Turn this part of Singapore in the east into a regional hub
Paya Lebar is located in the eastern part of Singapore. The Paya Lebar MRT is an interchange station for the East-West MRT and Circle MRT lines. Singapore is divided into 28 districts and Paya Lebar is in District 14, which is also made up of neighboring cities like Eunos, Geylang and Kembangan. The city is located between Serangoon and Marine Parade and enjoys a rich road network with Paya Lebar Road, Sims Avenue and Geylang Road being the main roads serving the city’s residents.
In 2014, the Urban Redevelopment Authority, which is a statutory body in charge of urban planning in Singapore, released the plan to develop Paya Lebar into a regional hub. A Regional Center in Singapore is a second-tier business area after the main CBD (Central Business District) in the Central Area. This is about 15 times the size of a normal city center in the Housing Development Board (HDB) cities.
There are mixed opinions about the ambition to turn this part of Singapore into a regional hub because Paya Lebar is within walking distance of Geylang, known to be a red-light district in Singapore. The man in the street began to see a change coming when the government released 2 plots of land for public bidding in October 2014. More importantly, the plan is to have mixed development comprising commercial, residential and retail to build on this large plot of 3.9 hectares. The land has a maximum floor area of 1.78 million square feet. The opportunity to develop such an important project attracted the attention of local and foreign developers and conglomerates. At the close of the tender, 6 bidders submitted their offers and the consortium of Land Lease and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was the highest bidder with $1,671,688,888, which translates to $942.55 psf ppr.
Landlease is an international property developer and infrastructure company with portfolios in Europe, UK, Australia, Asia including Singapore. Founded in 1958, Landlease is headquartered in Australia and is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. In Singapore, the company operates shopping malls such as 313@Somerset, JEM (Jurong East Mall).
This major development at Paya Lebar Central, known as Paya Lebar Quarter on its website, will be the largest value development the developer will undertake in Singapore. Work has already begun on the 3 office towers and is expected to be completed in 2018. There will also be a 340,000+ square foot shopping center offering shopping, dining and entertainment options for executives and professionals working in the development. In addition, there will be 3 residential towers with a total of 429 residential units. With a direct link to the Paya Lebar MRT, the development is poised to be a place to work, live and play for professionals in Singapore.