Shenton Way / Tanjong Pagar

The Offices

This district has long been regarded as the powerhouse of the financial district, with a much wider diversification of industries present compared to the prime financial center. This district is in the core of the Financial District and is home to some of Singapore longest established commercial office buildings such as Hong Leong Building (the original home of the Singapore Stock Exchange), Shenton House, City House, The Octagon and Keck Seng Tower. More modern office buildings in this area include SGX Centre 1 & 2 (previously Shing Kwan House), UIC Building, OUE Downtown 1 & 2 (previously DBS Towers 1 & 2), Robinson 77 (previously SIA Building) Robinson Centre and Robinson Point. There is a wide variety of commercial office buildings in this area, some with floor plates as small as 1,600 sq ft e.g. 146 Robinson Road and others as large as 20,000 sq ft, such as 71 Robinson Road. There are some attractive high quality new office developments completed in 2020 in this area and these include 79 Robinson Road, as well as Afro-Asia iMark. The latter is the redevelopment of what was one of the oldest buildings in the area, Afro Asia Building. The highest profile building on Robinson Road is at the bottom end, towards Tanjong Pagar, namely Capital Tower which is a 52-storey office skyscraper and the offices of GIC, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Singapore.

The Amenities

Robinson Road is named afterward Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson, the Governing of the Straits Settlements in 1877–1879. The land on which Robinson Road now stands was crested through land reclamation work started in 1879. Shenton Way was named after Shenton Whitelegge Thomas, the governor of the Straits Settlements from 1934 to 1946. Built on reclaimed land that was part of the Telok Ayer reclamation project completed in 1932, the road was not officially opened until 1951. It became known as Singapore's ‘Wall Street’. The Shenton Circus, a traffic-island roundabout that used to be at the Maxwell Road junction, was a key landmark. The road was initially planned to be called Raffles Way, but the decision was rescinded as there were already many roads, institutions, and places named after Stamford Raffles. Shenton Way was named in appreciation of Thomas’s decision to remain in the colony during the invasion of Singapore by the Japanese in 1942. The road was officially opened by then governor of Singapore Franklin Gimson on 3 August 1951.

The original 27-metre-wide road was built by Chief Municipal Engineer D. Wexton. By the early 1950s, however, traffic in Raffles Place had become congested. To relieve the situation, efforts were made to open up Shenton Way for redevelopment. Land lots between Shenton Way and Robinson Road were auctioned in the early 1952 for the construction of nine-storey offices and flats facing the sea. Unfortunately, the project, which the local press dubbed the “Shenton Way skyscraper scheme”, had failed by 1954. Government bailiffs re-entered and claimed possession of 11 lots of land in Shenton Way and Robinson Road. The land buyers had not fulfilled their agreement with the government to start building within two years of the date of sale, citing the “trade recession and other reasons” that made it impractical for them to start construction.

The Offices

Looking for affordable offices for rent in the CBD / Financial District, then Tanjong Pagar is just the place to find such office space. This is the district to find office space for rent that meet the most challenging of rental budgets. There are quite a variety of offices for lease in this district, ranging from super low cost options in older buildings like Jit Poh Building, Anson Centre, Genting Centre and International Plaza to the world class mixed use scheme of Gucco Tower. The latter is still one of the most prestigious office towers in Singapore but is the only building of such quality in this area. Other Grade A office buildings in the area include Twenty Anson and Mapletree Anson, Springleaf Tower and Anson House. There is ample choice of mid-range properties that offer superb value for money and these include 78 Shenton Way, 79 Anson Road, ABI Plaza and AXA Tower. Several Government Bodies had offices in this vicinity with MAS still having its headquarters in MAS Building but the Treasury Department, which was located 8 Shenton Way (then known as Treasury Building) relocated to their own building in City Hall, hence the building name change to AXA Tower after the next anchor tenant.

The Amenities

This district is served by Tanjong Pagar MRT station, on the original East West line. In 2025, there will be 2 other MRT stations introduced, namely Prince Edward at the bottom of Shenton Way and Cantonment Road on the old railway station site. There are many hotels in the area including the 5 star Sofitel Hotel in Gucco Tower, The M Hotel, Oasia Hotel, Carlton City Hotel and Amara Hotel. There are several residential schemes in the area including Icon Residence, Skysuites@Anson, Eon@Shenton and the Wallich Residences. Visitors to this area are spoilt for choice when it comes to food outlets, with large food courts at 100AM (Amara Complex), Maxwell Road and Tanjong Pagar Complex. There are dozens of food stalls on every corner and ample restaurants for any budget.

The History

The original name for Tanjong Pagar is also said to be Salinter, a fishing village. When the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company (1864) was formed due to the growth of shipping activities in the 1850s, wharves were built. Tanjong is "cape" and Pagar means "fence" or enclosed space, i.e. wharf where ships are moored. Tanjong Pagar probably refers to the location of PSA Gate 3 near Victoria Dock. Around Tanjong Pagar were mangrove swamps which were filled in with earth from Mount Palmer and other nearby small hills for extension of the wharves up to Telok Blangah.

Since 1600s, Tanjong Pagar, located between the docks and the town, was an enclave for the thousands of Chinese and Indian dock workers who had migrated to Singapore from the mid-19th century. With all the traffic between the docks and the town, Tanjong Pagar was also lucrative ground for rickshaw pullers awaiting clients. The proliferation of impoverished workers led to overcrowding, pollution and social problems such as opium smoking and prostitution. Tanjong Pagar generally deteriorated into an inner city ghetto. By World War II, Tanjong Pagar was a predominantly working class Hokkien area with an Indian minority.

In the mid-1980s, Tanjong Pagar became the first area in Singapore to be gazetted under the government's conservation plan. When the conservation project was completed, many of the area's shophouses were restored to their original appearance. However, the face of Tanjong Pagar has changed and today it has become a fashionable district, filled with thriving businesses, cafés, bars and restaurants.