Marina Square was built in 1985 on the then newly reclaimed Marina Centre, as the first major mixed-use complex in the area, along with Marina Mandarin, Mandarin Oriental and The Pan Pacific hotels. It was the largest shopping mall in Singapore with 59,000 square metres of retail space when it opened in 1986, to improve accessibility, more bus services were introduced to Marina Centre.[1] During the late 1980s and 1990s, it featured anchor tenants Tokyu department store and Metro department store,[2] as well as an open air food court, a Magic Land arcade and a twin Eng Wah Cinema which was closed in 1993.
The Tokyu store was replaced by American retailer Kmart, which was then replaced by MegaMart. NTUC Fairprice later took over the space occupied by MegaMart, and Giant hypermart later took over the same premises.
In September 1996, an entertainment complex, Marina Leisureplex, opened at the eastern end of the mall, comprising a six-screen Golden Village cineplex, a Superbowl arcade and bowling alley.
In early 2004, the mall started its first major upgrading works which were completed in mid-2006. The outdoor food court was converted into an air-conditioned one, and the mall layout reconfigured and remodeled. This also increased the retail space area to 65,000 sq m. A new retail concept was introduced, such as several furniture shops on the 3rd floor. More lifts and escalators were added to enhance accessibility as well.
Interior in 2006
The mall has completed its second renovation exercise, thus expanding its floor area to 100,000 sq m and a refreshed tenant mix. Phase 1 introduced a wing dedicated to food and beverage establishments, called the Dining Edition, including some F&B establishments new to Singapore. Renovation began in January 2012 and completed in September 2013. Phase 2 consisted of an extended retail zone and a new retail wing facing Marina Bay. It introduced tenants such as Emporium Shokuhin, a Japanese market and Pororo Park, a theme park dedicated to children. It was completed in November 2015.
Phase 3 of the renovation works consisted of the mall's east wing, which prompted the closure of the Marina Leisureplex (GV Marina Square) and John Little department store. Both tenants vacated the mall in 2014 and have been replaced by PSB Academy's mega city campus. PSB Academy has opened in phases at the end of 2016. In August 2016, a cluster of IT stores displaced by the closure of Funan Digitalife Mall opened, taking up the entirety of level 3 of the East Wing. They include exclusive stores of major computer and laptop brands such as HP, Dell, Acer, Asus and Lenovo, all provided by homegrown retailer Newstead, which closed down in 2019 when after the company had filed for bankruptcy. In September 2018, Emporium Shokuhin has been closed down, and a 18,000 square feet indoor playground, Kiztopia, took over the space and opened on 15 June 2019.[3]
