Singapore’s housing market may be experiencing a slowdown, but mixed-use developments are gaining in popularity here.
Over the past year or so, there have been several high-profile mixed developments launched, including Fusionopolis at one-north, Changi City within Changi Business Park and Scotts Square along Scotts Road.
This week saw the launch of Watertown (pictured) in Punggol Central, a joint project between Far East Organization, Frasers Centrepoint Limited and Sekisui House, Ltd.
“We see the market responding well to mixed-use projects like Watertown. This is evident in our recent successful experience in Changi City which has a business park and a soon-to-be-completed hotel, making it an ideal live-work-&-play destination,” said Lim Ee Seng, CEO of Frasers Centrepoint.
The concept of mixed-use projects has come a long way. According to Getty Goh, founder of Ascendant Assets Pte Ltd, “Commercial spaces within mixed-use developments used to be sold to individual owners. It was not easy for a building’s management to refurbish it or change its tenants, thus affecting its resale value. Buyers preferred single-use developments as they were generally better maintained.”
“These days, commercial spaces for new mixed-use developments come under a single entity. For example, shop spaces at developments like ION belong to a Reit or company, so issues that affected mixed-use developments in the past don’t affect them anymore. Hence, interest in such properties will likely remain strong,” he added.
In Singapore, more mixed developments are expected, including South Beach@City Hall by City Developments Limited (CDL) and the redevelopment of the Capitol site. “Based on the recent high-profile mixed-use sites put on sale, the URA seems to be actively promoting such developments,” said Goh.
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