From Guoco Midtown and Shaw Towers to the new residential developments at Tan Quee Lan Street and Middle Road, the Beach Road-Rochor Road area is set for a massive renewal. For the past four decades, those driving along Nicoll Highway from Singapore’s east coast to the central business district have been treated to the landmarks defining Beach Road’s skyline: first, the Golden Mile Complex and Tower, a relic of the 1970s; followed by the 1990s modernist architecture of The Concourse, designed by the late American architect, Paul Rudolph, and the knife-edged triangular towers of The Gateway by the legendary American-Chinese architect I M Pei who turns 102 this year. In recent years, the skyline has been enhanced by the addition of two multibillion-dollar integrated developments designed by star architectural firms of the current era, namely DUO by Buro Ole Scheeren, and South Beach by Foster and Partners. “The stretch of Beach Road from Ophir Road and Rochor Road onwards has changed a lot,” says Cheng Hsing Yao, group managing director of listed property group GuocoLand Singapore. “But the eastern stretch of Beach Road is still quite old.” GuocoLand is developing Guoco Midtown, a new integrated development at the junction of Beach Road and Bras Basah Road. Near Guoco Midtown is Shaw Tower, which will be redeveloped. A commercial tower built on a site sold in the government land sales programme in 1970, Shaw Tower is a redevelopment of the former Alhambra and Marlboro theatres, and also where the original Satay Club at Hoi How Road was located. The 34-storey tower contains offices from the 11th floor, car park lots from the second to 10th floors and a retail podium with two cinemas. Shaw Tower is owned by Shaw Foundation, which was established in Singapore in 1957. The new commercial development that will replace the existing Shaw Tower will be predominantly office with a total net lettable area of 222,700 sq ft. “The redevelopment of Shaw Tower is overdue,” says Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield. The new Shaw Tower and Guoco Midtown will be linked to each other and to their neighbouring developments on the second level, and by underground pedestrian links to the subway stations. For instance, there will be an underground link from Guoco Midtown to Bugis MRT Interchange Station for the Downtown and East- West Lines. From South Beach, they will have direct access to Esplanade MRT Station on the Circle Line. South Beach is also linked directly to Suntec City via an overhead bridge that brings pedestrians to City Hall MRT Interchange Station for the North-South and East-West Lines. “Guoco Midtown and the redevelopment of Shaw Tower will be new additions that will complement South Beach and DUO,” says Chris Archibold, JLL head of leasing. “They will bring a critical mass of grade A office space to the area, which GuocoLand has aptly branded ‘Midtown’.” There will be very little new office supply in the next two years until Guoco Midtown is completed. South Beach Tower, which contains about 500,000 sq ft of premium office space, and was completed in 2015, is full today, says Archibold. Likewise, DUO Tower, which has 568,000 sq ft of office space, and was completed in 2017, is also almost full. The average rent in these two towers is said to be around S$11 (US$8.07) per square foot. Guoco Midtown is expected to trade at “double-digit rents”. However, the office tower in the development will only be put up for lease two years from now. “Our view of the market is very positive,” he said. “The supply pipeline is fairly low, and demand seems fairly robust across many different sectors.” JLL’s basket of premium, grade A office buildings are made up of those that are under 16 years old. “Whether they are in Marina Bay, Raffles Place or Tanjong Pagar, they are all trading at around S$11 per square foot per month,” Archibold said. Beach Road appeals to a wide spectrum of occupiers, notes Moray Armstrong, CBRE Singapore managing director. Potential tenants could include fintech, technology, the energy sector, co-working operators and multinational corporations that appreciate the accessibility within the central business district. “We anticipate the new developments will attract tenants keen to upgrade,,” Archibold said. Planned as a mixed-use district with offices, hotels and residences, “the Beach Road/Ophir-Rochor corridor primarily serves as an extension of the central business district due to its proximity to Raffles Place and Marina Bay,” Armstrong said. “The area is also unique due to its heritage and cultural vibe from the Kampong Glam conservation area. It has ‘the cool factor’. The existing commercial building architecture in this micro-market is particularly distinctive.” When South Beach Tower first entered the market five years ago, 80 per cent of prospective office occupiers were already drawn to the location. “The Beach Road area has a very nice mixed-use feel,” Archibold said. “There’s a fair amount of retail and food and beverage services in the area, and you’re also near a very large retail mall at Suntec City.”