Capitaland And Warees Unveil Second Property Lyf Chinatown Open Mid 2026
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On May 24, at the groundbreaking ceremony, CapitaLand Investment’s lodging business, The Ascott Ltd, and Warees Investments announced their second partnership in 20 years. The event was graced by Masagos Zulkifli, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.
The new co-living property, lyf Chinatown, is expected to open in mid-2026. lyf Chinatown will be a 90-unit co-living development situated within a new annex building that will be linked to four neighboring pre-war shophouses through a bridge on the second level. This property will span over 36,527 square feet. The ground floor of the four pre-war commercial shophouses on Pagoda Street will be renovated and leased to different businesses as a part of the rejuvenation.
The upcoming lyf Chinatown is located within the Jamae Chulia Heritage site, which also houses the existing Jamae Chulia mosque on Mosque Street and the four Pagoda Street shophouses. This will be the fifth lyf property in Singapore and will add to Ascott’s portfolio of 23 properties in the city. Wong Kar Ling, Ascott’s chief strategy officer and managing director of Southeast Asia, said that lyf Chinatown’s prime location offers travelers and residents the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the rich culture, diversity, and energy of the locale.
This is not the first partnership between Warees and Ascott. They previously joined forces in 2004 for the launch of Somerset Bencoolen Singapore, which underwent renovations in 2019. At the groundbreaking ceremony, both companies pledged to develop community programs for guests at lyf Chinatown, such as visits to nearby Islamic institutions with rich heritage like Nagore Dargah shrine at 40 Telok Ayer Street and the neighboring Jamae Chulia mosque.
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Warees Investments is an endowment asset management company wholly owned by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore or Muis. It manages endowments, develops prime commercial and residential properties, and conserves cultural and heritage assets. Some of its assets include The Red House at Katong, 99-year leasehold landed housing cluster Alias Villas in Bukit Timah, and the Bencoolen Street mixed-use development, which houses the 84-unit Somerset Bencoolen serviced apartment, a mosque, commercial units, and Bencoolen MRT station on the Downtown Line.
Speaking at the event, Masagos Zulkifli noted that the Jamae Chulia Heritage site is the last remaining wakaf (endowment) land to be developed. He also added that it is a tribute to the collective efforts of the Indian Muslim community towards nation-building since the 1800s and a testament to the community’s progress over the decades.
WJC Heritage, a subsidiary of Warees Investments, was set up to manage the revitalization of the Jamae Chulia mosque. It has formed a joint equity partnership with two other wakaf – Wakaf Haji Mohamed Amin Bin Fazal Elahi and Wakaf Jamae Chulia – to fund the project. Abdul Razak Hassan Maricar, chairman of Warees’ board of directors, stated that the additional income generated from the commercial mixed-use development will be used to meet the growing needs and uplift the Indian Muslim community, who are the beneficiaries of the wakaf, through improved infrastructure and economic opportunities.