Marina Bay Financial Centre Phase 2 (46 floors)

[Baby]

URA BFC models - trying to make my prediction :

The tower behind MBR #1 is residential for sure as it has a swimming pool in front as well.
MBR #2 looks exactly similar to MBR # 1, but slightly shorter.
The shorter one behind is slim and shorter but I suspect it's residential as well, although I could be wrong as it doesn't have a swimming pool.
They are slim and thus not possible for the current financial office floor plates requirement.
Both residential towers could aggregate from 328 to 428 units.
Bay facing will be 3 to 4 bedders.
Non-bay facing will be 1-2 bedders.
All will have balcony similar to MBR #1.

[redstone]

Looks so dense... Hope rest of the towers won't look like plain glass boxes..

[nolimit]

Pictures Taken on 20 Feb 07.
Look at the board, it says completion date 25 Nov 07, must be joking ha !

Look at the red pokerdot tower!

[luciferyang]

How come expected date of completion is ths year?

[RafflesCity]

I think that might be the completion date of the piling works or basement construction.

and I wonder why the polka dots

[RafflesCity]

More office space likely for Phase 2 of MBFC

26 Feb 07

Move seen as latest market response to acute shortage of office space

(SINGAPORE) In a likely change of plan, the second phase of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) is expected to have more office than condo space.

BT understands that the change is prompted by strong demand from banks and other big financial houses scouting for offices in Singapore.

'The consortium is reviewing increasing the office component in Phase 2 of MBFC in light of increasing demand from the financial services industry,' said Robert Garman, Hongkong Land's director of commercial property (South Asia), in response to a query from BT.

'We're in discussion with prospects to lease about one million sq ft of offices in the development,' he added. Hongkong Land is a member of the consortium that is developing the MBFC.

BT understands that initially the ratio of apartments to office space for Phase 2 was to be about 2:1, premised on strong demand for waterfront homes as seen in the December preview of Marina Bay Residences under MBFC's first phase.

However, major global banks increasingly concerned about the office shortage in Singapore have expressed strong demand for offices in the development, leading the consortium to reverse the allocation of office and apartment space for MBFC's second phase, according to industry observers.

The consortium, whose other members are Keppel Land and Cheung Kong Holdings, announced earlier this month it had exercised the option to buy the rest of the Business & Financial Centre site for $883.8 million, reflecting an effective unit land price of $435 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area.

Market watchers expect the two office towers of MBFC's first phase - which add up to about 1.65 million sq ft net lettable area - to be marketed together with the office tower in the second phase, which is expected to offer another one million-plus sq ft of offices.

The consortium developing Marina Bay Financial Centre also developed One Raffles Quay (ORQ) nearby which comprises two towers. Completed last year, the towers add up to slightly over 1.3 million sq ft of net lettable area. The last office unit at ORQ, said to be about 4,000 sq ft, was leased at a gross monthly rent of about $12 psf a month, nearly three times the effective rental when leasing for ORQ began in 2004, BT understands.

Responding to the office shortage building up in Singapore, the government is offering more sites in the first half of 2007 for office developments or projects with minimum office components. These include a prime plot behind One Shenton Way, and the former NCO Club on Beach Road.

However, office industry players say any new developments on these sites may come too late, as they will be ready only after the first office tower at MBFC is completed - in early 2010.

'Office rents will continue to rise till around 2010/2011, and then there could be a glut again as new projects are completed,' predicts an industry player.

Agreeing, the research head of a major foreign stockbroking house said the authorities probably erred on the side of caution by not offering more Grade A location office sites earlier, at least through the reserve list. 'So we'll have a supply shortage for the next few years and continued rental escalation - which could lead to some global financial players expanding their operations elsewhere instead - followed by the completion of a huge amount of office space, and rentals sliding after that.

'By not releasing land on a regular basis, they have exacerbated the cycle,' he added.

Calling for a calm reaction to the situation, CB Richard Ellis executive director Moray Armstrong said: 'The cyclical nature of the office market requires cool heads and prudence, in terms of how the government plans, and the private sector reacts, in addressing the shortfall in the short term.'

'In the near term, we need to look at improving supply of offices in decentralised locations and allowing more leeway for using business parks as offices,' he added.


By KALPANA RASHIWALA

[RafflesCity]

2 March 2007

The site is at the bottom of the pic

[Singapor3]

Huge =0

[RafflesCity]

It actually looks smaller from this angle, but the site must be quite large as it is going to accomodate 3 skyscrapers, and more in future, for Phase 2 :-)

[Singapor3]

I wonder how phase 2 looks like.

[jacky lemon]

The picture clearly shows off our "national bird" .... the mechanical crane in the construction site showing off its splendor in all different tonnages, shapes and sizes.

