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To date, eight of the old Science Park One buildings have been redeveloped by ASB into three projects, while nascent redevelopment activity in Science Park Two is also underway.
With only two current projects, it might appear that CapitaLand does not have a lot of Singapore residential developments coming up, reported The Business Times.
However, the group has a much bigger canvas for making development opportunities locally in different asset classes, beyond residential, after its S$11 billion-worth acquisition of Ascendas-Singbridge (ASB) this year.
As a matter of fact, one of the property group’s priorities in the country is to rejuvenate its vintage properties at Science Park One, and it has contacted authorities regarding this plan.
“We are talking to the (government) agencies to look at the possibilities. We want to redevelop; there are a lot of considerations. One is, of course, the density. How much can you build and the impact to the traffic in this area … We also look at whether there is a real demand (for the space),” said Jason Leow, president of Singapore and international for CapitaLand Group.
Science Parks One and Two sits on land with areas of around 30 ha and 25 ha respectively, with a 1.2 plot ratio and are zoned for business park use under the 2014 Master Plan.
“But if you look at, say, Mapletree Business City, the plot ratio is 2.8, and if you look at one-north, plot ratios are even higher,” noted Leow.
Market watchers believe that the Science Park’s lower plot ratio is due to historical reasons, it being home to earlier generation of business park developments that began operations in 1982 and 1993.
Leow believes while the original structures developed in the 1980s in Science Park One served their purpose of knowledge and R&D-intensive activities, they are pretty much standalone buildings having very limited amenities and placemaking.
New R&D centres and economy companies want areas with high specifications and could offer amenities, connectivity and opportunities for placemaking, he noted.
“Within the 30 ha for Science Park I, we can relook at how we can redesign the whole place to make it more connected and improve the ecosystem,” he added.
Market watchers believe that higher plot ratios, resulting in additional gross floor area, would help realise these goals and incentivise redevelopment of the ageing properties inside Science Park.
To date, eight of the old Science Park One buildings have been redeveloped by ASB into three projects, while nascent redevelopment activity in Science Park Two is also underway.
Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
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