The West also rises with Jurong East makeover

Published April 5, 2008

The West also rises with Jurong East makeover

360-hectare Jurong Lake District will marry offices and retail outlets with waterfront playground

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


(SINGAPORE) With malls, hotels, offices and entertainment outlets, the sleepy charms of the area around Jurong East MRT Station are poised for a stunning makeover. The place - called Jurong Gateway - will be turned into the biggest regional centre on the island.

Add to this the land and water development around the nearby Jurong Lake - with kayaking, dragon boating and a lakeside village - and the transformation that melds business opportunities with leisure pursuits will be complete.

Jurong Gateway will provide 5.4 million sq ft gross floor area of new office space and 2.7 million sq ft of retail, F&B and entertainment area - more than 2.5 times the current size of Tampines Regional Centre, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan announced yesterday.

The time frame for development will be about 10-15 years and sites in the location are likely to be tendered out for private sector development based on market demand and pace of take-up.

The 70-hectare Gateway will also have at least 1,000 new private homes as well as 2,800 hotel rooms - roughly the same quantum as the Singapore River hotel belt.

Meanwhile, the Lakeside precinct around the Jurong Lake has been earmarked as a new waterfront playground spread over 220ha of land and 70ha of water. It is envisaged as a major leisure destination for Singaporeans and tourists, with about four or five proposed new attractions.

Jurong Gateway and Lakeside together make up Jurong Lake District, the blueprints for which were revealed by Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday.

The 360ha total potential area for development is close to the size of Marina Bay.

In his speech at URA's corporate plan seminar, Mr Mah stressed the importance of decentralisation as a key planning strategy to maintain balance between supporting economic growth and a high-quality living environment.

While Marina Bay and the city remain Singapore's main commercial centre, new commercial hubs like Jurong Gateway will be developed outside the city centre to provide more choices of attractive business locations and bring jobs closer to homes. URA has also earmarked the area around Paya Lebar MRT Station for development into an alternative business hub.

URA said Jurong Gateway will be ideal for company headquarters, business services as well as companies in the science and the research and development (R&D) fields. Such companies will be able to tap a large labour pool from a one million-population catchment in Jurong East and West, Clementi and Bukit Batok, enjoy proximity to a cluster of over 3,000 companies in the International Business Park and Jurong and Tuas industrial estates. Jurong Gateway is also a major transport hub, with Jurong East MRT Station and a bus interchange. The area around the MRT station is designated for development into an integrated commercial and transport hub with white use - allowing office, retail, residential and hotel use. A short distance away, at Jurong Town Hall Road, sites have been designated for high-rise office use.

The tallest buildings in Jurong Gateway will be 35 storeys high but building heights will step down towards Jurong Lake, allowing most developments to have panoramic views of the lake.

A new big-box retail format incorporating consumer electronics, furniture and hypermarket being developed by TT International will add about 34,000 sq m of retail space when completed by end-2009.

Mr Mah also stressed that Singapore's long-term approach to planning - encompassing the Concept Plan and Master Plan process - is a fundamental part of the republic's sustainable development effort. He noted that Singapore's physical resources, especially land, are able to support a long-term population planning parameter of 6.5 million.

The minister also touched on how the influx of foreigners is making some Singaporeans uneasy. 'They find the competition for jobs and school places tough. They see themselves priced out of the housing of their choice.'

Highlighting the contribution of foreigners to various tiers of the Singapore economy and society, Mr Mah said: 'We must . . . convince our people that at the end of the day, if we want to have a good life, we must learn to accept the foreigners in our midst.'

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Published April 5, 2008

JURONG LAKE DISTRICT

URA's Jurong Gateway plan draws mixed response

Consultants and developers hail alternative hub, but fear over-supply in medium term

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


PROPERTY consultants and developers have given a mixed reception to the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) plan for Jurong Gateway, which will have about 5.4 million sq ft of gross office area over 10-15 years.

While they welcome an alternative commercial hub that will provide lower-cost office space, some are worried about the timing that yesterday's announcement - made at a point when there is sufficient confirmed mid-term supply - will have on sentiment.

Others are worried the announcement may scare foreign investors from the local office market because of potential over-supply in the not-too-distant future.

First, the positive views.

