Tenants sad as Punggol East container park will close

More than 50 renters at Punggol East container park will have to leave by the end of next month because the land will go back to the government.

The container park, run by the social group City Sprouts, will be given back to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) when its lease ends, according to an email City Sprouts sent to renters on Aug 4.

The email, seen by CNA, said: "Because the site must be restored and returned to SLA, we need all renters to stop work by Oct 31, 2026 and give their spaces back to City Sprouts by that date."

When CNA asked on Tuesday (Sep 1), City Sprouts – which also runs urban farms and rents space in the park – said it got an official notice in May to leave the site and do the required restoration work on time.

The land must be given back to SLA by Dec 31, when the lease ends. City Sprouts said SLA only told them it was part of the district’s redevelopment plan under the Singapore Master Plan.

City Sprouts said it knew the timeline each time a lease was renewed, and its renter partners knew the site would not be long‑term. Still, getting the final decision was very hard for them.

The Punggol site has become "much more than a place of business" – it also helped renters, farmers, partners, families and the wider community build relationships.

City Sprouts said: "We are heart‑broken to leave a place we have built together with everyone. We know this creates disappointment and uncertainty for our renters, and we share that feeling."

"We cannot control the land’s return, but we are doing our best to help renters through this change and to treat the community and relationships we built with care and respect."

City Sprouts told CNA that farmers were told about the handover early this year, while its main food‑and‑drink operator D'Heart was told in July after City Sprouts explained the SLA reinstatement details.

City Sprouts has found a new space at Pasir Ris Park and has offered the Punggol community’s farmers and partners priority to move there, or to other community greenhouses it runs across Singapore.

For food‑and‑drink stalls, the group said it gave the main operator an option to set up stalls at its other locations in the East.

City Sprouts also runs green spaces at Pasir Ris, Henderson, West Coast and Bedok, besides Punggol.

City Sprouts, which has been at Punggol since mid‑2023, will also move out. It had talked with SLA about extensions and other sites, but no extension was possible because the plan is part of the Singapore Master Plan.

"An extension could not be granted because the Punggol district decision has long been part of the Singapore Master Plan," it said.

SLA said on Wednesday that the state property at 50 Punggol East Road, where the container park sits, was let to City Sprouts from Oct 1, 2022 and the lease ends at the end of this year.

"The lease cannot be extended because the site is needed for future residential development. City Sprouts is preparing to leave and hand the site back by Dec 31, 2026," the SLA spokesperson added.

The issue first came to light when Smok Hous founder Isrudy Shaik posted about the park’s upcoming closure on social media last Friday.

Mr Isrudy opened his shop in the park last November and hoped for a three‑year lease, but was told a longer stay was not possible because the land could be returned to the government.

When the handover was confirmed in August, his first worry was for his nine full‑time staff. "How can I keep them if I have no shop? They have families to feed," he said.

He also runs another eatery at Telok Ayer but said it might have too many staff if all nine workers moved there.

He is now looking for a new place.

"Opening another shop is not easy because you need space. For the smoke house we need both indoor and outdoor areas," Mr Isrudy said.

Although the early move was a shock, he said he sees it as a chance to move elsewhere.

"Smok Hous can be like a travelling restaurant… Today we are in the north‑east, maybe next time we will be in the west, then north, then south," he said.

One of the renters affected is Ms Nurnisa Jonson, who runs Tara na! by Easy Eatz SG, a Halal Filipino food business, with her husband.

The couple first started the business at hawker centres and coffee shops around 2016 but stopped when sales were slow.

They tried again in 2020, this time from their home in Punggol. Over the next six years, they got 100‑150 orders each day.

Earlier this year they thought about moving out of their home. They found a bigger kitchen at the nearby Punggol East container park and signed the contract, even though they knew the lease only ran until December.

But on Aug 11 she was told she had to leave by the end of October.

"We really hoped to finish the festive season until December and then move, but they said we must leave early – that was the shocking part," she said.

"August, September, October are hard. It is very hard for me to move, especially after I built a name here," Ms Nurnisa said, adding she moved into the current space in May.

Her main worry was for her 12 employees, half of whom are foreign. She said she had not told them the shop must close and was looking for a new kitchen so they would still have a place to work.

"I cannot just send them away after promising we will build the future together. How can I find a place in two months? Those are the most stressful days," Ms Nurnisa said, tears in her eyes.

She woke up at 4 am to look for a new place. Her search paid off when she signed a contract to move into Punggol Golf Driving Range the same afternoon she spoke to CNA.

But Punggol East container park has a "different feeling" and customers enjoy it even though it is outdoors.

"You do not need air‑conditioning because you feel nature, birds and everything – sometimes bees and butterflies. It is a real out‑of‑city vibe where people can relax," she said.

She has had many customers since opening at the container park, including some from across the Causeway.

"We will really miss the community we built here," she said.

Mr Vincent Low, co‑founder of Kim Kao Mai Thai restaurant, which serves Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese food, also worries about losing his customers.

He has run his eatery at the park for nine years and moving now would mean starting from scratch and rebuilding trust with customers.

He said about 90 % of his customers live in the north‑east. "We can still have our brand in the west, but we are new to them," Mr Low said, fearing distance would stop existing customers from coming.

"It is sad to say, it may not be easy to find the right place to rebuild everything… I am angry and sad about the short notice; sad to leave all customers after nine years. What can we do?"

Another renter, Play! Pickle, which offers pickleball lessons and rents courts in Punggol, Serangoon and Chai Chee, told CNA its Punggol venue is the biggest and most visited by customers.

It has six double indoor courts, one single indoor court and an outdoor court, founder Darren Teo said.

He opened the Punggol branch in Dec 2024 and said his lease runs until Dec 10, 2026. The early notice to leave was a surprise.

"We are, of course, heavy‑hearted as we have built a lively community of pickleball lovers here," Mr Teo said, adding he loved the "village vibe" of the container park.

"We asked why we must stop work and hand over the space by Oct 31, 2026. So far we have not received an answer," Mr Teo said.

He plans to run the Punggol branch until the end of October and is getting ready for the handover. He will focus on his two other branches going forward.

"Our regulars are upset, many lament the loss of a place they called a home base for their pickleball gatherings," he said.

"While we are sad to leave Tebing Lane, we are happy to have created a welcoming, social and lively community for pickleball fans of all ages and skill levels," he added

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