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JCube at Jurong East might make way for a mixed-use residential development, according to a proposed amendment to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) 2019 Master Plan.

The amendment, which URA shared on Jul. 22, proposes rezoning the 7771.2m² plot of land currently occupied by the mall, into a "Residential with Commercial at 1st storey zone" development.

The plot ratio of the site in the proposed amendment is 4.2, higher than that of the current 3.0 plot ratio, reported The Straits Times.

As such, CapitaLand Development (CLD), which owns the mall, might build a property with more floor space than the existing JCube.

ST reported that URA's publication of the proposed amendment indicates that CLD has received in-principle approval from the agency to redevelop the site.

According to URA's website, such development proposals will be made available to the public for inspection and comments.

If there is no public objection and the proposals are approved, they are then incorporated as amendments to the Master Plan.

CLD also told ST on Jul. 28 that it is "exploring options to reposition or redevelop the mall in line with the gradual transformation of Jurong Lake District".

However, no plans have been confirmed, and it is still "business as usual" at JCube.

Might be facing competition from other malls

JCube, which opened in 2012, is one of four malls located around Jurong East Central, with the other three being JEM, Westgate, and IMM.

JCube, Westgate, and IMM are all owned by CapitaLand.

According to ST, observers shared that the rezoning of the land JCube sits on might be due to stiff competition it faces from the nearby malls.

Additionally, there is strong demand for residential homes there.

In 2014, two years after the mall opened, JCube launched J.Avenue, located on the second floor, to combat the flagging foot traffic at the mall.

Described as having a "hip street shopping environment", J.Avenue features over 70 shops offering retail products targeted at a younger audience.

Currently, the mall features Singapore's only Olympic-sized ice skating rink, as well as the first IMAX theatre in the suburbs with 460 seats.

In 2021, Haidilao opened one of its biggest outlets in Singapore at the mall, with the space spanning six units.

Top photo from Google Maps streetview