Jones Lang LaSalle's Singapore country head Chris Fossick welcomed URA's plans for the new commercial hub around Jurong East MRT Station, comparing it to Changi Business Park in the east, which has attracted backroom offices of financial institutions.

Both locations are similar - close to transport hubs and a substantial labour pool, Mr Fossick noted. 'Singapore is in need of such facilities to provide an alternative to more highly-priced real estate in the CBD (central business district) for companies that don't need to be in the CBD.

'From a macro perspective, we can be more competitive as a country when it comes to office space. We can go to banks, IT firms or any MNC and say: 'You have two choices in Singapore: CBD office space or good-quality office space in Jurong or Changi.' We can say Singapore has office space that is expensive as well as space that's inexpensive.'

Another advantage of decentralisation is preventing congestion in the CBD from getting worse, Mr Fossick said.

Giving a more cautious view, CB Richard Ellis executive director Moray Armstrong said: 'The launch of the vision for the area comes at a time when there seems to be ample supply of office space catered for.

'I wonder how strong interest will be in developing the new office space in Jurong because there is already quite a healthy level of confirmed office supply on the island, the bulk of which is a product of the government's policy reaction in the past two years of releasing greater volume of land.

'Office space in the Jurong Gateway location is untested, but if the government is taking a long-term view, it's not unreasonable to envisage this location emerging as a Tampines equivalent.

'Nonetheless, the target they have set looks pretty ambitious in terms of the overall quantum of space, even for a 10-15 year time-frame. After all, Tampines has existing and new office developments in the pipeline with a total net lettable area of about two million sq ft, and that would be over a span of 12-13 years.'

City Developments group general manager Chia Ngiang Hong also voiced concern about the timing of the release of office sites at Jurong Gateway.

'Hopefully, the government will study the market situation carefully before it starts tendering out new office sites,' he said. 'Otherwise, it won't be healthy to cause a massive over-supply in the market again.'

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Published April 5, 2008

JURONG LAKE DISTRICT

Plot ratios may change in certain local conditions: Mah


WILL plot ratios go up in the draft Master Plan 2008?

'There will be changes in certain places to reflect certain local situations, local conditions,' National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday without elaborating.

But there will 'not be a major review across-the-board' of plot ratios for the draft Master Plan 2008, he said. Plot ratio is the ratio of maximum gross floor area (GFA) to site area, so the higher a site's plot ratio, the more the GFA that can be built on it.

The draft Master Plan 2008 is expected to be unveiled in late May and exhibited for a month for public feedback before being finalised and gazetted by the year-end.

Mr Mah last year ruled out massive, across-the-board islandwide increases in plot ratios for Master Plan 2008 to cope with a long-term population planning parameter of 6.5 million. Yesterday, he said: 'We will do our Master Plan review every five years. As we go forward, as the situation changes, we will make the appropriate decision then.'

A study by Jones Lang LaSalle published by BT earlier this year said undeveloped state sites within walking distance of Circle Line MRT stations, particularly those that intersect with existing MRT lines, will be among the top candidates for higher plot ratios in Master Plan 2008.

The study highlighted areas near Paya Lebar MRT Station and Buona Vista MRT Station, where the Circle Line will intersect with the existing East-West Line, and HarbourFront MRT, where the Circle Line crosses the North-East Line.

Published April 5, 2008

JURONG LAKE DISTRICT

Jurong Lake will be transformed into waterfront playground

4-5 new attractions planned; Science Ctr site to be developed


THE area around Jurong Lake has been earmarked as a waterfront playground lined with four or five new attractions.

As part of the revamp, the Singapore Science Centre will also be relocated next to Chinese Garden MRT Station and its present site carved into a third island within Jurong Lake and developed into Lakeside Village.

The village, surrounded by a new waterway, will offer alternative shopping and dining, with food & beverage, retail and entertainment outlets and boutique hotels on the lakeside. It will be connected to the new commercial hub at Jurong Gateway through a network of walkways.

The existing Chinese and Japanese gardens - which occupy the two existing islands in the lake - will have added new facilities and activities to boost their attraction.

The plans were revealed in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) draft Master Plan for the area, released yesterday. The plan will guide development over the next 10-15 years.

The four or five new attractions will cater to families with young children. They could include edutainment that rides on proximity to the new Science Centre, nature-based activities that leverage on the lake, as well as attractions with hotels, F&B and shopping.

