Zouk confirms move to Clarke Quay, last party at Jiak Kim Street in May 2016
Iconic homegrown nightclub Zouk has finally secured a new home - Clarke Quay.
The 24-year-old nightspot will bid farewell to its Jiak Kim Street home in May 2016. It hopes to start operations at Clarke Quay by June 2016 at the earliest, or September at the latest.
It will take over a 30,000 sqft space that was formerly occupied by public-listed company LifeBrandz, after the beleagured group was forced to close all its food and beverage establishments.
These outlets had included nightclub Fenix Room, live music venue Aquanova and gourmet hot dog eatery HopDog.
The announcement by the nightclub on June 28 puts an end to months of speculation about where it would move to when its lease expires at the end of the year.
Zouk had been given until the end of June to secure an alternative location, failing which it would have to vacate the premises when its lease expires in December 2015.
Founder Lincoln Cheng, 67, said he is happy to have found a new home, "where it will continue its legacy for the next generation".
He added: "The move to a new venue was inevitable, a foregone conclusion, so when the space at Clarke Quay became available, we set out immediately to move to the new venue, to make our new home at the earliest opportunity."
In choosing the location, he said he had considered every potential venue "very carefully", from location and accessibility to the cost of building it up.
He will be investing $10 million to build the new home in Clarke Quay.
Zouk was founded in 1991, when he converted a row of three derelict warehouses along the Singapore River into Singapore's first commercial dance club that brought electronic music to the forefront.
Over the years, the 40,000 sqft club has brought in some of the best international music acts in the world, including Icelandic singer-songwriter Bjork and top-ranking DJs such as Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, Hardwell and David Guetta.
The club has also outlasted fierce competition in Singapore's nightlife, including brand-name nightspots such as Ministry of Sound and Cafe Del Mar.
Now that it has secured a new location, Zouk will also be able to continue its annual outdoor ravefest, ZoukOut.
Held at Sentosa's Siloso Beach each year, the two-day event attracts tens of thousands of dance music fans partying from dusk till dawn. This year's ZoukOut will be held on Dec 11 and 12.