Office District Guide

The Offices

This new financial hub located off Shenton Way has been developed over the past 20 years on land that was almost entirely reclaimed from the sea in 1990s. After only 8 years of land settlement, building works started to develop and create a new financial district, which now has the highest density of world class office schemes in South East Asia. No other location can offer such huge amount of top quality office space for lease, with each building providing over 1,000,000sq ft of premium offices for rent. Landmark schemes/ office buildings in this area include the three towers at Marina Bay Financial Centre (built 2010), the massive twin towers of Asia Square (built 2011), the top quality office space in One Raffles Quay North and South Towers (built 2006) and the twin mega towers of Marina One East and West Tower (built in 2018). They are soon to be joined by another ‘world class’ development, namely Central Boulevard Towers (TOP expected 2022). All these schemes have the highest specification that would match the most challenging of requirements, including dual telecom risers, emergency power, shower facilities, raised flooring, high ceiling heights, efficient square column-free design and floor to ceiling windows.

The Amenities

The number of hotels in this area is limited and the principle one is the Westin Hotel in Asia Square, with The Fullerton Bay Hotel nearby. There is a mixture of residential schemes in this location including The Sail, Marina Bay Suites and a large residential component at the Marina One Residences. The area is served by 2 MRT stations namely Marina Bay and Downtown and a third station, Shenton Way, is due to open in 2021. Access by car is simple, directly from the re-routed ECP (East Coast Parkway) and there are many bus routes servicing this location.

For places to eat, many of these schemes are mixed developments with elements of retail space on the lower floors and schemes like Asia Square and Marina Bay Financial Centre all have food courts, usually on the podium floors. Shenton Way is not far away and the food court of Lau Pa Sat is still a popular destination for lunch.

The History

In anticipation of increasing growth of the existing city centre, Singapore embarked upon an ambitious land reclamation project in 1971. In 1994, the final 38 hectares of land were reclaimed at Bayfront to create the shore profile of Marina Bay that we see today. By the late 1990s, the Marina Bay area covers a total of 360 hectares of prime land for development.

Marina South, was planned to be the “jewel” of the three plots. Detailed plans for the site were first outlined in 1984 after two renowned architects, Japanese Kenzo Tange and Chinese American I. M. Pei, were commissioned by the government to propose plans for developing a new downtown in the area. Responding to URA’s “green and blue” vision – developments sitting amid greenery and bodies of water, thus recalling Singapore’s character as a tropical island – Tange proposed a radial principle that reflected the existing curvature of the ECP, drawing out major roads that radiated out from the bay like fingers. Pei’s plan was more rectilinear and based on a grid that integrated with the existing Central Business District (CBD). This resulted in regularly shaped land parcels that could be sold incrementally. The government chose Pei’s plan, which would influence later concepts of development for the area.

The heart of Singapore’s new financial hub came to fruition in 2013, with The Marina Bay Financial Centre and Asia Square becoming the choice location for many leading financial institutions. Adding to the repertoire of iconic buildings in Marina South, mixed-use developments such as Marina One officially opened in 2018, marking Singapore’s growth as a major international business destination.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Downtown:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Find offices for lease in Downtown

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.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Tanjong Pagar:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Rent office space in Tanjong Pagar

The Offices

This location has become established as a significant part of the Financial District and is dominated by the massive mixed use scheme of Suntec City. This development includes 4 x 45-storey offices towers and one 18-storey tower, providing a total of 2.3 million sq ft of prime office space for rent. The other important office buildings in this location include Millenia Tower, Centennial Tower and Raffles Link. There is also office space for rent in Marina Centre but this is predominately co-working space / serviced offices.

The offices for rent in Suntec City provide good quality, practical office space for lease with efficient layout. The interior finishing within all 5 tower towers has recently undergone a major make-over. Designed by Tsao & McKown Architects, with emphasis on Chinese feng shui, there are 4 convention office towers plus the smaller Tower 5 positioned in the shape of a hand, which is holding a golden ring i.e. The Fountain of Wealth. This probably compensates for the fact the development was built on reclaimed land. The low-rise floors have a 14,000 sq ft floor plate, mid-rise floors 12,000 sq ft and high-rise floors 10,000 sq ft. Millenia Tower, which was built in 1996, has a larger floor plate of 18,000 sq ft with higher specification including raised flooring, excellent natural lighting and astonishing sea views. Centennial Tower, completed in 1998, also with an 18,000 sq ft floor plate, has the highest specification of all the buildings in this area, having efficient column free design, raised flooring, full height windows and superb East Coast views.

The Amenities

The area is now served by 2 MRT stations, namely Promenade and Esplanade, with City Hall also within walking distance. The area is also a retail hub with Suntec City being one of the largest malls in Singapore, comprising of 4-storey retail mall providing some 880,000 sq ft (the largest in Singapore until the opening of Vivo City in 2016) plus a 1 Million sq ft exhibition center. The other retail malls include Marina Square and Millenia Walk. There are ample car parking within Suntec City, providing a massive 3,200 parking spaces and the design is based on Disneyland cark park, which is colour and image coordinated. Other car parks can be found at Millenia Walk and Marina Square.

There are many high quality hotels in the area including The Ritz Carlton, The Conrad Centennial, The Pan Pacific, The Marina Mandarin and The Mandarin Oriental.

The History

The 106-hectare Marina Centre, the earliest to be developed, is the smallest of the three plots of reclaimed land around Marina Bay. In 1978, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched the inaugural sale of land in Marina Centre and, for the first time, foreign developers were invited to participate in the tender. By 1985, the Marina Square shopping complex was opened, followed by a string of hotels: Marina Mandarin, Pan Pacific Singapore and Mandarin Oriental Singapore. In the subsequent decades, Millenia Walk, Suntec City and the Singapore Flyer were added to the area.

