We have a new building going up in the financial district. Unfortunately its only 16 floors but I'm sure its better than what it replaced. The plot of land it occupies is very small and tight.

Only pic I could find was the signboard:

http://img153.exs.cx/img153/9913/parakou4lo.jpg

Er? What building did it replace actually? Im surprised I didnt notice it earlier...

It wasnt announced anywhere on the news too. Maybe if you have the street directory you can find out what it replaced. But a nice blob of glass in the location looks cool :cool:

I just checked. 122-126?!! Its replacing that UOF Building and Chiang Hong Building....both were 4 floors high, but the UOF was quite a "landmark" for being so out of place! :D

excellent! a 4 storey building is replaced with something 400% taller! :cucumber:

of course I wish we had something way taller..but that plot of land is realistically very small.

excellent! a 4 storey building is replaced with something 400% taller! :cucumber:

of course I wish we had something way taller..but that plot of land is realistically very small.
Haha..taller is good, but I dont think it can take anything taller then 30 floors I think, given the height of the surrounding buildings. The Corporate Office just across the road is 29 floors, and Robinson Centre, 20 floors, is on the other side...the rest are all shorter then that.

Anyway the site isnt really small. Its twice as large as most of its neighbours already, since it replaces two buildings!

Chiang Hong is a misfit in the area.Only a mere 4 stories tall and only a few metres wide.

UOF with its neighbour Chiang Hong:
http://www.streetdirectory.com.sg/buildings/068905_main.jpg
http://www.streetdirectory.com.sg/buildings/068903_main.jpg

thank goodness they got rid of that!

it looks ok... whats parakou?!

it's a bit alarming to see all the new buildings looking more or less the same... mainly the commercial buildings... all big glass cuboids...

yah..its not too far from the glassy SIA Building...I wonder if they will attack the AfroAsia Building too...

I checked and Parakou is some investment co.

oh no no no afro asia building should be made into some lifestyle-gallery-cafe-fine dining spot... such a pretty building... if they want preserve the façade and build a glass (clear) on top of it...

That is quite old, perhaps built in the 1930s?There's one photo dated 1954, and it is already there.

30/06/2004

http://img31.photobucket.com/albums/v94/huaiwei/Duxton%20Trip/Parakou.jpg

That pic shows how small the plot actually is

And it shows how an accidental swing from any of the machinery will sent granite crashing into a neighbouring building...

eek... that's a scary thought....

17 July 2004

a look at whats going on inside

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/500/103parakou17.jpg

Hardly a hole yet eh? :D Any idea when they started work?

Dunno man..I chanced upon the construction site when I returned, although that blue draping in your pic was recent. But the machinery was already there...

From AEDAS AArchitects in associated with KPF

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/chady/126RobinsonRoad.jpg

From AEDAS AArchitects in associated with KPF

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v171/chady/126RobinsonRoad.jpg

THANK YOU so much CHAD!!! :okay:

I was looking for more renderings or details of this project!

It is indeed a VERY small site they are working on and I think its glassy facade will be a star along that part of Shenton Way :yes:

looks pretty decent.

So short...

Height restriction?

I think it has to do with the land-plot ratio law which set to 1:10 I think.

in addition to height restrictions, small plots are bothersome as well.

6 November 2004

http://img95.exs.cx/img95/8889/parakou0611.jpg

Interesting... :)

What is its neighbour?

lol one of those unknown short buildings along SHenton Way that you never see in the skyline.

But the building I took the pic from houses the Bank of India

http://www.streetdirectory.com.sg/buildings/068902_main.jpg

http://www.streetdirectory.com.sg/buildings/068902_right.jpg
HB Robinson. Btw, that's one narrow building on the right! :runaway:

and they seem stuck together....which makes this project so fascinating cos the plot is really small

3 buildings in the same style, stuck together.

This, GMG and SIF.

2nd December 2004

http://tinypic.com/ea38na.jpg

22 December 2004

http://img156.exs.cx/img156/4808/parakou22128xj.jpg

9 Jan 2005
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/redstone/parkrou.jpg

cool:) :)
alot of glas :)

looks like 1st level is completed..its a very small site

i hate all those green draperies! :bleep:

I hate small, short buildings in the CBD cluster... :bleep:

but this is a corner building, so you'll get to see more of its mass compared to the older ugly ones :yes:

Yup...
Better than those small, short narrow buildings that only has windows on one side... :bleep:

http://membres.lycos.fr/pengui/tour/050111_parakou01.jpg

The core has started rising one more level since two days ago ;-)
The building behind will have its windows completely blinded... Not cool for them ^^

^

how true :lol:

I think this one will rise very fast

:eek:
That's super fast!

4th of February

From neighbouring carpark:
http://membres.lycos.fr/pengui/ssc/050204_parakou01.jpg

http://membres.lycos.fr/pengui/ssc/050204_parakou02.jpg

http://membres.lycos.fr/pengui/ssc/050204_parakou03.jpg

Floor plates are 3rd storey, core is 5th storey.
It will be one of the tallest buildings of the block, easily.

23 February 2005

4th floor now

http://img229.exs.cx/img229/4535/parakou23027nl.jpg

Redevelop those ugly buildings next to it too; turn them into nightspots, pubs, or restraunts.

Somehow the floor area looks small... :eek:

4th March

http://membres.lycos.fr/pengui/ssc/050304_parakou01.jpg

Floorplates now at lvl6. Core at lvl8.

this one grows quite fast...think it will be real elegant at the corner :cool:

Passed in front again today. It now has a big sign advertising for office space.
Completion is set for April 2006.

