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The Afro-Asia Building at 63 Robinson Road in Singapore’s central business district (CBD) will be redeveloped into a brand new Grade A office tower costing more than S$320 million.
The construction will be funded by Robinson Development (Pte) Ltd, a joint venture between Shimizu Corporation and Afro-Asia Shipping (AAS), with the latter holding a controlling stake.
AAS will be transferring its lease rights over the property to Robinson Development, while Shimizu Corporation will start demolishing the existing building by November 2017. Construction work on the new tower is expected to start in April 2018, with completion targeted for mid-2020.
The upcoming 19-storey office building with a gross floor area of 16,908 sq m will replace the seven-storey Afro-Asia Building and its four-storey annex, which were built in the 1950s and are among the oldest office blocks within the vicinity.
Beside a roof top garden that boasts breath-taking views of the skyline, the new skyscraper will feature green technologies prevalent in Japan, with plans to get the tower certified under the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum and LEED Platinum ratings.
“For the new development, we will be bringing in the latest eco-friendly designs and state of the art technology from Japan to meet the future needs of commercial occupiers,” said Shimizu Corporation Deputy General Manager Hideto Kawakami.
Located near the Shenton Way MRT Station which is due to be completed by 2021, the new building will house eateries on the ground floor and office premises from level 7 to 18.
The redevelopment of Afro-Asia Building comes as demand for new Grade A office space in the CBD is gathering momentum. The new office tower also strategically targets mid-size tenants, said June Chua, Executive Director for Leasing at Cushman & Wakefield, which advised the joint venture.
“According to our research, there will be approximately 137,000 sq m (1.48 million sq ft) of Grade A office space completing in the CBD in the next three years, and all these developments are designed for larger occupiers, with the exception of 63 Robinson Road,” she added.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
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