Shopping malls along Orchard Road are going for facelifts even though they are relatively new, due to rising competition from brand-new shopping centres - which are forcing the existing ones to spruce up their act. Instead of refurbishing a shopping centre after a decade or two, mall owners are tweaking the look and feel of even relatively new buildings. Analysts say this is because the ownership of many...
Office / Retail Space
CapitaMall Trust Management (CMT) has entered into an agreement to buy Iluma shopping mall in the Bugis area. It is set to pay Jack Investments S$295 million for the property. The mall has a net lettable area of over 185,000 square feet and has an occupancy rate of nearly 84 per cent. CMT expects the acquisition to strengthen its foothold in the downtown core of Singapore. It currently owns four prime...
The Wisma Atria shopping mall at Orchard Road is poised to undergo redevelopment. The manager of Starhill Global REIT said it plans to redevelop the shopping mall to boost its positioning on Singapore's shopping belt. Starhill said phase one of the redevelopment is expected to cost about S$31 million. This will in turn generate an additional net property income of around S$2.5 million a year. The REIT...
Singapore's green drive is reaching new heights. It now boasts of having the highest solar panels in Southeast Asia at the Ocean Financial Centre. The 43-storey building is the first office development in Singapore to be awarded the Platinum Green Mark Award. Nestled in the heart of Singapore's financial district, the Ocean Financial Centre stands out with its sloping roof. But it is what is on its roof...
Fast-growing Asia and Latin America are expected to see commercial property rents and values rise in the first quarter of the year, while the hard-hit United States market is showing signs of recovery, according to a survey by The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). RICS, which polled 410 of its members worldwide, said rental expectations in major markets such as Hong Kong, China, Singapore and...
The path of the two-speed global economic recovery, currently under way, will determine the prospects for commercial property markets worldwide, property consultant DTZ said in its 2011 Global Outlook report. The report states that strong economic growth projections in most Asian and Central and Eastern European countries will trigger strong occupier demand. The growth will also underpin strong rental and...
Hyundai Engineering and Construction has been awarded the contract for the construction of Asia Square's Tower 2. The South Korean contractor is currently overseeing the ongoing construction works of Asia Square Tower 1 and is scheduled to complete the building in June this year. This brings the total value of the construction of Asia Square to more than S$1 billion. The construction of Asia Square...
The Marina Bay Link Mall, one of Singapore's newest underground malls, is reporting brisk business after just a month of opening. Some tenants said sales have doubled since they started operations. The mall has a catchment of about 55,000 workers and residents in the area. The number is expected to grow with additional condominiums being built. Currently, four in 10 of the retail space is occupied by...
Net new office demand surged to 753,473 square feet in the fourth quarter of 2010, the highest quarterly since Q1 2007. The Q4 take-up was triple the 258,334 sq ft for Q3 and took the total for 2010 to 1.65 million sq ft, a sharp reversal of negative demand of about 236,806 sq ft in 2009. 'This once again demonstrates the fast recovery in the office market and the voracious appetite of office occupiers...
Access to nex shopping mall in Serangoon is now much easier. Those taking the MRT can access the mall's basement from the Circle Line side of Serangoon MRT interchange. The entrance was opened last week. The entrance from the North-East Line side is expected to open at the end of March, said a spokesman for mall manager Guthrie Consultancy Services. There is also good news for those who drive. Openings...