Phase Two of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) will see Tower 3 erected over the course of the next 12 months and demand for the resulting grade A office space in Singapore appears to be heading skyward as well.
A pre-commitment deal has now been done that will see the law firms Ashurst LLP and the WongPartnership, as well as the information provider McGraw-Hill, occupy a total of 145,000 sq ft of office space at the tower.
The latest agreements mean two-thirds of the 1.3 million sq ft 46-storey office building are now accounted for, with completion of the project expected at some point in the first quarter of 2012.
A host of other big-name companies from a wide range of industries are already occupying office space at the Marina Bay site, with towers 1 and 2 both fully leased ahead of their recent opening.
Raffles Quay Asset Management is running the ambitious scheme and its chief executive Wilson Kwong said in response to the latest developments: “MBFC’s strategic location and premium quality as well as its portfolio of prestigious tenants ensure that it is well positioned to benefit from the strengthening of the [Singapore] office market.”
The aim of the MBFC is to establish one of the most vibrant and interesting mixed-use districts of Singapore through the building of residential and retail buildings along with office space in the Marina Bay area.
Demand for office space to rent is currently stronger in Singapore than in almost any other major city in the world, with DTZ Research reporting that occupancy rates rose by roughly 0.5 per cent over the course of the final three months of 2010.
Editor’s notes: As of May 2023, both Ashurst LLP and the WongPartnership remain renting office space in Tower 3 of MBFC and McGraw-Hill was based at 1 International Business Park at The Synergy.
Other tenants at Tower 3 include Clifford Chance, DBS Bank and Rio Tinto.
The 1.3 million square foot building doesn’t only provide office space to rent – there is a wide range of food and beverage outlets, retail banking space and Raffles Medical is located on level 17 providing a wide range of medical and dental services.
Reports from office agents in Singapore advise that the office market demonstrated signs of resilience in the first quarter despite growing global uncertainties.
Vacancy rates reduced in the Core CBD area amongst Grade A office buildings from 4.2% in Q4 2022 to 3.9% in Q1 2023.
Gross effective rental rates for Core CBD (Grade A) increased by 0.4% quarter-to-quarter to reach 11.75 Singapore Dollars per square foot per month which showed a decline in growth however it is expected that rents will continue to increase moderately over 2023 as tenants seek to rent higher quality Grade A space.