Adaptive reuse project to breathe new life into George Town heritage shophouses

GEORGE TOWN, July 7 — The adaptive reuse of eight Category II heritage shophouses into the Cultural Heritage Hub (CH2) is set to become a model for preserving George Town’s ageing pre-war shophouses.

George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) general manager Dr Ang Ming Chee said the project would show how adaptive reuse can breathe new life into old buildings while respecting their heritage value.

“There are about 371 Category II shophouses in George Town,” she said in her speech during the kick-off ceremony for CH2 today.

The shophouses along Acheh Street were severely damaged in a 2015 fire and were left structurally unsafe for years.

Lim Kongsi Toon Pun Tong leased the buildings to GTWHI at a nominal rental under a 30-year agreement, with GTWHI to restore and operate the site as a public cultural space.

Ang said CH2 is intended to show how heritage conservation can create opportunities for younger generations by linking cultural preservation with the creative economy.

“Over the past 18 years, George Town has experienced tremendous prosperity and transformation. However, we must ask ourselves how we retain the soul of this city,” she said.

“A heritage enclave should not merely be a beautiful, hollow shell for tourists to take photographs,” she said.

She said CH2 aims to create market opportunities for young artisans and cultural practitioners so they can continue living and working within the city.

The hub will comprise a George Town Unesco World Heritage Site Interpretive Centre, a Creative Economy Incubation Centre and a Cultural Practitioner Interactive Space for exhibitions, workshops and community programmes.

Ang said the project is expected to take between two and three years and cost about RM10 million, with GTWHI now seeking proposals, investors and private sector sponsorship.

The launch coincided with the 18th anniversary of George Town’s inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.