchange option within comfortable walking distance. For drivers, the Ayer Rajah Expressway and East Coast Parkway are both quickly reached via Cantonment Road and Neil Road, making the site workable for suppliers and F&B operators that need vehicle access for deliveries outside peak hours.

The immediate surroundings include 100 AM, Tanjong Pagar Plaza and the newer Tanjong Pagar Centre mall, all of which compete for the same office-worker and resident spending. Maxwell Food Centre and Amoy Street Food Centre sit within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s identity as a dense F&B cluster rather than a single-destination retail node. This proximity cuts both ways: it sustains footfall through the area as a whole, but it also means Icon Village’s individual units compete on concept and execution rather than on being the only option nearby.

Location of Icon Village. Map data: Google Maps, accessed August 2026.

Building & Facilities

Icon Village is a low-rise, single-level retail podium rather than a multi-storey mall, which shapes both its leasing profile and its buyer pool. Units sit at street level with direct external frontage along Gopeng Street, and several F&B units at the Altez end of the podium have outdoor dining space — a genuine point of difference from the enclosed, air-conditioned malls nearby. The podium wraps around the base of the two residential towers, so tenants benefit from a built-in captive audience of roughly 640 residential units above, plus office workers and hotel guests drawn from the surrounding blocks.

Common facilities are functional rather than expansive: covered walkways, basic wayfinding signage and shared loading/servicing access typical of a mixed-use podium of this generation. Units are generally handed over in shell-and-core or second-generation fitted condition depending on the prior tenant, so incoming F&B or retail operators should budget for renovation and MCST-approved hood/exhaust works where relevant. Ceiling heights and floor loading are adequate for standard retail and light F&B use but were not designed for heavy kitchen equipment beyond typical café or casual-dining specifications.

Prospective buyers or tenants should conduct standard due diligence before committing — verifying the unit’s permitted use under the mixed-development strata plan, confirming any MCST by-laws on operating hours, exhaust venting and outdoor seating, and checking the unit’s fire safety and food-hygiene compliance history if F&B use is intended. Given the building’s age (completed 2007), a physical inspection of M&E condition is also worthwhile before signing.

Unit Types & Floor Plan Notes

Icon Village’s retail NLA of roughly 29,838 sq ft is split across a mix of compact F&B kiosks, mid-sized restaurant units and a handful of larger corner units with outdoor seating potential. The following four profiles summarise what buyers and tenants typically encounter when scanning current listings.

Kiosk / Quick-Service

≈300 – 600 sq ft

Compact frontage units suited to takeaway concepts, bubble tea, bakery or convenience retail with minimal seating requirements.

Café / Casual Dining

≈600 – 1,100 sq ft

The most commonly listed size band, offering internal seating plus potential for external tables where MCST approval permits.

Full-Service Restaurant

≈1,100 – 2,000 sq ft

Larger footprint with kitchen capacity for a full dinner-service menu; typically commands the higher end of the asking rent range.

Anchor / Corner Unit

≈2,000 sq ft and above

Limited in number, these anchor-sized units sit at higher-visibility corners and are priced at a premium to reflect frontage and outdoor dining potential.

Typical ceiling height: ≈3.0 – 3.5 m clear
Loading: shared rear service access, subject to booking
Exhaust / grease trap: subject to MCST approval per unit
Outdoor seating: available for select frontage units (e.g. near Altez)
Fit-out condition: mixed — shell-and-core to second-generation, unit-dependent

Investment Case

Icon Village’s investment case rests on its captive residential-and-office catchment and its fringe-CBD address, weighed against a mature building age, a leasehold clock that is now roughly a third spent, and intensifying competition from newer, larger malls opening nearby.

What Works

  • Three-minute walk to Tanjong Pagar MRT with a second interchange (Maxwell) close by
  • Built-in demand base from ≈640 residential units directly above the podium
  • Ground-floor, street-facing frontage with outdoor dining potential in select units
  • Fringe-CBD location captures office lunch crowds without prime-CBD rents
  • Developed and managed under Far East Organisation, a large, established landlord group

What to Weigh Carefully

  • Building completed in 2007; M&E and fit-out condition should be independently verified
  • 99-year leasehold with roughly two-thirds of the term remaining, a factor for long-hold financing
  • Heavy reliance on F&B tenancy mix, exposed to manpower and cost pressures sector-wide
  • Nearby competition from 100 AM, Tanjong Pagar Centre and other newer commercial developments
  • Strata retail liquidity is thinner than residential Icon units, with fewer comparable transactions to benchmark against

Who This Suits

Icon Village suits owner-operators and small-to-mid F&B or lifestyle-service businesses looking for a fringe-CBD address with genuine walk-in demand from both residents above and office workers nearby, rather than investors chasing capital-gain velocity. It is a reasonable fit for buyers comfortable holding a leasehold retail strata unit through a full economic cycle, and for tenants who want CBD-adjacent visibility without prime Orchard or Raffles Place rents. It is less suited to investors seeking large-format retail exposure, rapid resale liquidity, or a passive landlord role with minimal tenant-mix oversight, given the building’s age and the concentrated F&B tenant base.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the permitted use for units at Icon Village?
Icon Village is zoned as the commercial podium of a mixed residential-and-commercial development, and units are generally approved for retail and food & beverage use, subject to the specific unit’s approved use under URA’s records and the mixed-development strata by-laws. Some units carry restrictions on trade type, operating hours, exhaust installation or outdoor seating, particularly those closer to residential lift lobbies. Prospective buyers or tenants should request the unit’s use certificate and check MCST house rules before signing, since a mismatch between intended business and approved use can delay licensing with SFA or NEA. A pre-purchase or pre-lease check with the managing agent is strongly recommended.
Can foreigners buy commercial or retail units at Icon Village?
Yes. Unlike residential property, Singapore does not restrict foreign ownership of commercial or retail strata units, so units at Icon Village can generally be purchased by foreign individuals or foreign-owned companies without approval under the Residential Property Act, since that Act applies to residential land only. Financing terms, however, may differ for foreign buyers, with banks typically applying more conservative loan-to-value ratios and requiring additional documentation for non-resident applicants. Buyers should also confirm whether their home jurisdiction imposes any reporting or tax obligations on overseas property ownership, and factor in the practicalities of managing a leased-out unit from abroad, including appointing a local managing agent.
Does Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) apply to a purchase here?
No. ABSD applies specifically to residential property purchases in Singapore and does not apply to commercial or retail units such as those at Icon Village, regardless of the buyer’s residency status or number of existing property holdings. This is one of the more attractive structural features of commercial strata ownership compared to residential purchases, since buyers avoid the layered ABSD rates that apply to second and subsequent residential properties. Buyers should still budget for standard Buyer’s Stamp Duty on the purchase price, and note that GST may apply separately if the seller is GST-registered, which is common for larger commercial landlords and corporate sellers.
What about Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) if I want to resell quickly?
SSD for industrial property is well known, but for standalone commercial and retail strata units like those at Icon Village, SSD generally does not apply under current rules, which target residential and industrial property specifically. This gives owners more flexibility to resell within a shorter holding period without an SSD penalty, unlike residential flippers. That said, resale within a short window can still attract informal market scrutiny from buyers wary of a fast turnaround, and financing banks may ask why a unit is being sold soon after purchase. Always verify current SSD rules with a conveyancing lawyer at the time of transaction, as policy settings are periodically reviewed.
How is Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) calculated on a unit here?
BSD for commercial and retail property in Singapore is charged on a tiered percentage of the purchase price or market value, whichever is higher, following the same marginal-rate structure used across property types. For a strata retail unit at Icon Village priced in the region of S$1.0 million to S$3.5 million, BSD would typically fall in the range of roughly 3% to 4.5% of the transacted value once the tiered bands are applied, though the exact figure depends on final price and any subsequent rate revisions. Buyers should ask their conveyancing lawyer for a precise BSD computation before exercising an Option to Purchase, since it forms a material part of upfront transaction costs.
Does GST apply to a purchase or lease at Icon Village?
GST can apply to commercial property transactions where the seller or landlord is GST-registered, which is common for institutional or corporate owners at a development managed under a large group. If GST applies, it is charged on the property price or rent in addition to BSD, and buyers who are themselves GST-registered may be able to claim input tax depending on their intended use of the unit. Tenants leasing space for a GST-registered F&B or retail business would typically pay GST on rent as a standard operating cost. Buyers and tenants should clarify the GST status of the specific transaction with their lawyer or accountant before finalising terms, as this affects total cost.
How does the remaining lease affect financing for a purchase?
With the leasehold term at Icon Village estimated to have commenced around 2002 on a 99-year tenure, roughly two-thirds of the lease remains, which is generally still within the comfort zone most banks apply when assessing loan tenure and loan-to-value ratio for commercial property. As the remaining lease shortens over time, banks typically reduce the maximum loan tenure and may tighten LTV, which can affect resale financing for future buyers decades from now. Investors taking a long-term hold view should factor lease decay into their exit assumptions, while those financing now should confirm current bank policy on remaining-lease cutoffs, as these vary by lender and are reviewed periodically.
What rental yield can an owner expect from a unit here?
Based on current asking rents of roughly S$12 to S$18 psf per month against typical strata sale prices in the S$1,700 to S$2,300 psf range, gross rental yields for Icon Village retail units generally work out in the region of 4% to 6% per annum before costs, broadly comparable to other fringe-CBD F&B-led retail podiums. Net yield will be lower once MCST maintenance fees, property tax, insurance and periodic vacancy or fit-out downtime between tenants are accounted for. Actual achievable rent varies meaningfully by unit position, frontage and whether outdoor seating is permitted, so prospective buyers should benchmark against recent comparable transactions for the specific unit type they are considering rather than the blended average.
How does the building’s age affect a buying decision?
Completed in 2007, Icon Village is now approaching two decades old, which is a reasonable age for a retail podium but old enough that mechanical, electrical and exhaust systems in individual units may need upgrading depending on prior tenant use and maintenance history. Buyers should request the unit’s fit-out and M&E history from the seller or agent, and budget for potential upgrading costs, particularly for F&B units with kitchen exhaust or grease-trap systems that may be near the end of their practical service life. Building age does not materially affect the tenure or ownership structure, but it is a relevant factor in setting realistic renovation and maintenance cost assumptions post-purchase.
Is Icon Village likely to see an en-bloc or redevelopment sale?
There is no indication of an active en-bloc process at Icon Village or the wider Icon development at the time of writing, and as a relatively young, well-occupied mixed-use asset with hundreds of individual residential and commercial strata owners, achieving the consent thresholds required for a collective sale would be a lengthy and uncertain process. En-bloc potential for commercial-and-residential mixed strata developments is generally lower than for ageing standalone residential estates, given the more complex ownership structure across use types. Buyers seeking redevelopment upside as part of their investment thesis should treat this as a low-probability, long-horizon scenario rather than a near-term catalyst, and base their purchase decision primarily on income and occupancy fundamentals.
What are the parking and loading arrangements like?
As the retail podium of a residential development, Icon Village relies primarily on the basement or associated car park facilities of The Icon for customer parking, supplemented by public and street parking in the surrounding Tanjong Pagar area, which can be limited during peak office hours. Loading and delivery access for F&B and retail tenants is typically handled through a shared rear or side servicing area, and operators with frequent deliveries should confirm booking procedures and permitted loading hours with the managing agent before committing to a unit. Given the dense surrounding road network, businesses reliant on walk-in and MRT-linked footfall rather than heavy vehicle traffic tend to be better matched to the site’s access constraints.
What are typical MCST or maintenance fees for a unit here?
As part of a mixed residential-and-commercial strata development, Icon Village retail units are subject to MCST maintenance fees that cover common area upkeep, security, cleaning and shared facilities, typically billed monthly based on the unit’s share value. For a mixed-use development of this size and age, fees for a commercial unit generally fall in a moderate range compared to prime office towers, though the exact quantum depends on the unit’s share value and any recent increases approved at AGM. Buyers should request the latest MCST budget and any planned major repair or sinking-fund top-ups before purchase, since these can materially affect the true net holding cost of the unit over time.
How liquid is the resale market for retail strata units at Icon Village?
Resale liquidity for Icon Village’s retail strata units is thinner than for the residential Icon units above it, reflecting the generally smaller pool of buyers for commercial strata retail compared to residential apartments, and the fact that F&B-oriented retail podiums trade less frequently than office or larger mall strata. Transactions do occur, particularly among F&B operators and small commercial investors, but pricing benchmarks rely more heavily on rental comparables and asking-rent data than on a deep, continuously updated sale-transaction history. Buyers planning an eventual exit should build in a realistic marketing timeline of several months to a year, and consider engaging a specialist commercial agent familiar with F&B retail strata rather than a generalist residential agent.
What types of businesses are best suited to a unit at Icon Village?
Given its street-level frontage, captive residential catchment and fringe-CBD office crowd, Icon Village is best suited to food & beverage concepts — cafés, casual dining, bakeries and quick-service formats — along with convenience retail, personal services and lifestyle offerings that benefit from steady daily footfall rather than destination shopping traffic. Larger-format retail, big-box concepts or businesses requiring extensive back-of-house storage are less well matched to the podium’s unit sizes and loading constraints. Operators targeting both weekday lunch crowds and weekend residential demand tend to perform more consistently than single-daypart concepts, given the mixed office-and-residential nature of the surrounding catchment.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Figures marked with “≈” are reasoned estimates based on publicly available listing and transaction data at the time of writing and may not reflect current market conditions. Prospective buyers and tenants should conduct independent due diligence and consult qualified professionals before making any property decision.

© 2026 SG Commercial Property Insights. All rights reserved.

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