Plans for the development of Orchard Towers were first drawn up by Golden Bay Realty in the early 1970s. Conceived as a "multi-purpose development", the development included offices, retail space, and residential units, and was expected to cost . Sime Darby acquired the development in May 1973, as part of their takeover of Golden Bay Realty, and the building was completed by 1975. Upon completion, Orchard Towers contained a roof garden, a 450-seat theater, and 150 retail units in the building along Orchard Road, as well as 58 residential units and a two-floor supermarket in the other building. By the mid-2000s the building's nighttime prostitution had come to dominate its daytime retailing of electronic goods and jewellery. The sex workers and their clients were mostly foreign. By the mid-2010s the building was ageing and run-down in comparison to the majority of up-market shopping malls on Orchard Road, with its retail units tenanted by
sex shops,
beauty parlours and
girlie bars. In July 2022, nightlife operators at Orchard Towers were notified that their licenses were not being renewed, which the
Singapore Police Force attributed to continued issues regarding public safety and vice activities at the development. In an attempt to get the police to reconsider, the nightlife operators shortened their operating hours, and the mall's business association hired additional security guards, but as of January 2023, the police remained firm on their decision not to renew the licenses. Nevertheless, in April 2023, the police subsequently extended the nightspots' licenses by two months, which was to allow for the nightspots to move out more smoothly. By October 2023, all the nightspots in Orchard Towers had moved out or closed down. In December 2023, the mall's operator announced plans to refresh Orchard Towers. These plans included the replacement of the mall's facade, and bringing in more "family-friendly" tenants such as tuition centres and food and beverage outlets in place of the massage parlours and nightspots that had moved out. Nevertheless, CNA reported that there still were vice activities at the mall. In January 2025, Cornerstone Heritage purchased about 19,000 sq ft of space on the fourth floor of Orchard Towers for S$54.5 million (US$40.2 million). The space, previously occupied by Top 5 and Crazy Horse, was sold for S$2,825 per sq ft based on a total strata area of 19,289 sq ft. The shareholders of Cornerstone Heritage include Yang Tuck Yoong and Daphne Yip - the founders and senior pastors of Cornerstone Community Church - and Timothy Chong, a fellow pastor at the church. The seller was the Sassoon Family, formally of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Brand. ==Orchard Towers double murders (2002)==