Suntec City was always intended to be an extension of the financial district but was very slow to ‘take off’ or be accepted / recognized. Tower 5 was the first tower to be completed in 1994. It was originally designed for hotel use and then it was decided that the massive 30,000 sq ft floor plates could be of interest to banks, which were seeking very large footprints but were unable to find suitable options on the core of the financial district. And so it was, after a very slow launch, the first tenant was Swiss Bank UBS who secured 4 floors. This was the catalyst that put Suntec City ‘on the map’ and the leasing activity accelerated and the rest, as they say, ‘is history’. Towers 1 & 2 were completed in phase 2 in 1995 and the final phase 3 including Towers 3 & 4 were completed in 1996.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Suntec City / Marina Centre:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Prime Offices for Rent in Marina Bay

The Offices

Located on the fringe of the CBD, this district has a strong retail history but there are several important office buildings of note. Bugis Junction Towers, Parkview Square and Duo Tower are the three most important schemes in this area. The former is just inside the CBD, whilst the latter 2 are just outside. Moving towards the Rochor area, OG Albert Complex has traditionally provided affordable low cost offices for lease because it is one of the older buildings in the area. Nearby Burlington Square and The Bencoolen provide practical space at competitive rentals

In the West part of Bugis, towards City Hall, Middle Road provides a cluster of low cost offices for the budget conscious and popular offices here include Fortune Centre and Sunshine Plaza. There are some older buildings in the area with small floor plates including Lee Kai House, GSM Building, Chiat Hong Building and Midland House.

The Amenities

The area is dominated by retail outlets with Bugis Junction being the center piece and other retail outlets include Bugis Cube, OG Department Store and Bugis Village. The premium hotels in the area include Hyatt Andaz at Duo Tower and the Intercontinental Hotel, at the other end of Bugis Junction. Other Hotels include Hotel G, Mercure Hotel and Ibis Hotel on Bencoolen. The area is served by Bugis MRT station on the original East West and Rochor as well as Bencoolen MRT stations.

There are many entertainment outlets and a cinema complex opposite Bugis Junction. There are many eateries in the district particularly within Bugis Junction itself and Bugis Village. There are several popular restaurants in the side streets of Tan Quee Lan Street and Queen Street.

The History

The Bugis area is named after the Bugis, a Malay sub-group with origins in South Sulawesi (Celebes) in Indonesia, and once well known for their seafaring and warring skills. The first Bugis merchants settled in Singapore at around the time it was founded in 1819. Bugis Street lies in an extensive area which was commonly referred to in the past, by the Chinese-educated community, as Xiao Po ('little slope'). According to knowledgeable long-term residents of the area, before the arrival of the British, there used to be a large canal which ran through the area where the Bugis, a seafaring people from South Sulawesi province in Indonesia, could sail up, moor their boats and trade with Singaporean merchants.

During the early colonial era, there also used to be low mounds of whitish sand in the area, earning the street the familiar Hokkien (Min Nan) moniker of Peh Soa Pu or Bai Sha Fu in Mandarin (白沙浮; 'white sand mounds'). The Cantonese, however, referred to the street as Hak Gaai or Hei Jie in Mandarin (黑街; 'black street') as there were many clubs catering to the Japanese invaders in the 1940s. During the first half of the 20th century, commuters could travel from Bugis Street to anywhere else in Xiao Po via a tram service which ran along North Bridge Road, which was referred to by the Chinese-educated as Xiao Po Da Ma Lu (小坡大马路; 'little slope main road').

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Bugis:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Find office rentals in Bugis

The Offices

This location is a growing commercial office district on the edge of CBD, with a number of significant commercial developments completed in recent years. These included South Beach Tower (500,000 sq ft of office space) and Duo Tower (570,000 sq ft of office space) and another major mixed use scheme, Gucco Midtown (650,000 sq ft of office space) is scheduled for completion in 2022. Shaw Tower is due to be redeveloped in the coming years, that will further enhance this location as a business address. Other important office buildings in this area include The Gateway designed by IM Pei and the distinctive looking office tower The Concourse. Paul Rudolph designed The Concourse as a "Tropical Skyscraper". His use of solar shading, wide overhangs, and communal gardens and external balconies has some similarities with the ideas advanced by Ken Yeang for the bioclimatic skyscraper. Other office space can also be found in this location in buildings such as The Plaza, Beach Centre and Bulk Haul House. A number of multinational companies have their own stand-alone buildings, such as Diners Club and Great Eastern Life Insurance. Beach Road is dissected by Rochor Road on the CBD boundary. Those properties to the East of Rochor Road are outside the CBD and those to the West are inside the CBD.

The Amenities

Beach Road is a long road which is served by 4 MRT stations. Those buildings to the far West would use either Esplanade or City Hall MRT stations, those buildings in the middle would use Bugis MRT station and those buildings at the East of Beach Road, would use Nichol Highway MRT station. There are numerous bus routes servicing this district, as it is a main feeder route to the core of financial district. There are several high end hotels in the area including JW Marriott at South Beach and the Hyatt Andaz Hotel at Duo Tower. Mid-range hotels would include The Plaza Hotel and there are many budget / boutique hotels in this location. There ample eateries in the vicinity with many using either Suntec City Bugis Junction or Golden Mile Food Centre as their destination of choice for lunch. There are residential schemes in Duo Tower, The Concourse, City Gate and The Plaza.

The History

Beach Road is a road located within the planning areas of Kallang and Rochor. It starts at its junction with Crawford Street and runs in a generally southerly direction. It enters the CBD at its junction with Rochor Road and ends at its junction with Stamford Road and St. Andrew's Road to the south. As its name implies, Beach Road used to run along Singapore's southern coast, before land reclamation took place in the Kallang Basin area.