URA said the new attractions will complement those Jurong already has, such as Jurong Bird Park, the Science Centre and Singapore Discovery Centre.

'The attractions at Jurong Lake will be differentiated from others at Marina Bay, Southern Waterfront and Mandai,' URA said.

URA will work with the Singapore Tourism Board to encourage investors to develop the attractions, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said yesterday.

A new public park will be developed on the western edge of Jurong Lake next to Lakeside MRT Station. Water activities like kayaking and dragon-boating will be introduced on the lake by end-2008. And boardwalks, fishing points and wetlands will be introduced along selected stretches by end-2009.

URA chief executive Cheong Koon Hean said URA may include its plans for Jurong Lake District in its overseas marketing efforts.

The authority's draft Master Plan for the district - comprising the Lakeside precinct as well as the area around Jurong East MRT Station, dubbed Jurong Gateway - has drawn kudos from industry players.

Park Hotel Group director Allen Law said a business hotel could work in the Jurong Lake District. 'A tourist hotel will depend on the phasing of the new attractions,' he added.

Nature Society president Geh Min said: 'I am happy to hear the mention of wetlands. I don't think there will be an issue with the loss of natural environment.'

UOL Group chief operating officer Liam Wee Sin said of URA's plans for the district: 'I'm quite impressed. There's a big opportunity to do an eco-city, not just sky gardens and terraces - but with conscious planning, policy, design and usage.'

DP Architects' Tai Lee Siang reckons the Jurong Lake District will have an edge over Tampines Regional Centre because it has the lake as a natural asset.

Colliers International said URA's blueprint for the district will boost the popularity and value of property there in the mid to long term.

'It's exciting because it will inject a new lease of life to an area that has struggled for many years to shrug off its image as an industrial location,' said Colliers' director Tay Huey Ying.

- With additional
reporting by Arthur Sim

Published April 5, 2008

JURONG LAKE DISTRICT

Mah disagrees with suggestions on land sales, deferred payment scheme


NATIONAL Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday disagreed with suggestions by property tycoon Kwek Leng Beng on the need for the government to review its first-half 2008 land sales programme and rethink its decision to scrap the deferred payment scheme.

Mr Mah said the government can be nimble on state land sales because the programme is reviewed every six months, depending on changes in the market.

But the H1 2008 programme will not be changed midstream, he said. 'We should be careful of knee-jerk reactions. You can't adjust it just because something is happening yesterday and then we change things today. We've got to take a longer-term view.'

Mr Mah was speaking at a media briefing after he delivered the keynote address at Urban Redevelopment Authority's Corporate Plan seminar at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

In an interview published by BT this week, Mr Kwek had urged the government to review its H1 2008 land sale programme, which was fixed last year when the property market was buoyant compared with today.

On the decision announced in October last year to scrap the deferred payment scheme, Mr Mah said yesterday it was carefully considered, taken 'after a lot of thought, deliberation'.

'The objective was two-fold,' he said. 'One, to remove excessive speculation from the market. And two, to make sure there is financial prudence - that people make decisions and don't over-commit themselves.

'These are two very important objectives and they are still relevant today - in fact, probably more so in today's kind of market. I don't see any need for us to change our decision on that.'

Mr Kwek had suggested the deferred payment scheme could be revived, but this time with a higher initial payment of 30 per cent instead of 20 per cent previously. He also said that if a developer wants to extend a deferred payment scheme to a buyer, perhaps the developer's bank might be in a better position to assess viability, while keeping an eye on prudence.

Mr Kwek also made a suggestion he said could make housing more affordable for young Singaporeans, including singles. The government could build more public housing units and lease them to young first-time buyers with an option to buy the flats within 10 years at fixed prices, he said.

Responding yesterday, Mr Mah said he disagreed with the premise that young couples cannot afford to buy an HDB flat.

'The average amount of money they need to put up for monthly mortgage payments is well within their means, something like 20 per cent. This is quite affordable,' he said.

'If you were to rent, they will probably be paying as much, if not more, in rental, than to buy the flat. It doesn't make sense to rent when you can buy using your CPF. You rent, you can't use your CPF.

'When you buy, you actually buy a place you can call your own. It's an investment. When you rent, it's not yours.