[Pengui]

Originally Posted by jacky lemon

The picture clearly shows off our "national bird" .... the mechanical crane in the construction site showing off its splendor in all different tonnages, shapes and sizes.

I want to see the eggs... ^ ^

[jacky lemon]

I’m sure its mating season now. In fact it’s the high season now. That is why you see so many congregating together. There are also many other “mating” sites all over Singapore but the marina bay site is probably among the largest one with several projects undergoing simultaneous development.

I’ll be damn if they could lay eggs.

Just some light humor.

[RafflesCity]

Maybe the site on Central Promontory (the triangular bit of land jutting into the bay) could feature an egg-shaped building...and it could be called..."The Egg"

[Baby]

URA, 8 March 2007

Building Agreement Signed For The Business and Financial Centre Site at Marina Boulevard / Central Boulevard (Phase 2)

The Building Agreement for the Business and Financial Centre (BFC) site (Phase 2) at Marina Boulevard / Central Boulevard was signed today between the Government of Singapore and Central Boulevard Development Pte. Ltd., the company formed to undertake the development of the BFC site (Phase 2). The Building Agreement spells out the rights and obligations of the government and the consortium with regard to the lease and development of the land.

Central Boulevard Development Pte. Ltd. is formed by the consortium of companies comprising Bayfront Development Pte Ltd [a subsidiary of Keppel Land Ltd], Choicewide Group Limited [co-owned by Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd and Hutchison Whampoa Ltd] and Sageland Pte Ltd [a subsidiary of Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd], which had jointly won the tender for the BFC site in July 2005.

When the BFC consortium signed the Building Agreement for the 1st phase of the BFC development on 25 October 2005, it had taken up an 8-year option within which it may exercise its right to purchase the remaining 194,000sqm of GFA over the remaining site. On 16 February 2007, the consortium exercised the option to purchase the remaining portions of the BFC site (Phase 2) and the GFA of 194,000sqm at a total land price of S$907,671,094.77. The consortium had earlier paid an option fee of S$63,647,520.00 for the right to purchase the remaining site as required under the Conditions of Tender. Part of this option fee amounting to S$23,867,820.00 can be used to pay for the land price for the remaining site. Thus, the net amount of land price that the consortium has to pay for the remaining site is S$883,803,274.77.


Second phase of development for BFC site

The second phase of the BFC will cover about 1.5ha of land and 54sqm of subterranean space. The approved development mix for Phase 2 of the BFC development comprises mainly office and residential uses with a small component of retail use. The consortium, however, could still propose amendments to the development mix for Phase 2 with URA's approval.

The consortium has a total of 8 years to complete the development of Phase 2 i.e. by 15 Feb 2015.

Mr David Martin, General Manager of the consortium purchasing Phase 2 of the Business and Financial Centre, said the purchase would help complete the vision for the Marina Bay Financial Centre as a world class waterfront development offering best-in-class commercial, residential and retail space.

Mr Martin also added, “The consortium’s decision to purchase Phase 2 well within the option period reflects our continuing confidence in the Singapore economy and the growth of its financial sector. The purchase allows us to move forward with the planning and design of Phase 2 and respond to the continuing strong demand from global financial institutions for premium Grade A space and luxury residential living. We are committed to building long term value for our owners, tenants and the people of Singapore with the quality of this development at the heart of Singapore’s new financial downtown at Marina Bay.”

About the BFC

The BFC site was launched for tender on 1 March 2005 and the tender closed on 7 July 2005. On 14 July 2005, the tender was awarded to the BFC consortium as it had submitted the highest bid of $4,101 per sqm of GFA in the tender.

The BFC site is slated for the development of state-of-the-art offices with purpose-built features to cater to the needs of financial institutions and global businesses. In addition, the site has the flexibility to accommodate other complementary residential, retail and recreational uses that will offer the occupants a fully integrated and unique live-work-play experience.

Comprising a total land area of 3.55ha with a subterranean space of 1.8ha, the BFC site can yield a total GFA of 438,000sqm. Under the conditions of tender, the BFC consortium is allowed to purchase and develop the site in phases. The consortium had earlier decided to purchase and develop the site in two (2) phases. Please see Appendix 1 for the plan of the BFC site.

The first phase of the BFC development covers a total of 2.05ha of land and 1.78ha of subterranean space. The total GFA to be developed within Phase 1 is 244,000sqm of GFA. The approved development mix for the first phase of the BFC comprises approximately 180,000sqm of GFA for office use, 55,000sqm of GFA for residential use and 9,000sqm of GFA for retail use.

The Project Completion Period (PCP) for Phase 1 will expire on 13 Jul 2013.