The first land reclamation beyond the foreshore line was in 1843 alongside Beach Road which provided land to build the Alhambra and Marlborough Cinemas, a police station and the Singapore Volunteer Corps Headquarters and Drill Hall (later converted to the Singapore Infantry Regiment Headquarters). Further land reclamation began around the 1880s, gradually robbing Beach Road of its sea frontage. Over the years, Nicoll Highway and later Marina Square and Suntec City were all built on reclaimed land, pushing Beach Road even further inland.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Beach Road:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Find office space for rent in Beach Road

The Offices

Orchard Road is a prime office location for many industries that are not primarily related to the financial sector, although some investment companies have offices here as well. The location is popular with multinational companies from a wide variety of sectors, including trading, professional services and fashion. The premium office buildings on Orchard Road are Wheelock Place, Ngee Ann City, Wisma Atria, The Hereen and Winsland House. There are many good quality mid-range buildings on this location including Shaw House, Palais Renaissance, Liat Towers, Orchard Building and TripleOne Somerset. For economy leasing options, Tanglin Shopping Centre, Orchard Tower, Shaw Centre, Thong Teck Building and 51 Cuppage Road (fka Starhub Centre) are popular choices. Some office buildings are more biased towards clinics and surgeries such as The Paragon and International Building.

The lower end of Orchard Road becomes the Dhoby Ghaut district. There are fewer office buildings in this area but can boast to being the location of the new home of Swiss banking giant UBS. This bank leased the entire development at 9 Penang Road (formerly Park Mall) totaling some 320,000 sq ft. Another major office building this area includes The Atrium, which is predominately occupied by Temasek Holdings. The area is also the site of one of the oldest office buildings in Singapore, namely McDonald House built in 1949. It was the first building in South East Asia to have air-conditioning. Haw Par Centre on Clemenceau Avenue is also close by.

The Amenities

Orchard Road is a bustling thoroughfare served by 3 MRT stations namely Orchard Road, Somerset and Dhoby Ghaut MRT. There are numerous bus routes running through the center of this district and the connectivity is one of the strongest advantages of this location. There are many luxury hotels in this area including The St Regis, The Hilton Hotel, Marriott Hotel, Grand Hyatt and Meritus Mandarin. Good quality mid-range hotels include Orchard Hotel, Orchard Parade Hotel, Grand Park Hotel, Royal Plaza on Scotts. The major retail outlets are Ngee Ann City, Wisma Atrium, ION Orchard, The Paragon, Lucky Plaza, Centrepoint and 313 Somerset. There are cinema complexes at Shaw Centre, Cineleisure Orchard and The Cathy complex. There are food courts in all major shopping centers, as well as many of the smaller buildings.

Further down Orchard Road, in the Dhoby Ghaut area, the premium shopping mall here is Plaza Singapura, with other lower grade malls including PoMo, Selegie Centre and Peace Centre. The main hotels in this area are Rendezvous Hotel and Hotel Fort Canning.

The History

In the 1830s, Orchard Road was the scene of gambier and pepper plantations. Later, nutmeg plantations and fruit orchards predominated, hence its name. By 1846, the spread of houses had reached up to Tank Road. There were none on the left side and only three or four houses went past Tank Road on the right side of Orchard Road. One major sight during this period was a Dr. Jun tending his garden, which helped endorse the road's name. He had a garden and plantation at the corner of what is now Scotts Road and Orchard Road.

Towards the later part of the 1840s, graveyards began to appear along the road. By 1846, the Chinese had a large graveyard around what is now the Meritus Mandarin Hotel and Ngee Ann City, while the Sumatrans from Bencoolen had their burial ground where the current Hotel Grand Central stands. Later a Jewish cemetery was established; it was located where Dhoby Ghaut MRT station is now and was demolished in 1984.

In the 1860s, Orchard Road had a great number of private houses and bungalows on hills looking down through the valley where the road passed through. Early in the 1890s, King Chulalongkorn, the then King of Siam, acquired "Hurricane House" in the vicinity of Orchard Road through Tan Kim Ching, the Thai Consul in Singapore. Two further pieces of adjoining property were added later and these subsequently became the site of the Royal Thai Embassy at 370 Orchard Road.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Orchard Road / Dhoby Ghaut:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Office Rentals Orchard / Dhoby Ghaut

The Offices

The Chinatown district covers quite a wide area and is bordered by South Bridge Road to the South, Chin Swee Road to the North, Outram Road to the West and Clarke Quay to the East. Chin Swee Road has a number of low cost office buildings such as CES Centre (formerly known as San Centre) and Manhattan House. The core of Chinatown is dominated by Chinatown Complex where Chinatown Point is the main office tower above the retail complex. To the south on New Bridge Road, Cross Street Exchange (formerly known as China Square Central) is located at the junction of these two roads. To the East, Havelock Road and Clarke Quay have a number of established office buildings such as The Central, Havelock II, Central Square and Central Mall.

The Amenities

This location is served by 2 MRT stations namely Chinatown (North East Line and Downtown line) and Clarke Quay (North East line). The major retail centers in this district are People Park Complex, Chinatown Complex, The Central and Havelock II. Main food outlets include Pearl Centre, Peoples Park, Chinatown Complex, The Central and Hong Lim Market. There are a vast array of hotels in the area from boutique hotels like Ibis at Clarke Quay and Porcelain Hotel to mid-range Furama Hotel and Holiday Inn to high end options like Park Royal Collection, Park Regis Singapore and Hotel Swissotel Merchant Court. There are serviced apartments at Dorsett Singapore near Outram MRT. The main residential developments in the area include The River Place and The Pinnacle @ Duxton.