'Our home ownership policy with all the generous housing subsidies that we have given actually allows most Singaporeans, young couples, to be able to buy their own homes.

'If you look at the numbers, you'll find that suggestion (by Mr Kwek) does not quite make sense.'

April 5, 2008

Singapore's very own Lake District

Jurong is set to shed its industrial image with a stunning makeover

By Jessica Cheam

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POLISHING A 'GEM': Set around the Chinese Garden and Lakeside MRT stations will be new tourist attractions and parks, complemented by water activities. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG

JURONG tends to conjure up unflattering images of factories and sleepy suburbia, but the area is slated for a stunning makeover that will transform it into Singapore's only lakeside destination.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday unveiled a vision for a revamped Jurong, starting with a new name: the Jurong Lake District.

The ambitious plan, to be implemented over the next 10 to 15 years, involves building new waterways, 1,000 private homes, 2,800 hotel rooms and adding 750,000 sq m of office and retail space.

The Jurong Lake District, which at 360ha is the size of Marina Bay, will consist of two precincts.

One is the 70ha Jurong Gateway, which will boast swanky new offices, condos and entertainment features, including an Olympic-size ice-skating rink, all set around Jurong East MRT station.

The other is Lakeside, which is being targeted as a hang-out for young families.

It will feature a bold new science centre, tourist attractions and parks complemented by water activities, all set around the Chinese Garden and Lakeside MRT stations.

Mr Mah told a 500-strong audience at an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) seminar yesterday that many Singaporeans saw Jurong as a suburban residential and industrial area 'located far away from the city centre'.

But he described it as a 'gem', with compelling reasons singling it out for redevelopment. It is near established towns, with a large labour force and a population catchment of more than one million residents.

It is also a thriving business hub, with more than 3,000 companies - from multinationals to tiny operations - two universities and research centres such as one-north in the vicinity. That made it an ideal business location for cutting-edge technology, said Mr Mah.

Existing transport links - the PanIsland and Ayer Rajah expressways and two MRT lines - also connect Jurong East to the city quickly.

Mr Mah pointed to another benefit of the plan: the proximity of jobs to homes in the area, which reduced the need to commute and eased pressure on transport services.

Jurong's rejuvenation is part of a broader URA decentralisation strategy to balance economic growth, reduce commuting and provide a high quality of life with many leisure options.

It will announce its plans next month to redevelop Paya Lebar. Both initiatives are part of its 2008 Draft Masterplan Review.

URA chairman Alan Chan said the ideas for Jurong were the result of consultation with a wide spectrum of public and private industry players.

Market watchers welcomed the news, saying it would inject new life into Jurong, which has struggled for years to shed its industrial image.

Colliers International's director of research and consultancy Tay Huey Ying said the plan 'would lift the popularity and value of property in the mid- to long-term'.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail predicted that home prices could increase by five to 10 per cent in the next two years.

Madam Halimah Yacob, an MP for Jurong GRC, said the rejuvenation was a welcome move.

The Chinese and Japanese gardens, for example, were under-utilised and could do with a makeover, she said.

Residents are also excited.

Manager David Lim, 49, who owns a four-room HDB flat at Lakeside, said he hardly stays in Jurong for his weekend recreational activities.

'But to have all these amenities so close to home will really be a bonus,' he said.

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April 5, 2008

FUN

New waterfront playground

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WATERSIDE FUN: The lakeside village will feature a host of food and retail outlets as well as boutique hotels.

THE Lakeside area will be transformed into a major leisure destination in the next 10 to 15 years, with existing attractions enhanced and new ones added.

First up is the new 'world-class' Singapore Science Centre, which will involve expanding the existing attraction and relocating it next to Chinese Garden MRT station. This will allow it to make use of the nearby Jurong Lake and surrounding green spaces to extend the learning environment, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday.

New facilities will also be added to key attractions in the area, like the Chinese and Japanese Gardens.

Jurong Lake itself will be spruced up, turning the area into Singapore's new 'waterfront playground' and bringing it closer to the new Jurong Gateway office hub.

The Government is also exploring ways to make the lake more accessible, such as by building new waterways or a landscaped walkway.

By the end of the year, the lake will host new water activities such kayaking and dragon-boating, thanks to the PUB. By the end of next year, the agency will also set up more public amenities around the lake, such as boardwalks, fishing points, wetlands and water features. To cap it all, a public park and a lakeside village will be built along with four or five other attractions near the water targeted at families with young children.

