Arab Street shophouses

History of Arab Street: from town plan to textile street

Arab Street is one of the oldest named streets in the area. NLB Infopedia records that the Kampong Glam area was set aside in the early town planning of the 1820s for different communities, with Sir Stamford Raffles designating it as the most appropriate area for Arabs to live in. Nearby streets such as Bussorah Street, Muscat Street and Baghdad Street took names from Arabian cities, which is why the district reads like a map of the Arab trading world.

The street became the main shopping street of Kampong Glam, with Arab, Indian, Bugis, Javanese and Chinese traders setting up side by side. That mixed trading history matters to buyers because it explains why the street never became a single-use strip. Textile merchants, perfume and basketware sellers, restaurants and services have all shared the same two-storey frontages.

The built fabric has also been tested by fire. Infopedia notes that a fire in 1847 destroyed 273 homes made of brick, wood and attap, and that another fire in 1889 damaged Arab Street itself. Many of the masonry shophouses seen today belong to the later rebuilding and to the decades after, which is why you see a range of styles rather than one uniform date.

The conservation era arrived in 1989. Kampong Glam was gazetted a Conservation Area by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and that gazette, together with the Sultan Mosque and the former palace as National Monuments, is the reason the streetscape reads as intact compared with the redeveloped Bugis side. For the wider district story, see our Kampong Glam neighbourhood page.

1. 1822

   Town planning sets Kampong Glam aside for the Malay royal household and, in time, Arab and Bugis communities (NLB Infopedia).

2. 1847

   A fire destroys 273 brick, wood and attap homes in Kampong Glam (NLB Infopedia).

3. 1889

   Another fire breaks out on Arab Street, with damage estimated at $100,000 (NLB Infopedia).

4. 1840 to 1900

   Period given by NLB for Singapore's first-generation squat two-storey shophouses, found in Kampong Glam.

5. 7 July 1989

   Kampong Glam is gazetted a Conservation Area by URA.

6. 2005

   Istana Kampong Gelam reopens as the Malay Heritage Centre, a short walk from Arab Street.

Shophouses on Arab Street and the streets around it

The shophouses on Arab Street are mostly two storeys, which sets them apart from taller rows elsewhere in the city fringe. NLB describes first-generation Kampong Glam shophouses as squat two-storey buildings with one or two windows on the upper floor. Over time, owners and builders added second-generation touches: more decorative plasterwork, taller proportions and pilasters. Art Deco frontages, with flat geometric lines, appear in places in the wider Rochor area, but you should not assume any individual unit has one.

That variety is why the phrase early, transitional or Art Deco style shophouses in Kampong Glam is useful as a checklist rather than a label. Early-style units tend to have simple openings and low ceilings. Transitional units mix plain structure with more ornament. A buyer should ask for the conservation file or Specific Restoration Guidelines to see which features must be kept.

The table below compares the streets a buyer is likely to consider within a few minutes' walk. It describes typical character only. Lot-level facts differ, so treat it as a screening aid.

On Arab Street the building is the easy part to see; the lot's approved use is the part that decides what you can do with it.

Uses for an Arab Street shophouse

The street is still strongly associated with textiles, carpets, handicrafts and gifts, and many ground floors continue to serve that trade. Alongside them you will find cafes, restaurants, small services and a growing number of concept stores. Upper floors are commonly used for storage, stockrooms, studios or offices. Because floors are two storeys with limited depth in some units, the practical question is how the ground floor and upper floor will work together.

Residential use is a separate matter. Many Kampong Glam lots are zoned commercial, and any residential use must match the approved use. Do not assume that a shophouse can be lived in just because people have lived above shops here historically. Our guide to commercial and residential ABSD explains why zoning controls the tax and use answer, and you should check current IRAS rates before relying on any assumption.

If you want to open a kitchen, read the F&B licensing and change-of-use guide first. A textile shop converting to a restaurant needs approvals, ventilation solutions and neighbour consideration, and in a conserved building every alteration also needs conservation permission.

