SINGAPORE — From lifestyle grocer Mahota Market and cinema operator Filmgarde to the first e-library in a mall, Century Square will boast a wider tenant mix when it reopens next year after a S$60 million facelift.

Mall manager AsiaMalls Management is also exploring first-of-its-kind “shoppable” walls that could allow patrons to buy goods off screens and have them delivered to their doorstep at a fee.

Rents at the mall in Tampines will increase to generate returns after the multi-million-dollar investment, said Mr Tan Kee Yong, 56, AsiaMalls’ managing director. It marks the first time AsiaMalls is completely shuttering a mall for a makeover.

Monthly footfall is expected to rise 30 per cent to 1.3 million, and the mall is expected to reopen in the second or third quarter of next year, Mr Tan said. Plans to revamp the mall were first reported by TODAY in July.

The 216,055 sqft mall will have 218 shop units, 70 per cent more than the current 128, due in part to department store BHG moving out.

So far, about half of its lettable area has been taken up, and the mall’s aim is to have new tenants form at least half its tenant mix.

Lifestyle grocer Mahota Market will take up about a third of Basement 1 and will feature a booth for freshly bought items to be cooked into meals such as steaks and pastas.

Its co-founder Tan Yongshao, 36, said the store will host sessions on various foods, products and health tips.

“Food is the easiest way to connect with people … we could be drily selling our kale and our acai berries, but why would people want to come in?” he said of the store’s concept.

Cinema operator Filmgarde will introduce a new “3D immersive sound technology” across its six halls, which will seat nearly 1,000 people in all.

Filmgarde also hopes to host events such as free film workshops at the mall, said its director Han Minli, 35.

At the future virtual library on the fourth floor, users will be able download e-books into their mobile devices under a partnership with the National Library Board, said AsiaMalls’ Mr Tan.

The revamp will give the mall a new facade cladding and add a fifth-floor roof deck where activities such as cooking classes could be held. Other new tenants at the mall will include upscale hotpot restaurant Hai Di Lao, 24-hour gym Gymmboxx and childcare operator Orange Academy.

AsiaMalls’ previous mall renovations — of Tiong Bahru Plaza and White Sands, which completed last year — resulted only in partial closures, and Mr Tan said its experience revamping Century Square would be taken into account as Hougang Mall and Liang Court undergo feasibility studies. There are no firm renovation plans for both malls yet.