Mapletree to build $250m multi-use facility in Tai Seng

Mapletree to build $250m multi-use facility in Tai Seng
PHOTO: Mapletree to build $250m multi-use facility in Tai Seng

PROPERTY firm Mapletree Investments plans to build a $250 million industrial facility with offices and retail space in Tai Seng, it said yesterday.

The facility will be developed on a plum multi-use plot won by Mapletree in a tender that closed last month.

Analysts said the development could bring greater variety to the area, which has limited retail offerings.

"It will enhance the attractiveness of working in Tai Seng," said SLP International research head Nicholas Mak.

The land parcel is inside the Paya Lebar iPark, a 15ha industrial zone where tenants include Japanese food chain Sakae Holdings and bakery chain BreadTalk.

The site is the only one in the park that is directly connected to the nearby Tai Seng MRT station by a basement linkway, Mapletree said.

The plot has a maximum gross floor area of 443,796 sq ft.

Mapletree paid $120.1 million for the land parcel, which works out to about $271 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr).

"We have been selective in our participation in government land sales in recent years, but this site merits attention, given the choice location and interesting mix of industrial, office and retail offerings," Mapletree group chief executive Hiew Yoon Khong said in a statement yesterday.

"This will add to our existing portfolio - one industrial and two logistics properties - within the Paya Lebar iPark."

The Mapletree group owns the Tata Communications Exchange building as well as the Allied Telesis and Natural Cool Lifestyle Hub buildings, all located inside the park.

The plot is zoned as "Business 2-white". "Business 2" means it is suitable for heavier industrial use. "White" means multiple uses are permitted.

White sites are rare. About 28.6 per cent of the site's gross floor area is zoned for white use.

Mapletree said the development would offer "an ideal location for businesses in high-value light industrial and research and development services".

They include industries such as information technology, software design and development, research and development, engineering consultancy and financial services back-room support.

The company said the retail centre would be in Upper Paya Lebar Road and would offer more than 60,000 sq ft of retail space. Possible tenants include food and beverage outlets and childcare and enrichment services.

Mapletree expects the development to be completed in the first half of 2016.

melissat@sph.com.sg


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