These may have 'edutainment' or nature themes, and could even include hotels, restaurants, or shops.

The lakeside village will offer more shopping and dining options. It will be linked to Jurong Gateway by a network of walkways, making the two precincts just a 10-minute walk apart.

April 5, 2008

BUSINESS

Largest commercial area outside town

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BIG DRAW: Jurong Gateway will host offices, shops, homes, hotels, restaurants and entertainment centres.

MOVE over, Tampines. Jurong is set to be the next big suburban commercial hub.

About 70ha around the Jurong East MRT station have been set aside for the new Jurong Gateway, which will be the largest business district outside of town.

Offices, shops, homes, hotels, restaurants and entertainment centres are just some of the facilities earmarked for the site, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday.

Jurong Gateway will provide about 8.1 million sq ft of office and retail space - more than double Tampines' and more than three times Novena's, Mr Mah said.

About two-thirds of the space will be set aside for offices, while a third will be for retail, restaurant and entertainment outlets. There will be a mix of large, modern malls and low-rise shops in a 'village setting'.

Jurong Entertainment Centre, part of CapitaLand's CapitaMall Trust, is also being revamped and will house an Olympic-size ice-skating rink next year.

Mr Mah also said more than 1,000 new private homes will be added around the MRT station, and up to 2,800 hotel rooms in the area.

The spate of development will make Jurong Gateway 'an attractive location for company headquarters, especially those from the business services and science and technology sectors', he said, adding that Jurong East is 'already a thriving business hub today', with more than 3,000 companies in Jurong and Tuas.

Property consultants welcomed the plans. 'Making plans now would prevent a possible repeat of the supply crunch we are experiencing,' said Ms Tay Huey Ying of Colliers International.

April 5, 2008

HOUSING

Over 1,000 private homes to be built

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TARGETING YOUNG FAMILIES: View of Lakeside park. New private housing will be coming up close to the area.

PROPERTY hunters looking to buy a stake in the newly revamped Jurong Lake District will be happy that more than 1,000 private homes will be built there.

But no more new Housing Board flats are planned for Jurong, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday.

This is also partly because the focus is on building up Sengkang and Punggol towns, said Mr Mah.

'There is sufficient public housing in Jurong so the next phase will be... on private housing,' he added.

However, if demand is strong for the private homes, more land can be re-allocated for condominiums.

That is why the sites around the MRT stations are mostly white sites, said Mr Mah.

'But all this ultimately has got to depend on the market and how it responds, whether the emphasis is more on office or housing.'

The Urban Redevelopment Authority said yesterday that the residential buildings at Jurong Gateway are likely to be 35 storeys at most, and building heights will gradually step down towards the lake to enable good views.

Colliers International's director of research and consultancy, Ms Tay Huey Ying, said it was timely for the Government to make early plans to accommodate and tap on any spillover in demand from the Central Business District.

This could occur from the office, hotel and residential sectors when mega projects, such as the two integrated resorts and Marina Bay Financial Centre, are completed and up and running, she said.

April 5, 2008

Jurong's massive makeover

Area the size of Marina Bay will be transformed with homes, hotels, shops, eateries and offices linked to MRT via walkways and waterways

By Jessica Cheam

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EXTREME makeovers do not come more dramatic than this.

In an ambitious plan unveiled yesterday, a large swathe of Jurong will be redeveloped and rebranded the Jurong Lake District.

The 350ha area affected is similar in size to Marina Bay, and will boast all the elements of a vibrant mini-metropolis.

That means new high-rises, hotels, apartments, shops, food places and offices as well as no end of water-related recreational pursuits, with everything linked to MRT stations via walkways and waterways.

Unveiling the plans yesterday, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan described Jurong as somewhat under-recognised, 'a gem yet to be uncovered and refined'.

Among Singapore's public housing estates, Jurong has been something of an ugly duckling, its factories giving the place a decidedly industrial-town feel. This is an image it will shed in the next 10 to 15 years as the new plans come to life.

Reinventing Jurong is a challenge, Mr Mah acknowledged. 'But we want to show that this is not pie in the sky, it's something real,' he said.

Anyone any idea when MCL will launch the JE plot.