How Singapore’s most notorious mall found God

Orchard Towers, a building in Singapore once notorious enough to earn the nickname “Four Floors of Whores”, has found an unlikely new tenant. On weekends, the site of former nightclubs, illegal massage parlours and at least one murder is now flooded with church-goers. Cornerstone Community Church officially opened weekly services at the Orchard Road landmark in January after buying six units on the fourth floor – formerly a nightclub – for S$54.5 million (US$42.3 million) in 2025. Experts say the move reflects a growing trend across Southeast Asia of megachurches expanding into retail and commercial spaces. Reverend Yang Tuck Yoong, Cornerstone’s senior pastor, told This Week in Asia that the church was no stranger to setting up in places with chequered histories. Its first property, acquired in 1997, was the Music World Discotheque at Odeon Katong, now the site of its main services in the Katong neighbourhood. It has since taken over six additional units in the same building, all formerly KTVs, pubs or massage parlours. “Redeeming dark places and being situated in commercial spaces in the heart of the community have come to be a significant part of our DNA as a church. It was a welcome move and the congregation was fully behind this decision to expand into Orchard Towers,” Yang said. The building’s freehold status along Singapore’s premier shopping strip, combined with the church’s need to accommodate a growing congregation, made it an attractive proposition, he added. In 2022, the government announced it would stop renewing or issuing new public entertainment licences at the building beyond May 2023, citing law-and-order concerns, vice activities and public nuisance. Since services commenced in January, attendance has grown steadily across three English-language services and one Filipino one each weekend, with average combined attendance now regularly exceeding 2,000, according to Yang. The benefits have extended beyond the pews. Local Chinese-language outlet Lianhe Zaobao reported on Monday that an Indonesian restaurant in the shopping centre saw revenue rise by nearly 30 per cent after the church held an event there. Christians make up around 19 per cent of Singapore’s resident population – making it the country’s second-largest religious group after Buddhists at 31 per cent – with Catholics accounting for 37 per cent of that figure and Protestants and other denominations making up the remaining 63 per cent. Ripe for conversion Cornerstone is far from alone. In 2019, local megachurch New Creation acquired The Star Vista mall for S$296 million, having previously used only the complex’s performing arts centre for services. City Harvest Church, meanwhile, holds a 39 per cent stake in Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. Sulian Tan-Wijaya, executive director of retail and lifestyle at Savills Singapore, said the trend was largely driven by necessity. “Most of the churches here were built a long time ago. On top of the lack of land, it is almost impossible for newer churches to obtain land-use approval for religious purposes,” she said, noting that commercial leases had become the most viable alternative. Proximity to MRT stations and the amenities a shopping centre provides were also major draws for congregations without access to private transport, she added. “With the Cornerstone Community Church, you can also see that Orchard Towers is coming back to life with more family-friendly offerings, shedding the past sleazy image of the mall.” Megachurch boom The migration of megachurches into retail spaces has been under way since the late 1990s and can be observed across the region, according to Terence Chong, senior director of research and deputy CEO of of Singapore’s ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He said the city state’s land constraints, high building costs and limited urban zoning provision for places of worship were among the reasons for megachurches moving into retail spaces. “Renting commercial spaces is, thus, a logical outcome of these constraints,” Chong said. “After all, malls have ready-made facilities such as meeting rooms, car parks and auditoriums, as well as eateries and retail for post-spiritual activities, and are designed to handle large volumes of people.” He said that most independent Pentecostal churches in Singapore were “seeker churches” that tailored worship and sermons toward non-Christians. “The point is to be among non-believers … just as Jesus walked with sinners and to be a modern-day example of Christ in a hyper-capitalist world. Such churches generally have no issues with the reputation of Orchard Towers or other malls.” Similar megachurches could be found in Indonesia and Malaysia, Chong said. Jakarta Praise Community Church, one of the Indonesian capital’s largest congregations, occupies space at The Kasablanka in Kota Kasablanka Mall in South Jakarta, while Mawar Sharon Church operates several satellite services around the city, including at the Tribeca event space in Central Park Mall in West Jakarta. In Malaysia, Kingdomcity operates its global hub across multiple floors of One City Shopping Mall in Subang Jaya. Sociologist Daniel Goh of the National University of Singapore said that start-up evangelical and Pentecostal churches typically required little additional furnishing or religious adornment, making meeting rooms in hotels and shopping centres – already fitted with chairs and AV systems – an obvious fit. ‘Spiritual warfare’ For Goh, the Cornerstone move carries particular significance as an “extremely interesting case of Christian urbanism”. “The church is known for its spiritual warfare approach to cleanse and bless the city,” he said. “It appears that it chose to set up shop in Orchard Towers precisely because of its infamy as a vice and gang hotspot, with sex, drugs and murder featuring in the space.” The building’s criminal history is well-documented. In 2019, a 31-year-old man was killed in an early-morning brawl that began outside one of its nightclubs. In 2002, a British financial adviser strangled his chauffeur and suffocated his girlfriend following an argument, concealing the decomposing bodies in a wicker chest that he abandoned in the Orchard Towers car park. Goh noted that Orchard Road itself had been viewed as a conduit of “evil” in the past, lending the site added symbolic weight for a church with an explicitly redemptive mission. “The church is not just moving in and hoping to do it on its own. It has been reported that it is working with businesses in Orchard Towers, such as eateries, to change the culture there,” he said. Yang echoed that vision, describing the church’s broader aim as being a good neighbour. He recalled how mall tenants had responded warmly to the church’s Christmas carolling, with some subsequently attending services. “It has been an amazing, transformative journey,” he said. “We hope to continue bringing life and light to this place and to see more wholesome businesses sprout here.”

How Singapore’s most notorious mall found God

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Orchard Towers, once a byword for vice, is now part of a megachurch trend repurposing retail spaces from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur

Orchard Towers, once a byword for vice, is now part of a megachurch trend repurposing retail spaces from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur