The new development at 148 Cecil Street
Singaporean real estate investment and development manager TE Capital Partners, together with joint venture partner LaSalle Investment Management, has obtained Building Plan approval for a freehold Grade A commercial development at 148 Cecil Street in Singapore’s central business district following their acquisition earlier this year of the site where the PIL Building currently stands.
The proposed new 20-storey office building, easily accessible from the Telok Ayer, Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Shenton Way MRT stations, is set to break ground in 2023 and is expected to meet advanced green building specifications sought after by global occupiers and investors.
Upon completion, the development will stand out in the CBD as one of very few newly built, modern office buildings with the highly coveted freehold status, as most modern Grade A buildings in the CBD sit on leasehold land, while most freehold sites continue to be dominated by increasingly outdated buildings. Capitalising on this advantage, the vision for the development is a world-class, institutional-grade workspace where occupants can collaborate, innovate, learn and socialise in a secure, technology-enabled and sustainable environment. In short, a modern product designed to meet the needs of top occupiers competing for the best talent.
Leveraging TE Capital Partners’ extensive development management capabilities in Asia Pacific real estate markets with its principals drawing on experience from their executive roles at Tong Eng Group, a Singaporean developer with a history of over 70 years, and LaSalle’s track record as a global investment firm with assets under management of $82 billion (as of Q1 2022), including several prime Grade A office buildings in key global cities, the development is expected to become a prestigious new landmark within Singapore’s CBD.
Adding Space to a Hungry Market
The completed development will add in excess of 190,000 square feet (17,652 square metres) of prime office space to Singapore’s CBD, a resilient market that saw vacancy rates reach a low 5.1 percent and office rents increase 1.6 percent on a quarterly basis in the three months to June, according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Designed with a 16 foot (4.9 metre) floor-to-floor height and a floor plate of over 12,000 square feet, the development accommodates dynamic spatial planning to enable occupiers flexible use of their spaces and superior vertical aesthetics that infuse generous natural light and ventilation into the space.
In addition, the space also incorporates wellness features designed to address employee well-being and enable more in-office interaction and activities. Sustainability-monitoring dashboards, apps for booking of shared tenant facilities and destination-controlled touchless sensor lift access systems are among the high-tech highlights to feature in the development.
Incorporating a sky garden on Level 4, a Sky Lounge on the roof and lush greenery to create a biophilic community in central Singapore, the development will boast extensive energy- and water-efficient features and smart provisions that will qualify it for the Singapore sustainability framework BCA Green Mark Platinum certification.
Contributing to Singapore’s Transformation
With the growing economic importance of Southeast Asia, Singapore is expected to expand its influence as a regional hub where the world’s largest multinational corporations establish their global and regional headquarters. Coupled with recovery and rebuilding efforts across Asia Pacific in the wake of COVID-19, office demand in Singapore is also predicted to increase. In fact, growing demand for prime office space has already seen rents in Singapore’s CBD return to near pre-COVID levels, according to research by JLL, with rents having now risen for five consecutive quarters.
As Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority executes its masterplan to create dynamic urban neighbourhoods in Singapore’s core, with an emphasis on rejuvenating the CBD, this upcoming development looks set to contribute to the transforming landscape in Singapore.
Leave a Reply