TWO new hotel sites – one of which is Ogilvy Centre, a conservation building opposite Lau Pa Sat – have made it to the government’s H1 2010 reserve list. But there are no new commercial sites on the list. And there are neither hotel nor commercial sites on the confirmed list for H1 2010.
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| GENERATING EXCITEMENT Ogilvy Centre, a conservation building in the financial district, can be positioned as a luxury hotel with about 70 rooms |
Still, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority, there’s ample supply of sites for commercial and hotel developments in the reserve list.
Choy Chan Pong, URA senior group director for land sales and administration, pointed out that about 4.5 million square feet of commercial space will continue to be made available through the reserve list of H1 2010, including about 1.5 million sq ft that can potentially be generated from a white site at Ophir Road in the Bugis area and nearly 690,000 sq ft from a white site in the Jurong Gateway area.
CB Richard Ellis director (research) Leonard Tay said that recovery in the office market is at the incipient stage. ‘If the pace of recovery quickens, the authorities have the option of adding some confirmed list sites for second half 2010 to ensure timely supply of office buildings from 2013 onwards.’
CBRE’s figures show that between now and end-2014, about 7.72 million sq ft of net lettable area of offices are slated for completion.
‘One should not underestimate the pace at which the current supply will be absorbed when the market recovers in the medium term,’ said Mr Tay. ‘For instance, the annual takeup for 2000 was a very significant 4.22 million sq ft on the back of recovery after the Asian crisis.’ Continue reading
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