The History

Singapore's Chinatown is known as Niu che shui ('ox car water') in Mandarin, This is due to the fact that Chinatown's water supply was principally transported by animal-driven carts in the 19th century. Although these names are sometimes used for referring to Chinatown in general, they actually refer to the area of Kreta Ayer Road. Chinatown Complex is located along Smith Street, which was known colloquially as hei yuan kai (theatre street) in Cantonese because of its famous Cantonese opera theatre Lai Chun Yuen, which opened in 1887 to cater to the Cantonese community there, drawing large crowds during the 1910s and 1920s. The Kreta Ayer Complex was built in 1981 as a part of the urban renewal of the Chinatown. It was renamed Chinatown Complex in 1984. Hence, when the market and food centre within the complex was completed in that year, it was named Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre.

Clarke Quay was named after Sir Andrew Clarke, Singapore's second Governor and Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1873 to 1875, who played a key role in positioning Singapore as the main port for the Malay states of Perak, Selangor and Sungei Ujong. Clarke Quay is also the name of a road along the quay, part of which has since been converted into a pedestrian mall. Clarke Street, located next to Clarke Quay, was officially named in 1896, and was originally two streets known simply as East Street and West Street in north Kampong Malacca. Similar to Clarke Quay, Clarke Street has since been converted into a pedestrian mall.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Chinatown / Clarke Quay:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates

The Offices

River Valley Road is a long road that stretches from Clemenceau Avenue all the way up to almost meet Tiong Bahru. At the beginning of River Valley Road, at junction with Clemenceau Avenue, the large mixed use scheme of UE Square takes centre stage. This 18-storey inter-connected twin tower office development, built in 1997 provides high quality, column free, office space with excellent natural lighting and raised floor. The average floor plate size per wing is approximately 10,000 sq ft, so one whole floor can provide 20,000 sq ft. There is excellent basement car parking. Close by in the Martin Road / Mohamed Sultan area there is a cluster of smaller boutique office buildings including Seng Kee Building and Sultan Link.

Further up River Valley Road, the large mixed use scheme of Great World City is the major landmark of the area. Built 1996, the offices are housed in an 18-storey twin tower scheme (East and West) with an average column free floor plate of 12,000 sq ft. There is excellent basement car parking, providing over 450 spaces.

At the top end of River Valley Road, Valley Point is the landmark scheme in this vicinity. This mixed use scheme comprises a small retail mall, serviced apartment block and a 20-storey office tower at the other end. Built in 1998, the average floor plate is 12,000 sq ft, column free with flush floor trunking. This scheme is known for offering excellent value for money. Central Plaza is not exactly River valley Road but is closed to the top end at Tiong Bahru. This is also a mixed used scheme directly above an MRT station, with a retail mall on the ground floor and 10-storey office tower above, built in 1995.

The Amenities

Valley Point is not served by any MRT station but there is a regular, peak time, bus shuttle service to both Tiong Bahru and Dhoby Ghaut MRT stations. There is a small retail mall and basement car parking for 300 vehicles. The nearest hotels will be on Orchard Road and the nearest retail schemes will be either Great World City or Central Plaza. Great World City includes a mega retail mall and leisure complex as well as a residential tower at the opposite end of the scheme. There is a new MRT station under construction in this location, scheduled for completion in 2021. UE Square is another mixed use scheme including a retail mall and block of serviced apartment. It is now served by a relatively new MRT station, namely Fort Canning and there are many bus routes serving this busy junction.

The History

When the British arrived in 1819, the River Valley area was largely covered by marsh and forest. By the 1830s, gambier plantations had been established in the area. It is not known when exactly River Valley Road was constructed and named, but according to a newspaper report published in 1842, the road was in existence from as early as 1841.By 1843, the area was still predominantly made up of jungle and gambier plantations.

UE Square is the former River Valley headquarters of United Engineers, built in 1929. The old headquarters building, which initially comprised showrooms, offices and accommodation for employees, was torn down in 1993. In 2002 the National Heritage Board marked the location as a historical site.

Great World City is the redevelopment of the former Great World Amusement Park. In the 1920s, the site was originally a Chinese cemetery. In 1909, the place was actually covered with swampy marshes back then and a small canal actually run across the site, eventually meeting up with the Singapore River thereafter. The landowner, Lee Geok Kun redeveloped the site into an amusement park in the 1930s. Business within Great World did not fulfil the expectations of the owners so in 1941, the park was sold to the Shaw Brothers who took over the operations of the park.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in River Valley Road:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Find Offices for Lease - River Valley Road

The Offices

This district has become a well-established de-centralized office location close to the edge of the CBD. The oldest office building in this area is Goldhill Plaza built in 1977 and comprises a 24-storey office building with a circular floor plate, providing cheap low cost offices for rent. The large mixed use scheme next door that is United Square, was developed in 1982 and comprises a 3-storey retail podium with a 33-storey office tower above. The Singapore Inland Revenue moved into their own building called Revenue House in 1996. Novena Square is a sizeable mixed use scheme comprising a 3-storey retail mall and twin offices towers, built 2000. Tower A is the larger 25-storey tower with an average floor plate of 18-22,000 sq ft and Tower B is an 18-story office tower with a typical floor plate of 12,000 sq ft. The other boutique office building in the area is Newton 200, a 10-storey property with an average floor plate of 4,000 sq ft. Further up Thomson Road, SLF Building (Singapore Labour Foundation) provides efficient affordable office space in a 19-story office tower, with an average floor plate of 9,400 sq ft

The Amenities

The district is served by Novena MRT station on the North South line and is just one stop away from the interchange with downtown line at Newton and 2 stops from Orchard Road. There are many bus routes through is this location, as it is on a feeder route to the core of CBD. The location has 2 significant shopping centers, namely United Square and the larger Velocity@Novena directly above the MRT station. There are many eateries in the area particularly around Novena Square, United Square and Goldhill Centre. There are several affordable hotels in the vicinity including The Hotel Royal and ST Residence Novena. The Courtyard by Marriott is next to Novena Square and The Sheraton Hotel is located in nearby Newton. There are serviced apartments at Commontown Novena Regency. This district is also well-known for having the many medical centers in the vicinity.

