Quill City Mall

Quill City Mall is a seven-level shopping centre forming the retail component of Quill City, a mixed-use development in central Kuala Lumpur near Kampung Baru. The project occupies a prominent site on Jalan Sultan Ismail and is connected to Medan Tuanku Monorail station by a pedestrian bridge, with Dang Wangi and Sultan Ismail stations also within walking distance. The development is notable for its transformation from an abandoned project known originally as Vision City. The site was acquired in 1995 by RHB-Daewoo Sdn Bhd, a former direct subsidiary of Rashid Hussain Berhad. The original development order provided for a large integrated scheme comprising a retail centre, office towers, serviced apartments and extensive car parking. Three office towers were completed between 2000 and 2001 and subsequently sold to institutional and government-linked occupants. The remaining portions—including a partly constructed mall, an apartment block and land intended for another office tower—were left unfinished after financial difficulties affected the original developer. Vision City became one of several prominent incomplete developments in Kuala Lumpur. In 2007, the unfinished components were acquired by Quill Retail Malls Sdn Bhd and the overall project was renamed Quill City. The redevelopment preserved and reworked the partly completed retail structure. A design proposal publicised by SPARCH Architects in 2009 described a seven-level retail centre with a substantial lettable area and a naturally ventilated central cut-through incorporating a garden. The retail component was completed and opened as Quill City Mall on 16 October 2014, with the date reflecting the development's address, Lot 1018 on Jalan Sultan Ismail. At opening, the mall's tenant mix included AEON as anchor retailer, Golden Screen Cinemas and H&M. The AEON presence was significant because it represented the chain's return to downtown Kuala Lumpur after the closure of its former Plaza Dayabumi store in 1989. The mall later experienced a change in its supermarket offer. After the AEON supermarket closed, NSK Grocer, operated by homegrown wholesaler NSK Trade City, took over the space. NSK Grocer officially opened at Quill City Mall on 20 December 2021 as its first Malaysian outlet, occupying approximately 85,000 square feet. Quill City Mall combines retail, food, entertainment and urban-transit accessibility within a wider mixed-use site. The broader Quill City scheme was planned to include a high-rise office building and a serviced-apartment component, although the available reference material does not establish that all originally proposed components were completed. The mall remains the identifiable public-facing retail element of the Quill City redevelopment and is positioned as a centrally located Kuala Lumpur shopping destination rather than as a standalone national retail chain.

Quill City originated as Vision City, also referred to in Malay as Bandar Wawasan, on a 4.6-hectare site along Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur. RHB-Daewoo Sdn Bhd acquired the land in 1995. The planned scheme was conceived as an integrated urban development containing retail, offices, serviced apartments and parking. Its approved development order included a seven-level retail centre, a 35-storey office tower, a 45-storey serviced-apartment block with 450 units and 2,280 car-parking spaces. Several office elements were completed before the retail and residential portions stalled. Office Tower 1, a 29-storey building, was sold before construction to Bank Industri Bhd, now Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad, and was completed and handed over in 2000. A second 33-storey office tower was also completed in 2000 and sold to Kuala Lumpur City Hall for RM108.2 million. The 31-storey Office Tower 3 was completed in 2001 and sold to Majlis Amanah Rakyat for RM105 million. These transactions left the office portion in use while other elements of the original Vision City scheme remained unfinished. Financial difficulties affecting the original developer led to the abandonment or partial completion of the remaining components. The incomplete development joined a group of prominent stalled Kuala Lumpur projects, alongside developments such as Plaza Rakyat and the Duta Grand Hyatt project. In 2007, Vision City Sdn Bhd, the renamed successor to the original developer, sold the remaining unfinished components to Quill Retail Malls Sdn Bhd for RM430 million. The transaction covered a partially completed retail centre, a partially completed apartment block, land intended for a fourth office block and an adjacent vacant parcel. Following the acquisition, the overall project was renamed Quill City. SPARCH Architects publicised a redevelopment concept in 2009 that retained the retail centre while proposing a sheltered, naturally ventilated central cut-through with a garden. The retail building was ultimately completed as Quill City Mall, which opened on 16 October 2014. Its initial commercial offer included seven storeys of retail space, AEON as anchor tenant, Golden Screen Cinemas and H&M. The mall's supermarket configuration later changed. AEON's supermarket operation closed, and NSK Grocer, a retail brand associated with NSK Trade City, took over the space. The new supermarket opened on 20 December 2021, occupying about 85,000 square feet and serving as NSK Grocer's first outlet in Malaysia. Quill City Mall is linked directly to Medan Tuanku Monorail station by a second-floor pedestrian bridge. Dang Wangi and Sultan Ismail stations are also accessible on foot. The available reference material confirms the mall's completion and operation but does not establish the final completion status of every residential or office element proposed in the wider Quill City master plan.

