TALL wooden hoardings now block off both ends of the once-bustling thoroughfare of Change Alley.

The moneychangers after whom it was named are long gone. All is eerily quiet at the glass-framed bridge linking Collyer Quay and Raffles Place.

However, the 32-year-old landmark will be reborn in 2010 as a shopping arcade with 12 retail shops, as part of a multimillion-dollar makeover now taking place at historic Collyer Quay.

It's just one of many changes in the waterfront area of Marina Bay that are set to create a buzz.

The eight-year-old One Fullerton, a three-storey entertainment complex occupying a prime spot along the quay, will be relaunched in August with four new eateries.

Business owners there are racing to open new restaurants and bars in time to cash in on the three-day Formula One SingTel Singapore Grand Prix that is expected to draw 240,000 spectators in September.

The new eateries include Forlino, a 5,000 sq ft traditional Italian restaurant to be helmed by Michelin-star chef Osvaldo Forlino from Italy.

It is run by Mr Beppe de Vito, who owns the Il Lido Italian restaurant at Sentosa Golf Club.

Hotelier Loh Lik Peng, who owns the hip New Majestic and 1929 hotels, will open an upscale 80-seat Cantonese restaurant on the ground floor.

Even the space under the Esplanade Bridge next to One Fullerton has been transformed. A $500,000 Spanish-themed bar, The Tapas Tree, which can seat 120 people, will open there.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.