The History

Previously known as Seletar Road, this road was subsequently renamed "Thomson Road" named after John Turnbull Thomson, a government surveyor who also helped to lay this road. In 1935, a group of Redemptorist priests - part of a Catholic order founded in the 18th century in Naples, Italy - travelled to Singapore from Australia to carry out mission work. After renting various properties including units at 339 and 418 Thomson Road, they settled down at No. 300 in 1948 - the site of Novena Church today.

The first property there, featuring a two-storey building was converted into a chapel, and was purchased from wealthy Chinese towkay Wee Kah Kiat for $120,000. The premises were bought over by the Redemptorist priests in 1948 where a small church dedicated to Our Mother of Perpetual Help named the Church of Saint Alphonsus was built in May 1950. According to tradition, the novenas to Our Lady of Perpetual Help began in January 1949 and instantaneously became widespread in 1951 as intended by Pope Pius XI. Balestier Road was named after Joseph Balestier, an American diplomat who served in Singapore in the 1800s.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Thomson Road / Novena:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
View Offices for Rent in Novena

The Offices

This location has become one of the most important decentralized business hubs in Singapore and definitely the largest in Island East. The recent completion of the mega scheme of Paya Lebar Quarter in 2019 has put this district firmly on the map. This scheme comprises a cluster of 3 top quality office towers providing a total of approximately 1,000,000 sq ft of office space for rent, a large retail mall totally 346,000 sq ft and leisure complex. There are 3 residential towers supplying 429 apartments and car parking for 3,750 vehicles. All have direct access to the MRT Interchange. Opposite Paya Lebar Quarter is Singapore Post Centre, which is a 14-storey building with a large 50,000 sq ft floor plate. This supplies around 400,000 sq ft of offices for rent, above a 3 storey retail mall. Opposite Singapore Post Centre is Paya Lebar Square, built in 2015. This 13-storey complex has 10 floors of offices providing 250,000 sq ft of offices for lease above a 3-storey retail mall.

Neighbouring Paya Lebar is Parkway Parade in Marina Parade, which is also a mixed use scheme with a larger office 17-storey office tower, above a 4 level retail mall providing over 150,000 sq ft of offices for rent.

The Amenities

The location also acts as a major transport hub, as it is above an important MRT interchange, served by both East West Line and Circle Line. There are many bus routes through the district and the main roads through the area are Paya Lebar Road, Sims Avenue and Changi Road. The vicinity is easily accessed from the PIE expressway (named after the area) as well as the ECP via Tanjong Katong Road. The Life Long Learning Institute is located next to Paya Lebar Square. There are many residential condominium complexes nearby on the East Coast. Hotels is the area are limited, with the nearest hotel being Aqueen Hotel and others include the Ibis Hotel in Joo Chiat and Hotel Indigo in Katong.

The History

Known as Paya Lebar District in the 1820s to 1830s, its name originated from the Malay words paya and lebar, which mean “swamp” and “wide” respectively. An old survey map dating from around 1830 to 1890 shows a road leading to Payah Liebar (Paya Lebar) Road. There were rural settlements and agricultural areas in Paya Lebar in the early days. In 1865, part of the area was purchased by Richard Owen Norris, who then lived there with his family. In 1915, the admiralty wireless station was situated in this district.

In 1955, Singapore’s first international airport opened at Paya Lebar, which became the area’s major landmark. At the time, there were also housing estates, schools and factories in the area. With the opening of Changi International Airport, Paya Lebar Airport ceased its civil aviation operations in 1981 and was converted into a military airbase for the Republic of Singapore Airforce that same year. To the east of the Paya Lebar Airport, at what is now Tampines Avenue 10, were many sand quarries. Toward the late 1980s, the industry began to decline and the last quarry, located near the southern end of Paya Lebar Airport, cease operations in 1991.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in East Coast / Paya Lebar:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates

The Offices

One of Singapore’s first suburban regional centres, as identified and developed by the URA, Tampines has certainly come a long way. Over the years, Tampines has attracted a wide enough range of businesses and facilities that it is more or less self-sufficient. It is home to major financial institutions and office buildings, not one but three shopping malls, and a host of upscale lifestyle offerings and amenities. Not only does it serve its residents, Tampines is also a crucial commercial hub for residents of the East.

Many of the large banks have their own self-contained buildings in what is sometimes referred to a Tampines Financial Hub. These include DBS Tampines OCBC Tampines and UOB Tampines Centre. The CPF Board also has their own building at CPF Tampines. Other major office buildings in this location include Tampines Junction, Tampines Plaza / Abacus Plaza, Tampines Concourse, Tampines Grande, Tampines Point and Hitachi Square.

The Amenities

The district is well served by East West MRT Line, with the MRT station linking to two shopping malls. There is a bus interchange in the town center and road access is easy, either from the PIE, ECP or Tampines Expressway. There are indeed 3 retail malls in the centre of Tampines, namely Century Square, Tampines Mall and Tampines 1. There are ample condominium complexes in the vicinity but a dearth of hotels, with the closest being those around Changi Airport and Singapore Expo.

The History

In the past, Tampines was covered by forests, swamp and sand quarries. Ironwood trees or tempinis in Malay, grew abundantly. The area was part of a military training area until about 1987. The name Tampines goes back to the Franklin and Jackson map of 1828. It is named after Sungei Tampines, which in turn got its name from the tempinis trees (Malay for Streblus elongatus) which were said to be growing by it.