Arab Street conservation shophouses and URA status

The Kampong Glam Conservation Area was gazetted on 7 July 1989. It is bounded by Ophir Road, Victoria Street, Jalan Sultan and Beach Road, so Arab Street sits comfortably inside it. URA describes the area as mostly two-storey Early and Transitional shophouses. The Sultan Mosque and Istana Kampong Gelam are National Monuments, which is a different and stricter category from a conserved shophouse.

When people search for Arab Street conservation shophouses, they usually want to know what conservation will demand of them. In general, the facade, envelope and key architectural features of a conserved building must be retained and restored. Additions, alterations and changes of use need approval, and URA can issue Specific Restoration Guidelines for a lot that spell out what must be reinstated.

That means conservation is both the source of the street's appeal and a cost you should price in. Read the URA conservation guidelines buyer manual and check the specific lot on URA's conservation portal before agreeing any heritage premium. A gazetted area does not mean every building inside it is conserved in the same way.

Getting to Arab Street: MRT and walking context

The nearest interchange is Bugis, served by the East West Line (EW12) and Downtown Line (DT14). The walk from Bugis to Arab Street is short and mostly flat, passing the Victoria Street boundary of the Conservation Area. Jalan Besar (DT22) on the Downtown Line and Nicoll Highway (CC5) on the Circle Line are alternatives, but they are a longer walk. Check each walking distance yourself, because exit choice and weather change the experience.

Several bus services run along Victoria Street, Beach Road and North Bridge Road, and taxi or ride-hail drop-offs are common near the mosque. Parking and loading are tight in the heritage lanes, which matters for tenants receiving stock. If you are comparing a unit on Arab Street with one in the Bugis mall belt, note that the Arab Street customer arrives on foot from the interchange rather than through an underground link.

Also note that the Sultan Mosque area has prayer-time and event-day patterns. Some Arab Street units close on certain days, and Friday afternoons can change footfall. A tenant should observe the street across a full week.

Arab Street shophouse for sale and rent: price evidence (as of 5 November 2026)

We do not publish a per-square-foot price, rent or yield for Arab Street. The stock is too varied, listings are few, and quoted numbers often mix asking and transacted levels. If you search for an Arab Street shophouse for sale, expect a small number of listings at any time and expect each to be a distinct asset.

Build your own evidence set. Start with caveats and transaction data through URA's property market information and REALIS or comparable data providers for the Rochor area. Separate freehold from leasehold, conserved from non-conserved, whole building from strata unit, and ground floor from upper floors. For rent, rely on signed leases rather than asking rents, and ask whether the rent includes the whole building or only part.

Tenure often changes the answer more than the address does. A freehold conserved row and a 99-year leasehold unit on the same street are different instruments. Our yields and capital appreciation research covers how to read market data cautiously. For rental-side searches, start with the shophouses for rent hub and the commercial shophouses for sale hub.

Arab Street retail and F&B: what the street trades on

Arab Street is best understood as a destination street rather than a convenience street. People come for textiles, handicrafts, gifts and a meal near the mosque. That gives retail a different rhythm from the Bugis interchange, where commuter flow dominates. Weekends and festive periods tend to be busier, while some weekday stretches can be quiet.

We do not name individual businesses here, and nothing on this page implies that any named operator is affiliated with us or with a listing. If you are assessing a unit, visit at lunchtime, on a weekday evening and on a weekend afternoon, and count passers-by who enter shops rather than only those who walk past. That evidence is more useful than any footfall figure quoted by a third party.

For the sister streets, see Bussorah Street for the mosque approach and Haji Lane for the narrow independent-retail lane. The three trade differently even though they sit within a few minutes of each other.

Investment and ownership angle for an Arab shophouse in Singapore

The case for an Arab shophouse in Singapore rests on scarcity, identity and a destination catchment that is hard to replicate in newer districts. The case against is that conserved fabric costs money, units are small, and the market is thin, so exits can take time. Both points are true at once.

Owner-occupiers who run textile, gift, cafe or design businesses may find the street suits their trade. Investors should model the cost of periodic restoration, the possibility of vacancy between tenants and the effect of any road or event disruption. Do not assume the street's fame guarantees income.

If you are still choosing between city-fringe areas, compare Arab Street against the district view in our city-fringe district playbook and the shorter Kampong Glam area briefing. Treat our pages as starting points and take legal, tax and valuation advice for a specific lot.