Maybe they will consider changing this into a condo. :D

Without the amenities?

i couldnt care less about swimming pools, gyms, and tennis courts. better still, cheaper apartments and lower conservancy charges.

Build a rooftop pool loh. Quite cool to swim there during office hours. :D

the views there wouldnt be too inspiring

But the views from other, taller buildings?

Its rather sandwiched by other buildings to offer any sweeping views.

15 April 2005

Floorplates at level 8
http://img153.echo.cx/img153/7986/parakou15044id.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

Aerial view
http://img70.echo.cx/img70/8610/parakou1504a9uv.jpg (http://www.imageshack.us)

Where is this taken from ?

UIC Building 35th floor ^^

UIC building ? This one right ?
http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=106473
How did you get up there ? :-)

yes, I took the lift to the 34th floor but there was no view there so i tried the 35th floor and voila, there was an open office there with a friendly receptionist. I think its some kind of showroom.

Oh, I hope you made friend with him so we can come there every month for the next few 6-7 years (completion of BFC), lol ;-)

Oh, I hope you made friend with him so we can come there every month for the next few 6-7 years (completion of BFC), lol ;-)

her^^

Uhoh ^^ Did you get a date ? :-p

no..but I should have taken a namecard for future viewing appointments ^^

Wow! It must be quite a feat to build so close to other buildings.

If that building turns into a condo, and the price is right(as in cheap), I wouldn't mind considering it as my future house. Views of neighbouring offices is way better than neighboring houses hanging their clothes out to dry.:D

i really doubt its a condo :)

I think it's the one east of it that's gonna be turned into a condo.

Where's east of it? I can't tell.:D

It's the second one from the left (striped black and white with CDL logo) on this pic from Heirloom :-)

http://img205.exs.cx/img205/5199/natwestsite0yu.jpg

That building is going to be turned to a condo????!!!

Erm, not exactly ^^
I think the plan is rather to demolish it and build something new instead...

Isn't that a rather small plot for a residential?

Its possible to build residentials on very tiny plots of land. I think that building Pengui mentioned can be redeveloped into a 43 storey residential building.

Yes and the plot is not only the tower, there's a podium which is slightly larger, and maybe some space can be gained on the reclaimed land ? There's nothing there.

So fast... :eek2:

8th May 2005

http://img143.echo.cx/img143/4566/img00130s3yt.jpg

22 May 2005

Floor plate reached 12 Floors, 4 more to go....!

http://www.geocities.com/unixxi/pict0021.jpg

This one rises really fast :cool:

hope it looks as nice as the rendering..a smart glassy corner building

23 June 2005

http://tinypic.com/68zok1.jpg

the cladding

http://tinypic.com/68zomc.jpg

Very fast....

26 Sep 2005
Another green facade?

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8825/p10302516nh.jpg

26 Sep 2005
Another green facade?

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/8825/p10302516nh.jpg

Looks very drab now...hope for a brighter colour...

I thought so too... Possibly because it's dirty and having protective sheets on the glass. Let's hope it improves.

22.01.06http://www.geocities.com/unixxi/img_0108.jpg

the new facade is really quite refreshing in real life

9 March 2006

Practically complete, but the hoarding has yet to be removed from street level.

http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/6626/pk09038vq.jpg

looks very uniquely singapore!

LOL...it does?

heh

its GLASS again... a tiny version of the soon to be complete ORQ?

We need more blue glass.

22nd May

http://membres.lycos.fr/pengssc/img/060522_parakou01.jpg
Entrance. It looks like it could open very soon.

What's with the metal sunscreening on the lower floors? :?

is it a carpark?

I don't think it's a carpark, but there's a carpark just across the road so I'm thinking it might be to protect the privacy of companys renting those lower floors from people who would try to peek from that carpark :-)

Parakou Building sold at near record price

15 May 07

Its $2,013 psf price is the highest in the current office cycle

PARAKOU Building, a low profile but spanking new office building at the corner of Robinson Road and McCallum Street, has been sold at $2,013 per square foot (psf) of net lettable area - the highest in the current office cycle.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2007-05-15/BT_6233944_14_05_2007.jpg

The seller is Parakou Shipping Group of Hong Kong, while the buyer is said to be a fund from overseas, most likely from the UK. The absolute sum of the Parakou Building deal was $128 million, BT understands.

The 16-storey freehold building was completed last year and has a net lettable area of about 63,580 square feet. Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) is said to have advised the buyer.

The $2,013 psf deal surpasses the $1,783 psf achieved last month for SIA Building - when German pension fund manager SEB bought the property for $526 million from seller TSO Investment - a fully owned subsidiary of a property fund managed by CLSA Capital Partners.

SIA Building is on a site with a remaining lease of 86 years. The sale of SIA Building was also brokered by JLL.

Market watchers reckon that with the current buoyant office market conditions, it is just a matter of months before the all-time office price record of $2,200 psf set in early 1996 is surpassed. That was when Straits Steamship Land, now Keppel Land, sold seven floors of what is now known as Prudential Tower in the China Square area to Prudential Assurance Company Singapore.

Office rental and capital values in Singapore have shot up on the back of a shortage of office space and strong demand.

JLL's Q1 2007 Asia-Pacific Property Digest shows that capital values for Grade A office space in Singapore have jumped 82.7 per cent year-on-year to US$14,258 per square metre. Over the same period, rental values have risen 106.2 per cent to US$820 per square metre per annum.


By KALPANA RASHIWALA