The oldest street in the area, Tampines Road, dates to 1864 when it was a cart tract. At the turn of the 20th century, Tampines was a rubber plantation. Tampines was also home to the sand quarry for a long time. Among the plantations were Teo Tek Ho and Hun Yeang estates.

The new town started in 1978. Construction began for Neighbourhoods 1 and 2 and was completed between 1983 and 1987. Neighbourhoods 8 and 9 started in 1985–1989, followed by Neighbourhood 5 which was completed in 1989 with the Tampines Town Centre. Neighbourhood 4 was completed with the new Tampines North Division between 1986 and 1988.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Tampines:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates

The Offices

Changi Business Park is one of the newest regional campuses, targeted for tech companies and data centers. The district does indeed boost some very high-tech buildings and the area has been a popular location for data centers particular for the banks. Financial institutions that have their own stand-alone buildings here include DBS Asia Hub, Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank. Some multinationals have their own buildings as well, including IBM Place, Xilinx Building, Invensys Building and Honeywell Building.

One@Changi City, opposite Expo MRT station is one of the highest quality buildings on the park and the anchor tenants here are Credit Suisse and JP Morgan. The Signature, Plaza 8 and Hansapoint @ CBP located in the middle of the park are other popular high quality buildings. UE Bizhub East probably offers the most competitive office space for rent on the park and is the new home of Future Electronics. At the far end of the park is The Eightrium @ CBP which also offers affordable offices for rent.

The Amenities

The business park is close to Singapore Expo, one of South East Asia’s largest exhibition centers and easily accessible to the Central Business District by rail via the Expo MRT station and by road via the Pan Island Expressway and the East Coast Parkway. Most buildings have their own eating facilities but some buildings have larger food courts open to the public such as UE Bizhub East, The Signature and One @ Changi City. Hotels in the area are limited and the only one of the park itself is Park Avenue Changi which is in the North West border of the park. Alternatively, most visitors use the hotels around Changi Airport. For residential accommodation, the district is a short commute from Siglap and Bedok on the East Coast, as well as Tampines.

The History

Launched in July 1997, the 66-hectare Changi Business Park is JTC Corporation's second business park following the International Business Park in Jurong East. The Changi Business Park comprises a mix of high technology business, data and software enterprises, research and development divisions and knowledge intensive facilities.

The Changi Business Park is located near to Changi Airport, the Aviation Distri-Zone and logistics facilities. This simplifies transportation and logistics arrangements for businesses leading to significant cost savings.

Completed in 2012, a large area of 71.07-hectare Changi Business Park opened as a mixed-use development project. Comprising a retail shopping mall, office building, and hotel building, the project was redeveloped by a joint venture between Ascendas Land and Frasers Centrepoint. Construction of the project was undertaken by Japanese general construction contractor Nakano Corporation.

Investors can lease land sites from JTC Corporation to construct their facilities.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Changi Business Park:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates

The Offices

This district was referred to as the Alexandra corridor because of office buildings that lined the road. The original buildings in this area included PSA Building, NOL Building (nka Fragrance Empire Building), UE Bizhub West (fka Inchcape House and Hewlett Packard Building), Alexandra Point and UOB Alexandra, formerly known as BP House. 1998 started the transformation of this district into a major business park location, with the development of twin block 8-storey scheme Alexandra Techno Park, that supplied over 1,000,000 sq ft of high quality commercial office space for rent.

The business park status was further enhanced with the completion of Mapletree Business City 1 on the former Alexandra Distripark and The Comtech. MBC I was completed 2010 with the first of the 4 blocks (MBC 10 ) allocated for Grade A office space for rent and the remaining 4 blocks business park spaces namely MBC 20E, MBC 20W. The development provided over 1,300,000 sq ft of high tech commercial space for rent. Mapletree Business City II was completed in 2016 and comprises a 30-storey office tower with a 5-storey podium, supplying some 1,100,000 sq ft of top quality commercial office space for lease and is predominantly occupied by Google Singapore Headquarters.

The Amenities

The location is well served by Labrador Park MRT station and many bus routes along Pasir Panjang Road and Alexandra Road. Many of the major buildings have good retail components with many eateries and large food courts and there is an established shopping centre at ARC (Alexandra Retail Centre) next to PSA Building. The vicinity is now well served with hotels and most visitors use the Park Hotel Alexandra up the road in Queenstown or Travelodge Harbourfront. The nearest established condominium complexes will be The Interlace, as well as Corals at Keppel Bay, Caribbean at Keppel Bay and Reflections at Keppel Bay.

The History

Completed in 1864, Alexandra Road was named after the then Princess of Wales, who later became Queen Alexandra, consort to King Edward VII of the United Kingdom. The road, which connected River Valley Road and Pasir Panjang, was known as “chui bo lai” in Hokkien, meaning “within the water (rice) mill”. In the early 1900s, the British established Alexandra Barracks near Alexandra Road. The roads leading to it bear names reflecting their association with the British military. The barracks accommodated Indian troops such as the 99th Deccan Infantry and 3rd Brahmans.12 The most significant event related to the barracks was a deadly mutiny involving the men of the 5th Light Infantry stationed there. In addition to the barracks, the British Army also developed facilities such as food stores, water supply and power plants in the vicinity.