• 2021

  NSK Grocer replaces the former AEON supermarket

  [1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  NSK Grocer opened at the mall on 20 December 2021, occupying approximately 85,000 square feet.

• 2014

  Quill City Mall opens

  [1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  The seven-level retail centre opened on 16 October 2014 with AEON, Golden Screen Cinemas and H&M among its initial major occupiers.

• 2009

  Redevelopment design is publicised

  [1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  SPARCH Architects presented a redevelopment concept for the retail centre featuring a sheltered central cut-through and garden.

• 2007

  Unfinished components are acquired by Quill Retail Malls

  [1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  Quill Retail Malls Sdn Bhd acquired the remaining incomplete portions of Vision City and renamed the overall project Quill City.

• 2001

  Third office tower is completed

  [1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  The 31-storey Office Tower 3 was completed and sold to Majlis Amanah Rakyat.

• 2000

  First two office towers are completed

  [1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  Office Tower 1 and Office Tower 2 were completed and transferred or sold to institutional and government-linked occupants.

• 1995

  RHB-Daewoo acquires the development site

  [1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  RHB-Daewoo Sdn Bhd acquired the approximately 4.6-hectare site in Kuala Lumpur for the planned Vision City integrated development.

A centrally located urban shopping mall integrated into the redevelopment of a formerly abandoned mixed-use project, with retail, grocery, entertainment and public-transit connectivity.

• Shopping mall · 2014

  Quill City Mall

  The completed retail component of Quill City is a seven-level urban shopping centre on Jalan Sultan Ismail. Its tenant mix has included department-store and general merchandise retail, fashion, grocery, food and beverage, cinema and lifestyle uses. The mall is connected by a second-floor pedestrian bridge to Medan Tuanku Monorail station, giving it a public-transit-oriented role within central Kuala Lumpur.

• Supermarket · 2021

  NSK Grocer at Quill City Mall

  NSK Grocer is the mall's later supermarket anchor, replacing the former AEON supermarket. The outlet officially opened on 20 December 2021 and was described as NSK Grocer's first Malaysian outlet. It occupies approximately 85,000 square feet and expanded the mall's grocery and everyday-needs offer.

• Cinema and entertainment · 2014

  Golden Screen Cinemas

  Golden Screen Cinemas was one of the principal tenants identified when Quill City Mall opened. Its cinema occupies space on the fifth floor above ground and contributes an entertainment component to the mall's retail and leisure mix.

• Department store and supermarket · 2014

  AEON

  AEON served as the original anchor retailer when Quill City Mall opened in 2014. The location was notable as AEON's first downtown Kuala Lumpur store in roughly 25 years after the closure of its former Plaza Dayabumi location. The AEON supermarket later closed and its space was taken over by NSK Grocer.

• 2021

  Replacement of AEON supermarket by NSK GrocerStrategy

  Background

  The AEON supermarket operating within Quill City Mall had closed, creating an opportunity for a new grocery anchor.

  Action taken

  NSK Grocer opened a new approximately 85,000-square-foot supermarket at the mall on 20 December 2021.

  Aftermath

  The change introduced NSK Grocer's first Malaysian outlet and restored a large supermarket offer at the mall.

  Source

• 2014

  Opening of Quill City MallProduct launch

  Background

  The retail portion of the formerly stalled Vision City project was redeveloped under the Quill City name.

  Action taken

  The seven-level mall opened on 16 October 2014 with AEON as anchor and Golden Screen Cinemas and H&M among the major tenants.

  Aftermath

  The opening converted the previously incomplete retail structure into an operating shopping centre in central Kuala Lumpur.

  Source

• 2007

  Acquisition and renaming of the stalled developmentM&A

  Background

  The remaining incomplete components of Vision City had been stalled after financial difficulties affected the original developer.

  Action taken

  Quill Retail Malls Sdn Bhd acquired the unfinished retail, residential and development parcels and renamed the overall scheme Quill City.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition enabled redevelopment of the partly completed retail structure, which subsequently opened as Quill City Mall in 2014.

  Acquisition price. RM430 million (2007)

  Source

• 2021

  NSK Grocer opens its first outlet at Quill City Mall[1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  NSK Grocer replaced the former AEON supermarket and officially opened a large-format outlet at Quill City Mall on 20 December 2021.

• 2014

  Quill City Mall opens in central Kuala Lumpur[1]Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Product launch

  The retail component of the redeveloped Quill City project opened on 16 October 2014 with AEON as anchor retailer and Golden Screen Cinemas and H&M among its principal tenants.

1. 1Quill Cityen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Quill City Mall official websitequillcitymall.com.my