[RafflesCity]

10 March 2007

[RafflesCity]

Stanchart taking MBFC space: sources

5 Apr 07

(SINGAPORE) The developers of Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) are said to have secured the project's first office tenant. Industry sources say it is likely to be Standard Chartered Bank, which will lease close to half a million square feet in what will be one of the biggest office leasing deals in Singapore.

Stanchart's lease is likely to be for more than 10 years, market watchers reckon. It remains to be seen what the bank plans to do with the 130,000 sq ft or so it now leases at 6 Battery Road, owned by CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT).

The MBFC developers are also said to be at various stages of talks with a string of other big-name banking and financial groups - including UBS, Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Credit Suisse, ING, JPMorgan, BNP and DBS. 'It's probably logical to assume these are the sort of names that would be targeted as a tenant list for the project,' a property market watcher said.

It is not known what sort of rent Stanchart will pay at MBFC, but market watchers believe it could be in the ballpark of $8-$9 per square foot (psf) a month, judging by current rents in the area. The last unit at the nearby One Raffles Quay, believed to be about 4,000 sq ft, was leased at gross monthly rent of about $12 psf - almost three times the effective rent when leasing there began in 2004.

The first phase of MBFC includes two office towers with about 1.65 million sq ft of net lettable area, slated for completion in early 2010.

The second phase, expected to be ready by late-2011, will have another office tower with more than one million sq ft of lettable area.

Stanchart's space at 6 Battery Road is under a long-term lease that expires in January 2020 and is subject to a rent review to open market value every three years, according to information made public by landlord CCT in March 2004, around the time of its introduction to the Singapore Exchange, and in an equity-raising exercise last year.

Will Stanchart continue to lease all of this space after MBFC is ready?

'They could still want to reserve some space at 6 Battery Road for potential expansion, especially given the scramble among big banks for office space in Singapore,' said an office market watcher. 'A possible scenario may be for Stanchart to continue leasing the space at 6 Battery Road from CCT but then sub-let any space it does not need in the near term to other tenants.'

This is what Stanchart is understood to have done in the past at the building, although it has since taken back the space from sub-tenants amid the current wave of expansion by banks and the shortage of offices in Singapore.

MBFC is being developed by a consortium that comprises Keppel Land, Cheung Kong Holdings/Hutchison Whampoa and Hongkong Land.

The joint venture clinched the 99-year leasehold site in an Urban Redevelopment Authority tender in July 2005.

The consortium bought the site, which can be developed into a maximum gross floor area of about 4.7 million sq ft, in two phases.

It paid $381 psf per plot ratio for the first phase in 2005, and an effective land price of $435 psf ppr for the second phase earlier this year under a formula that factored in an increase in office land values in the vicinity since the initial bid in the 2005 tender.


By KALPANA RASHIWALA

[Singapor3]

What's the height limit?

[RafflesCity]

Originally Posted by raptorsuperb

What's the height limit?

245m

[RafflesCity]

StanChart takes up half a million sq ft office space at MBFC

18 Apr 07

SINGAPORE : Standard Chartered Bank has become the first tenant at the upcoming Marina Bay Financial Centre.

The deal involves half a million square feet of office space, and is seen as one of the largest in Singapore's corporate history.

StanChart is gearing itself up for aggressive expansion in Singapore, which will involve bumping up its headcount here by about 50 percent.

StanChart is set to have an imposing presence in the new Marina Bay Financial Centre.

Under the deal signed on Wednesday, it is leasing 24 out of 29 floors of office space available there.

Kai Nargolwala, Group Executive Director, Standard Chartered Bank, said, "The half a million square feet of space we take here will be the largest single building location for us globally."

The deal is in line with StanChart's plan to expand aggressively in Singapore.

It is targeting to hire more than 2,000 new bank officers in areas like client relationship, private banking and corporate finance by 2010 - when StanChart is scheduled to move into its new premises.

This will bring the total number of employees in Singapore to 6,000.

Mr Nargolwala said, "Most of these positions are going to be high value-add positions; these will be knowledge workers, these will be frontline staff...(the) high-end of banking skills that we'll be looking for."

With Wednesday's deal, StanChart will be able to centralise its front office staff from several locations under one roof.

Mr Nargolwala said, "Our premises at Battery Road...we've already outgrown them and we're in several different buildings. After we consolidate into MBFC, we still expect to keep a substantial part of our Battery Road presence".

Currently, StanChart occupies about 130,000 square feet of space at Battery Road.

The bank is spending a total of about S$800 million to relocate, rent and renovate its new office space at Marina Bay Financial Centre.

The lease at Marina Bay runs for 12 years, with an option to extend it for eight more years.


By Chow Penn Nee, Channel NewsAsia