Industrial buildings began to spring up in Alexandra from the 1930s onwards. One of the earliest was Malayan Breweries, the first modern brewery in Singapore when it opened in 1932.This brewery was situated behind Alexandra Brickworks, west of Alexandra Road. Also known as the Tiger brewery for its main product, the brewery was later relocated and the site sold in 1990. On the site now stand an industrial park and the Alexandra Point commercial building. In 1933, Archipelago Brewery Company (ABC) opened Singapore’s second brewery, which was also situated along Alexandra Road. Its main brew was Anchor beer and thus the factory was known as Anchor Brewery. The brewmaster’s office, a two-storey Arts and Crafts-style bungalow, was gazetted for conservation in 1993.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Alexandra Road:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Office space for rent Outside CBD

The Offices

Located directly opposite Buona Vista MRT, The Metropolis, on the edge of the Biopolis, is one of the most important schemes in the Buona Vista area. The Metropolis is a world class, twin tower 23-storey office development, next to the MRT station built in 2013. Each tower has an average floor plate of around 29,000 sq ft and total office space for lease of around 650,000 sq ft per tower. Opposite is Rochester Mall and the new Capitaland scheme of Rochester Commons.

One-North Business Park focuses on three industries – biomedical sciences, infocommunications and media and is predominantly split into 3 sectors namely Biopolis, Fusionopolis, Mediapolis. The most important building, in the private sector, in The Biopolis is Nucleos. This is a 7-storey high tech building providing around 475,000 sq ft of commercial offices for lease. Adjoining this is The Fusionopolis which has the biggest cluster of private commercial office for rent, for external tenants. The top of the range is Galaxis located directly above One North MRT station and other buildings close by include The Sandcrawler @ One North, Nexus @ One North and Solaris @ One North. The most recent development in this location, opposite Solaris, is Razer Building. The most important office developments in Mediapolis are Mediacorp Campus and Alice@Mediapolis, both of which were completed in 2019.

The History

The Singapore government’s plan for a science hub in the Buona Vista area was first announced on 15 September 1998. In June 2001, London-based Zaha Hadid Architects was appointed as masterplan consultant for the science hub project, with MVA Asia Ltd as transport consultant for the people-mover system. On 4 December the same year, the government unveiled the masterplan for the Buona Vista science hub project, now renamed One-North to reflect Singapore’s geographical position one-degree north of the equator. At the time, One-North was estimated to cost S$15 billion, span about 200 hectares, and be completed in phases over 15 to 20 years. Under the masterplan, One-North would focus on three industries – biomedical sciences, infocommunications and media.

It combines educational institutes, residences and recreational amenities with research facilities to create a “work-live-play-learn” environment. The development also includes Wessex, one-north Park, Rochester Park, Pixel, Nepal Hill, Vista and JTC LaunchPad @ one-north.

Biopolis

Biopolis is the first sector of One-North to be developed in 2001.It was conceived as a biomedical research-and-development hub, meant to encourage collaboration between major biotechnology companies and public research institutions. Phase one of Biopolis consisted of a S$500-million 185,000-square-metre seven-building complex linked by skybridges. Five of the seven buildings (Genome, Centros, Matrix, Nanos, and Proteos) were occupied by A*STAR. The other two buildings, Chromos and Helios, were earmarked for the private sector, with tenants such as the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases and ES Cell International Pte Ltd. It was officially opened in 2003.

Phase two of development saw the completion of two research facilities – Neuros and Immunos officially opened on October 2006. The third phase of Biopolis involved the construction of two additional buildings, Synapse and Amnios. They were both completed in 2010, and boosted Biopolis’s research space by another 41,000 sq m. The year 2013 marked Biopolis’s 10th anniversary as well as the completion of phases four and five. Phase four comprised Procter & Gamble’s 32,000-square-metre Singapore Innovation Centre, while phase five was a 46,000-square-metre development known as Nucleos, which is used for pre-clinical trials.

Fusionopolis

Fusionopolis is the second facility of One-North to be developed. It was initially named Technopolis, but was renamed Fusionopolis in 2003. The new name reflects the site’s aim of encouraging the fusion of ideas from the arts, business and technology sectors. Phase One of the development opened in 2008, a two-tower podium complex, 29 comprising buildings Connexis and Symbiosis, was completed. With a combined gross floor area of 120,000 sq m, the two buildings housed institutes in the physical sciences, engineering and digital technology sectors, as well as shops and apartments.

Phase 2A of Fusionopolis consists of a mix of business and commercial office spaces. Its three buildings – Innovis, Kinesis and Synthesis opened in 2015. Phase 2B saw the completion of Solaris, a 16-storey multi-tenanted building for research and development in the infocommunications, media, science and engineering industries completed 2010.

The third phase, was completed in September 2013. It is made up of two towers of six-storey office and business-park space, linked by a central plaza and skybridge. Nexus@One-North aims to cater to businesses in the media industry, as well as research and development activities in the physical sciences and engineering sectors.

Phase four of Fusionopolis, The Sandcrawler, officially opened on 16 January 2014. It houses the regional headquarters of Lucasfilm, and also serves as the regional headquarters for The Walt Disney Company and sports network ESPN Asia Pacific. The 22,500-square-metre seven-storey building also contains a 100-seat theatre.

Galaxis, the fifth phase of Fusionopolis, was completed in late 2014.Consisting of a 17-storey building with a separate five-storey office block, Galaxis is a business space that integrates living and retail activities.

