When he returned to the little red dot in 2009, he noticed there was an opportunity to breathe new life into Singapore’s stately heritage shophouses. “A lot of shophouse neighbourhoods were quite sleepy but they were architecturally beautiful, in some cases were situated in great locations and had a lot of charming attributes – some were close to park connectors,” he observes. “We saw a lot of opportunities in places like Keong Saik at that time.”

So he started boutique property investment company The Bamboo Group to focus on a business opportunity he had spotted — refurbishing mixed use shophouses, featuring food and beverage establishments on the ground floor and apartments or offices on the upper floors.

Their first project which they unveiled in 2015 was 1 Keong Saik, the Working Capitol’s main hub, which remains the “heart and soul” of the business. Today, the building also houses the one Michelin starred Meta restaurant and Coexist Coffee Co.

“At that time it was neither here nor there but we saw a beautiful property that allowed us to integrate different uses that were complementary. The goal was to convert the ground floor into restaurants and a cafe and then create a coworking community upstairs that would also be fueled by events and other community initiatives,” he says.

The hybrid space concept turned out to be a success and went on to be the company’s “proof of concept of building a resilient and diverse neighbourhood”. This has since been executed not only in nearby enclaves such as Club Street but also other neighbourhoods including Tanjong Katong, Siglap, Thomson and Upper Bukit Timah. To date, the company has established a portfolio of about $200 million.

We aim to create convenience for our user groups and communities but we also hope to engage them in a meaningful way so they are involved in the adaptive reuse and revitalisation of a precinct. We hope by recycling and rejuvenating old properties, this is a more environmentally kind approach rather than entering newly built environments.

In 2021, Gattie consolidated his various brands, projects and partners under Triple P – for people, place and purpose – to focus on his overarching vision for a “holistic neighbourhood approach”. This year, Triple P bought its first property and will be putting together an investment vehicle to do this on a “neighbourhood scale”, he adds.

The secret sauce to Triple P’s approach, he says, is to curate communities that will breathe new life into these historic districts. “We aim to create convenience for our user groups and communities but we also hope to engage them in a meaningful way so they are involved in the adaptive reuse and revitalisation of a precinct. We hope by recycling and rejuvenating old properties, this is a more environmentally kind approach rather than entering newly built environments,” he explains.

This is why the company also incorporates a placemaking element, so as to foster vibrant public spaces. For instance, the public mural by artist duo Ripple Root continues to draw people to Keong Saik and pre-Covid-19, there were street closures to encourage people to explore the area.

Up next, Gattie reveals that Triple P will be entering the residential living space and lets on that the company is further exploring the Lavender precinct. It is a hint perhaps to coolhunters that it is time to take a closer look at this locale.

He says, “Our goal has always been to localise the offering and figure out what is best for the specific area. That is how we create value in fringe locations so that we give tenants access not only to their space but to the whole neighbourhood.”

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