37 Emerald Hill is located between Design Orchard and the Emerald Hill Conservation Area, which was gazetted as a conservation area in 1989. The former SCGS was not included in the conservation area then.
The former school buildings at 37 Emerald Hill, seen from Design Orchard. The facade of The Heeren can be seen on the left
In 2018 and 2019, URA engaged the SCGS Alumni Association, which had proposed that the site be conserved via a “Keep 37 Emerald Hill” campaign.
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In October 2019, URA designated three buildings for conservation as part of the URA Master Plan: the Main Block (built in 1925), Principal’s House (built in 1930) and Song Ong Siang Block (built in 1956). Named after one of the school’s founders, the Song Ong Siang Block fronts Emerald Hill Road.
An overview of the 37 Emerald Hill site
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The older buildings were designed by the architecture firm Messrs. S. Y. Wong and Co., the architects for the former amusement park, New World.
Grange Road event space ready in 4Q2026
As part of efforts to “refresh” Orchard Road, the Grange Road event space next to 313@Somerset shopping mall is “on track” to be completed in 4Q2026, adds Tan. The 3,000-capacity venue can host international touring acts and local artistes, bringing live music, community and cultural events right to the heart of Orchard Road.
An artist’s impression of the live music venue at Grange Road, shared by Live Nation in 2024
The live music venue sits within a wider joint venture project between New York Stock Exchange-listed concert promoter Live Nation and Singapore Exchange-listed Lendlease Global Commercial REIT. The event space is Live Nation’s first live music venue in Southeast Asia, and it is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
An artist’s impression of the proposed Grange Road event space, shared by the Singapore Tourism Board in 2019
Formerly a 48,200 sq ft open-air carpark at the junction of Grange Road and Somerset Road, URA jointly opened the tender for the site with STB and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) in October 2019. Lendlease REIT won the tender to redevelop the site in June 2020.
The REIT manager estimated then that the project’s development cost would be $10 million, featuring a concept by DP Architects. Lendlease REIT said then that the space would be directly linked to 313@Somerset with a tenure of 3+3+3 years with an option for a one-year extension.
The addition would also expand the mall’s net lettable area (NLA) to 330,00 sq ft, said Lendlease REIT then. As at Dec 31, 2025, 313@Somerset has an NLA of 288,956 sq ft.
The project has faced multiple delays; it was to have housed an independent cinema, hawker stalls and event spaces, and opened by 2Q2022. In 2023, Lendlease REIT said the project would only be ready in 4Q2024.
When that time came around, Lendlease REIT again delayed the completion date to 2026, citing manpower shortages, rising construction costs and changes to building around the Somerset MRT Station.
Photos: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore, URA, Live Nation, Singapore Tourism Board