Mediapolis@One-North

The idea of a “mediapolis” at one-north was raised by the Economic Review Committee’s panel on creative industries in September 2002. Mediapolis@One-North was envisioned as Singapore’s first digital media hub, with the infrastructure and technology to support media production, financing and distribution. Developed under the joint stewardship of JTC Corporation, Media Development Authority, Infocomm Development Authority and the Economic Development Board, it was completed in 2019. Singapore’s media company MediaCorp became one of the first anchor tenants at Mediapolis, occupying a gross floor area of 79,500 sq m in what is now called Mediacorp Campus.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Buona Vista / One-North Business Park:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Office space for rent Outside CBD

The Offices

This district is an important regional business hub that adjoins the well-established International Business Park. There is a cluster of good quality office buildings in this location including the 25-storey office block of Westgate Tower. This property has an average floor plate of 17,000 sq ft and provides over 315,000 sq ft of prime office space for rent. Next door is another top quality office scheme, JEM @ Jurong Gateway which is a 12-storey office tower, built in 2013. The average floor plate is a huge 24,000 sq ft and provides a total of approximately 250,000 sq ft of premium offices for rent. Nearby, is The JTC Summit which is a 31-story office tower built in 2000. The average floor plate is 16,000 sq ft and the total lettable area of office space for lease is approximately 480,000 sq ft. Another important office development in this area is Vision Exchange, located on the edge of the town centre but within easy walking distance of the MRT station. This 25-storey commercial development completed in 2017 has retail / F & B space on the 2 podium floors, car parking on levels 3 & 4 and 19 floors of office above. The average floor plate is 25,000 sq ft and the scheme provides a total of 475,000 sq ft of office for rent.

The Amenities

Jem is Singapore's third-largest suburban mall housing 241 shop units with over 818,000 square feet of retail space across six levels. Jem's name is an abbreviation of its original name, Jurong East Mall, and is a wordplay reference of the mall as the crown jewel of Jurong and Singapore's west. The mall is directly connected to the Jurong East MRT interchange station that covers both the original East West line and North South line. Jem is located at the junction of Jurong Gateway Road and Boon Lay Way. The Jurong East Bus Interchange is directly opposite. The main hotel in the area is Genting Hotel Jurong.

The History

Jurong was historically a mangrove swamp, with some plantation farms, fish and prawn ponds, and crocodile-infested rivers. The name “Jurong” is derived from the Malay word jerong, which literally means “shark”. It is also a reference to an unscrupulous, greedy person. The rural land was mostly state-owned, except for plots owned by a small number of residents. In 1961 a land area of 69 sq km in Jurong was chosen as the site for industrial development. Low hills were levelled and the swampland was filled with soil to prepare the land for industrial, residential and recreational developments. Jurong Industrial Estate project, Singapore’s first industrial estate, was kick started with the laying of the foundation stone for the National Iron & Steel Mills (known today as NatSteel) on 1 September 1962. Early industries in the estate included timber, sawmilling, oil-rig fabrication, shipbuilding and repair. By 1976, 650 factories were in operation and more than 20,000 flats occupied.

Jurong East began to be developed from June 1968, when the JTC was established to head the planning, development and management of all industrial sites. The economy took off in the 1970s, and the corporation stepped up its development of facilities, ahead of demand. As the economy matured in the 1980s, JTC emphasized the development of facilities for high-technology and capital-intensive industries. In 2000, it was renamed JTC Corporation, and its headquarters relocated to JTC Summit after being housed in Jurong Town Hall since 1974. Jurong Town Hall was gazetted as a national monument in 2015.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Jurong East:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Office space for rent Outside CBD

The Offices

Singapore Science Park 1 located off South Buona Vista Road is the original Science Park built in 1982. The original buildings on the park included The Curie, The Cavendish, The Franklin, The Chadwick and The Maxwell. Subsequent Phase II included The Rutherford as well as the group of Cintech Buildings I, II, II and IV. DNV Technology Building is one of the more modern buildings on the park constructed in 2013. The most recent landmark development on the park is the prestigious Ascent, which is the home of Johnson & Johnson. The impressive 7-storey scheme was completed in 2017 boasts top quality finishes and ‘state of the art’ specification. Split into 2 wings, the combined floor plate size is around 80,000 sq ft. The scheme provides a total 397,000 sq ft of prime office space for rent and there is also 42,000 sq ft of retail space on the ground floor.

Singapore Science Park 2, located off Singapore Science Park Road, started construction in 1993 where one of the first building to be completed was The Alpha in 1995. This was soon followed by The Gemini (1998), The Aries (1999), The Capricorn (2001), Teletech Building (2002). Singapore Science Park 3 was planned but eventually became an extension of Park 2 and The Galen was the first building to be completed in this last phase in 2003. This was followed by The Kendall in 2009 which was the last building to be completed in 2009.

The Amenities

The closest MRT station to Singapore Science Park 1 is Kent Ridge which is within easy walking distance from those buildings in the front of the park but for those building deeper into the park, most require the use of regular bus shuttle service. Most buildings on the park has their own canteen facilities and there are more choices in some of the larger schemes like Ascent. There are ample low cost car parking provided to all buildings on the park. There are only limited hotels in the area with the closest 4-star hotel being Citadine Fusionopolis.

The nearest MRT station to Singapore Science Park 2 is Haw Par Villa. For those buildings at the back of the Park such as The Galen and The Kendall, there is a pedestrian shortcut behind The Kendall but for all other buildings, the regular bus shuttle is the solution. Most buildings have their own canteen facilities and good quality eateries.

The History

In 1980, the Government gave its seal of approval to proceed with the construction of the Singapore Science Park on a 30-hectare plot of land. In 1982, Singapore Science Park I welcomed its first tenant, Det Norske Veritas (DNV).

In 1993, construction of Singapore Science Park II began on a 20-hectare plot of land, the first building constructed was the Institute of Microelectronics (IME). The Alpha, a multi-tenant building was the next building constructed in Singapore Science Park II.

In 2000, Arcasia would expand and develop a 15-hectare plot of land next to the Singapore Science Park II into a Singapore Science Park III at a cost of about $600 million. However, it was revealed that the latter was an expansion of Singapore Science Park II. Galen, the first building on the Singapore Science Park II's expanded plot was completed on 29 June 2003.

Find out the latest asking rents for established office buildings in Singapore Science Parks:
Singapore Office Rental Table: Asking Rates
Office space for rent Outside CBD