HarbourFront Precinct

Maritime Square, the mainland belt that overlooks Singapore’s Sentosa Island, was once anchored by the former World Trade Centre and its adjacent exhibition halls. With the vision to enhance the value and revive the former vitality of the southern waterfront, Mapletree redeveloped the ageing Maritime Square into an exciting destination known today as HarbourFront Precinct.

Work to rejuvenate the precinct into a lifestyle and business hub with a large mall, offices and world-class cruise facilities began in 2004. The old exhibition halls of World Trade Centre were demolished and the development of VivoCity took shape. Designed by world-renowned Japanese architect Toyo Ito, and conceptualised on a “wave” theme inspired by its waterfront location, VivoCity became a world-class shopping destination and an iconic landmark of Singapore southern waterfront in less than two years.

Mapletree also refurbished the former World Trade Centre into HarbourFront Centre, an office cum retail development that also houses the Singapore Cruise Centre. With increasing demand for office space in fringe CBD areas, Mapletree further developed three prime office buildings – HarbourFront Tower One and the build-to-suit Bank of America Merrill Lynch HarbourFront – and upgraded the Singapore Cable Car Tower into office building HarbourFront Tower Two, which continues to serve as a cable car terminal connecting Sentosa Island and Mount Faber. St James Power Station (SJPS), which is situated next to VivoCity, underwent a major renovation in the mid-2000s as an entertainment complex, and was later gazetted as a National Monument in 2009. When its lease ended in 2018, in line with the Singapore Government’s “live, work, play” vision for the Greater Southern Waterfront, Mapletree embarked on the adaptive reuse of SJPS to create a new business destination at HarbourFront Precinct. Upon topping out in February 2021, the refurbished monument was handed over to Dyson, a leading international technology company, to begin works on its global headquarters. SJPS will house a heritage gallery in one of its distinctive chimneys to showcase its contribution to Singapore as a power station, as well as a heritage trail around the monument featuring maritime artefacts.

Furthermore, Mapletree successfully launched The Reef at King’s Dock, a residential luxury waterfront development, in January 2021. 80% of units were sold as at 31 March 2021. This is a testament to the project’s appeal, with its waterfront location and a distinctive design that includes a 180-metre floating deck, a first for a residential project in Singapore.

View HarbourFront Precinct Rejuvenation video here.

Alexandra Precinct

In 2008, Mapletree began revitalising Alexandra Precinct, a 13.5 hectare site along the Alexandra/Telok Blangah business corridor. The site is about 10 minutes’ drive from the CBD and five minutes away from HarbourFront Precinct. It previously consisted of The Comtech, PSA Building and Alexandra Distripark. Alexandra Distripark comprised three blocks of low-yielding and under-utilised warehouses, which Mapletree redeveloped into Mapletree Business City Phase I (MBC I). Additionally, Mapletree carried out asset enhancement works for the PSA Building, which saw the development of Alexandra Retail Centre (ARC), providing retail convenience and amenities/services to the working population in the precinct and the nearby residential community. The final phase saw the redevelopment of The Comtech to MBC II, a high quality business park with a gross floor area of almost 125,000 square metres.

MBC I is an integrated development with one office tower, two business space towers, and an amenities/retail block, which are connected by covered linkways. Completed in 2010, the mixed-use development is close to 2 million square feet, and has a strong occupancy of 91.7% as of 31 March 2021. MBC I was divested to Mapletree Commercial Trust in August 2016. The second phase of the MBC development, MBC II, features the tallest business park in Singapore at 30-storeys and offers complementary spaces such as recreational facilities and a variety of dining options. MBC II was subsequently divested to Mapletree Commercial Trust (MCT) in November 2019. As of 31 March 2021, MBC II reported full actual occupancy.

For its innovative design and environmentally-friendly features, the combined MBC development has received international and local awards for its sustainable design. These include the Green Mark Platinum Award from the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore and the Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) sustainability awards.