Shaw Tower alerts tenants it may be redeveloped

Advance notice given to them to relocate by June 2020 as it gets team to study options

Shaw Tower at 100 Beach Road is the latest in a string of post-independence landmarks that could undergo redevelopment, following the advance notice its 150 tenants have been given to relocate elsewhere on or before June 30, 2020.

According to an update to tenants seen by The Straits Times yesterday, the property’s management said it has appointed a project team to undertake a study to “evaluate the most scalable-cum-feasible option for the building”.

“Based on our current schedule, we hope to make a considered decision on the best possible option by December 2018. In that regard, we might bring forward our redevelopment or refurbishment plans by about one year.

“Thus, I am sorry that for upcoming tenancy renewals, we would only be able to accord a tenancy term of up till June 30, 2020, instead of June 30, 2021,” the management said.

Meanwhile, it said, it will continue to “customise our tenancy terms to address your specific needs… when your tenancy is due for renewal or where applicable; and undertake our planned maintenance and/or replacement works to ensure a reasonably conducive workplace”.

Owned and managed by Shaw Towers Realty, Shaw Tower comprises a 35-storey office/retail block with 260,000 sq ft of office space and 100,000 sq ft of retail space.

Property consultancy Edmund Tie & Company’s chief executive Ong Choon Fah said Shaw Tower has, over the years, been approached by “various interested parties” to sell the building or to form joint ventures with them.

The Straits Times understands that the Hong Kong branch of the Shaw family, which owns Shaw Tower, uses part of the property’s earnings to fund some charities in Hong Kong. But analysts say Shaw Tower, in its current form, is “not being optimised as an asset”.

Savills Singapore senior director Alan Cheong noted that the property is “a prime site for redevelopment”. “Sandwiched between GuocoLand’s Guoco Midtown and the South Beach project by City Developments and IOI Properties, if Shaw Tower were to be redeveloped, then the entire area will be re-gentrified,” Mr Cheong said.

According to analysts, the revitalisation of Beach Road began with the South Beach project, which was completed in 2016, followed by the Duo mega-development by M+S, with 660 residential units and office and retail space, that was ready last year.

Moreover, the 42-year-old Shaw Tower’s mechanical and electrical parts, including lifts, air-conditioning equipment and pipes, are due for an upgrade. “Over the last three years, some tenants have been moving out as lift services were sometimes compromised. And now, there is opportunity as the whole Beach Road area is being rejuvenated,” Ms Ong said.

Edmund Tie had been a tenant on the 35th floor since 1995 but, last year, it moved to the UIC Building in Shenton Way.

“We loved the Beach Road location and the view. You can see all the way to Tanjong Rhu and Marina Bay, but we moved to take advantage of office market conditions”, among other things, said Ms Ong.

Audio-visual electronics distributor Lenbrook Asia, which has a showroom in Shaw Tower, said the management’s latest update “wasn’t a shock as they had been given enough notice”.

“Source:[Shaw Tower alerts tenants it may be redeveloped] © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *