Source: Lendlease
Aerial view of the $3.2 billion Paya Lebar Quarter integrated development, with a mix of office, retail and residences on a 4ha site
The Paya Lebar precinct around the MRT interchange station has become livelier. The plaza at Paya Lebar Square is now a favourite dance area, where crowds gather for Zumba and line dancing. Across the road, the $150 million redevelopment of SingPost Centre is close to completion. It will see the retail component of SingPost Centre almost double in size to 175,000 sq ft in net lettable area.
Meanwhile, the impending redevelopment of the Paya Lebar Air Base will also draw more workers, residents and visitors to the Paya Lebar Central area.
The real game changer in the precinct, however, is Lendlease’s $3.2 billion integrated development, Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ), says Tahlil Khan, JLL regional director of markets. “When substantially completed at end-2018, PLQ is likely to add to the buzz in the area.”
‘Gateway to Paya Lebar’
Khan sees PLQ as “the gateway to Paya Lebar” and the foundation block of the district.
Richard Paine, managing director of PLQ, certainly agrees. “We are witnessing exciting new developments all around Paya Lebar. The completion of PLQ will re-rate the area and transform the precinct into the most centralised regional business hub in Singapore,” he says.
PLQ sits on a 4ha site and is linked directly to the Paya Lebar MRT interchange station. The regeneration scheme contains three Grade-A office towers with close to one million sq ft of space, which are in turn linked to a standalone 340,000 sq ft shopping mall and three residential towers with 429 units.
The entire PLQ precinct has a wellness focus, with about 100,000 sq ft dedicated to lush green space. There are also 6m wide cycling and walking paths within the precinct, which are linked to five park connectors around the island. Beyond bicycle paths, PLQ will also have end-of-trip facilities such as secure bicycle storage areas, shower facilities and changing rooms.
Source: Lendlease
The entire PLQ precinct has a wellness focus, with about 100,000 sq ft of the site dedicated to lush green space
Long-term asset appreciation
The residential component of PLQ is Park Place Residences. When the first phase was launched on the last weekend of March, 215 out of the 429 units were sold in one day. This translates to 50% of the total units in the project. The average price achieved was $1,801 psf, surpassing most consultants’ initial estimates of $1,700 psf.
“The long-term asset appreciation is very attractive and that explains why the full allotment of the residential units in phase 1 were snapped up within a day,” says Paine. The second phase of Park Place Residences will be released at a later date, after further announcements to help people better understand the “precinct story” of PLQ, he adds.
Prospects of a revival in the private residential market after more than three years of price declines post-TDSR (total debt servicing ratio) means the value of Park Place Residences is likely to be elevated, says Alice Tan, head of research and consultancy at Knight Frank Singapore. “Its unique selling proposition as part of an integrated development located in the city fringe is also likely to be enhanced.”
Emerging retail precinct
Lendlease is also going to inject life into the retail scene at Paya Lebar. New retail brands and concepts will also be introduced at PLQ, with a focus on indoor and outdoor F&B offerings.
Apart from catering to office workers and residents at PLQ through anchor tenants such as FairPrice Finest and Kopitiam at the mall, the developer intends to have a full calendar of events year-round — from cultural and community to pop-up activities in the public plaza and green public spaces. These events will anchor Paya Lebar Central and PLQ as a destination, says Paine.
Other malls in the Paya Lebar Central precinct include One KM Mall (more than 150 shops with over 200,000 sq ft of retail space); Paya Lebar Square (95,000 sq ft of retail space) and the upcoming mall at SingPost Centre (175,000 sq ft).
However, PLQ’s larger retail footprint and direct connectivity to the Paya Lebar MRT interchange station, as well as being part of an integrated development, means “it is well-positioned to harness the immediate catchment of shoppers, commuters and office workers”, says Knight Frank’s Tan. “The emerging retail precinct is a positive for the area and will provide shoppers with a wider range of offers and experiences.”
Source: Lendlease
The retail mall at PLQ is well-positioned to harness the immediate catchment of shoppers, commuters and office workers
‘Future-Grade’ office spaces
Being an integrated development that is wellconnected to both the CBD and Changi International Airport also means PLQ has attracted a strong pipeline of interest from tenants looking for ‘Future-Grade’ office space, adds PLQ’s Paine.
What’s more, PLQ’s proximity to the CBD and access to the MRT interchange station makes it a more convenient, decentralised commercial hub that is likely to fetch a premium in terms of rent, reckons JLL’s Tahlil.
“Beyond just Grade-A spaces, PLQ’s future spaces will drive performance and productivity through people-first strategies, especially when research has found that rents only make up 9% of a company’s business operating costs, compared with 90% in staff-related expenses,” says Paine.
Rejuvenation
Michael Tay, CBRE executive director of office services, sees PLQ as “a catalyst” in URA’s vision for Paya Lebar Central as a growth area. Historic ally, Paya Lebar has been a largely industrial area with only limited Grade-B office stock, he notes. “PLQ is also expected to bring to reality URA’s plans to transform Paya Lebar into a thriving business hub that provides jobs closer to homes, thereby reducing congestion and commuting time to and from the CBD.”
Lendlease is not new to such regeneration schemes. In Australia, one of its high-profile regeneration projects is Barangaroo South in Sydney. The area, formerly an industrial container wharf, is today a new waterfront financial district with offices, residences and retail, says Paine. “It’s very much like what we will be doing with PLQ in Singapore.”
Another example is Lendlease’s International Quarter project in London. It sits within the former Olympic Park, a legacy of the 2012 Summer Games. “We are revitalising now-empty areas originally built to house athletes and spectators for the Olympics into future spaces for residents and businesses. With plenty of green, public spaces, it will [become] a bustling and energised hub in a previously quieter suburb of London,” Paine says, adding that this is similar to what Lendlease is doing with PLQ.
Source: Lendlease
Barangaroo South in Sydney was formerly an industrial container wharf. Today, it is a new waterfront financial district with offices, residences and retail outlets
This article appeared in The Edge Property Pullout, Issue 792 (Aug 14, 2017) of The Edge Singapore.