THE concept of the workplace is evolving. Historically, the quest was to design the perfect workplace focused on the infrastructure and physical design, taking into account technological transformations, with business cost efficiency being a major driver. This approach, however, often neglected the human aspects and how the talent interacted in and around the space and how productivity was...
Office / Retail Space
ACCORDING to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore's economy grew 2.1 per cent year on year (y-o-y) in Q2 2016, the same rate of growth as the previous quarter. With looming concerns over the weaker global outlook and the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, its economic growth forecast for 2016 also narrowed to 1 per cent to 2 per cent instead of the 1 per cent to 3 per cent...
ONE has to concede that Orchard Road is not the shopping belt it once was during its halcyon days. No longer do you see throngs lining the 2.2-kilometre boulevard, not even on weekends. Once regarded as the shopping and entertainment destination for Singaporeans and tourists alike, are Orchard Road's glory days dwindling? To better understand the wane of such a key shopping destination, it is worth...
A FLIGHT-TO-QUALITY among office occupiers is weighing down on rents and occupancies at older Grade A office buildings, where more space will be freed up as these tenants move into new prime offices. This is giving rise to a "two-tiered performance" in the prime office market, with Grade A offices seeing steeper declines in rents than the so-called "Grade A-plus" offices in the coming quarters. Average...
The Zhou family from Shanghai who picked up an office block at 137 Cecil Street last year has bought a 60 per cent stake in the company that owns the next-door property at 139 Cecil Street. The latest deal is said to value the 11-storey property at S$140 million. It is on a site with 99-year leasehold tenure starting Aug 20, 1981, which means the balance lease is around 64 years. Written permission...
The phrase “living the high life” will be actualized with the completion of the brand new mixed development – Stars of Kovan. Bagging the last piece of vacant land on Upper Serangoon Road, this property is poised to attract many a buyers on account of its exclusivity alone, if nothing else. The ideal location of being in the heart of Kovan, however, is not the only reason that Stars of Kovan has...
CLSA Capital Partners is said to have been selected to do exclusive due diligence for the purchase of 77 Robinson Road. The pricing is believed to be above S$530 million, or slightly above S$1,800 per square foot based on the net lettable area (NLA) of nearly 293,270 sq ft. Formerly known as Singapore Airlines (SIA) Building, the 35-storey office tower is on a site with 99-year leasehold tenure that...
The upcoming Funan integrated development will include a Golden Village cinema, indoor climbing gym as well as a click-and-collect shopping experience, announced developers CapitaLand at the site's groundbreaking on Wednesday (Sep 7). The redeveloped Funan DigitaLife Mall, which is expected to be completed in 2019, will retain its digital roots by selling IT products. Additionally, the mall will...
A STRING of commercial property transactions has taken place recently. These include a 12-storey freehold office block at 110 Robinson Road, owned by OCBC, which has sold it to Indonesian tycoon Tahir. The sale will be completed in three months, a spokeswoman for the bank said when contacted by The Business Times. The price is understood to be S$45.1 million or nearly S$3,169 per square foot based on...
ARA Asset Management Ltd has won the bid for a stake in Singapore's Capital Square office tower in the city's central business district, according to people familiar with the matter. ARA, which is listed in Singapore, is buying the 50 per cent stake in the building that was put up for sale last year by Alpha Investment Partners, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is...