Shenton Way is undergoing an evolution. Once Singapore’s prime financial district in the 1980s, following the deregulation of the financial market in 2000 and the large inflow of global capital into Asia, Singapore emerged as a significant Asian financial hub and the centre of the financial market shifted to Raffles Place as newer, more prestigious buildings such as UOB Plaza and Republic Plaza were built.
By 2006, the completion of One Marina Boulevard and One Raffles Quay saw another shift towards the east and with the completion of the Marina Bay Financial Centre and Asia Square, the centre of the financial market will move to the New Downtown. With this shift comes a myriad of opportunities for the regeneration of Shenton Way.
Shenton Way is served by four MRT stations – two existing (Raffles Place and Tangong Pagar) and two future (Downtown and Telok Ayer). By 2013, developments in this area will not be more than 450 metres from a station, enhancing connectivity to the east of the island and the Marina Bay area, making it one of the best connected precincts in the CBD.
Already, we have seen several redevelopment attempts by private land owners. As the existing buildings are somewhat functionally obsolete, they no longer meet the operational requirements of today’s businesses. The only way for such buildings to compete is through regeneration or complete redevelopment.
There is strong rationale for such regeneration. Shenton Way is in many ways the confluence of old and new. To the north and north east is Raffles Place and the New Downtown – Marina Bay. To the east, Asia Square sits on what is largely reclaimed land and the mixed use concept here is creating a livelier neighborhood in contrast to one which deadens when business hours end.
To the south is the terminal, where there has been talk about relocation further up the western corridor when the lease expires in 20-30 years, opening up plentiful opportunities in the neighbourhood. To the west is the historically and culturally rich Tanjong Pagar which itself is undergoing transformation. The recent sale of a site to GuocoLand is the tip of the iceberg in creating a livelier area with more live in population.
The future of Shenton Way is likely take the form of a mixed district with residential and boutique office blocks serving largely low footprint companies, with high value added services. The development of new residential projects in the area is already well established, with projects such as One Shenton (Formerly Robina House), The Clift and Icon already completed, and upcoming projects including Altez, Eon Shenton and Robinson Suites proving popular with buyers, who see the potential of new homes in a regenerated area close to the CBD. Also in the pipeline are several retail concepts. We now have The Bank and Marina Bay Link Mall and the redevelopment of the former UIC building to high end residential, soon to be launched as “V on Shenton”, will help create a 24.7 buzz in the neighborhood.
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