Marina Square was once a funky place to see and be seen. Teenagers would go there on dates. Some had their first kiss there. Others accomplished more within its premises.

Singaporeans, by and large, used to head over to hang out, window shop, go to WYWY Wonder Space arcade, shoot the breeze, and once every 365 days, usher in the New Year on those grey steps outside with the spiralling tiles.

As a mall in the City Hall area, it was at the edge of coolness: Near enough to venture on foot from the MRT station and far enough to warrant packing in the whole family in the sedan -- close but never tainted by the avant-garde and esoteric of The Esplanade and it served as the final outpost before life seeped into the moderately dull of the CBD outback.

Marina Square now

These days, Marina Square has a rat problem. Tenants are coming and going, if not engaged in a legal tussle with the mall's operator over the rodent issue. Footfall has been dwindling. SuperBowl is no more having closed down in 2014. Golden Village cinema has taken its business to Suntec City.

"Eerily empty" is what you would call the place on weekdays and "half-filled on weekends" would have been making a pass at sarcasm.

And despite Marina Square's best efforts with its current S$95 million revamp, where it has introduced Emporium Shokuhin -- a Japanese emporium taking up space in a new wing of the mall -- people are still not turning up in droves like they used to.

Maybe this has something to do with the fact that office workers around the area are flocking to Suntec City in the day, which underwent a major S$410-million facelift and was relaunched last October.

While the rest of Singaporeans, particularly the younger ones, are not the same, er, mall rats of yesteryear. Or maybe they could still be hanging outside Cineleisure. Or swapping the air-conditioned comfort for newer, less enclosed places, such as Marina Barrage.

Or they are simply heading overseas where everything is cheaper.

Or staying home altogether.

A Marina Square's spokesperson was quoted as saying that the retail sector as a whole in Singapore is facing challenges from “the growth of e-commerce and competition”.

Which can only mean one thing then: Marina Square has, therefore, become the best shopping mall in the whole of Singapore.

Because it is so empty.

An empty mall is the best mall

Marina Square these days is where there are ample places to park, too many shopping options that do not attract pesky teenagers to hang out and take up precious real estate and no queues to eat as some F&B outlets have reported a fall in customers of up to 50 percent in some instances.

Yes, rats can be a problem, but the fact is that rats are all over Singapore. It was pure bad luck Marina Square got caught with their pants down.

But think of Tampines Mall or Serangoon's Nex on a Saturday afternoon. And then think the exact opposite. That's how emptily lovely Marina Square is on any given day.

It is a mall where you wouldn't have to queue just to get on the escalator -- a welcomed respite from the rest of the bloated shopping centres that have sprouted like identical mushrooms all over the island.

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Hence, a mall with a rat problem and no people is way better than any mall currently suffering from the same case of "Toomanypeopletitis".

Which also means it is good for families, with kids in tow and prams to boot. It can aim to be a little bit like a City Square Mall but should be more like an Ikea.

Marina Square can, therefore, become a family mall. It should rebrand itself as such.

Top photo via