Source : Business Times - 7 Jan 2009
HSBC, Unilever, SAP and Amex sign leases before park’s completion in 2010
The business park space at Mapletree Business City coming up in the Alexandra Road area has been substantially pre-leased ahead of its expected completion in second half 2010.
Developer Mapletree Investments, a fully-owned unit of Temasek Holdings, is said to have secured big-name tenants for a total of about 570,000 sq ft - including HSBC (190,000 sq ft), Amex (100,000 sq ft), consumer products giant Unilever (150,000 sq ft) and German software major SAP (around 120,000 to 130,000 sq ft).
CB Richard Ellis is understood to have brokered the leasing deals for the first three tenants, but it declined to comment on specific commercial terms of the leases.
However, BT understands that monthly rents signed for the deals are in the single-digit range and the lease durations are longer than normal.
In contrast, the average monthly rental value for Grade A office stood at about about $15 psf at the end of last year, after a 20 per cent slide from Q3 2008.
‘Mapletree Business City offers high-quality commercial space in a lower-cost location. In these austere times, that resonates with many occupiers,’ CBRE executive director Moray Armstrong said.
In addition, the attraction of Mapletree Business City is the access tenants will have to a host of facilities - including an air-conditioned food court, child care centre, gym, swimming pool, a 350-seat auditorium and meeting rooms.
Industry observers suggest the space taken by the first four tenants signed up at Mapletree Business City could stem from a combination of expansion of existing space requirements and consolidation from some existing locations.
‘Mapletree Business City will have large floor plates, so it makes sense for big users to relocate to a single venue like this to optimise their space requirements, rather than be in different buildings with smaller floor plates. At the same time, they would be reducing occupancy costs by moving out of the CBD,’ said Cushman and Wakefield Singapore managing director Donald Han.
HSBC’s current locations include HSBC Building at Collyer Quay, Singapore Post Centre in Paya Lebar, Comtech (next to Mapletree Business City) and the Claymore area. Amex, which has leased space at Marina Bay Financial Centre, has operations in Hitachi Tower in Collyer Quay and The Concourse at Beach Road. Unilever’s business locations in Singapore include UE Square at Clemenceau Avenue and along Vision Crest in Penang Road. SAP is at Goldbell Tower at Scotts Road and 63 Market Street.
BT understands that Mapletree Investments is in talks with other potential tenants to take up business park space at Mapletree Business City. The development will have about 1.7 million sq ft net lettable area - of which nearly 1.3 million sq ft will be for business park space in three blocks and about 400,000 sq ft will be offices in an 18-storey block. The business park blocks comprise a 17-storey tower and two 14-storey blocks joined at the upper levels.
Mapletree Investments is developing the project on the site of the former Alexandra Distripark (Blocks 1-3) and on an adjacent plot at Alexandra Terrace.
The development will be integrated with Mapletree’s adjacent properties - The Comtech and PSA Building - to form the group’s Alexandra Precinct assets. PSA Building will be directly connected to Labrador MRT Station under the Circle Line opening in 2010.
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