The design of the “campus in nature” also preserves more than half of the site’s initial green space. — AFP
SINGAPORE: Home-grown multinational Surbana Jurong’s S$400mil “campus in nature”, which officially opened its doors on March 13, was built at substantial savings of up to 15% below the market rate.
This was because of the company’s in-house know-how in optimising construction costs, said its regional head of Asia and chief executive of integrated solutions, Yeo Choon Chong.
Designed by Moshe Safdie – the architect who envisioned the iconic Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi Airport – the pandemic-interrupted 1.2 million sq ft structure was completed after almost four years in gestation. Situated in CleanTech Park within JTC Corp’s Jurong Innovation District, the 10 five-and seven-storey towers sit on a 301,389 sq ft site that has a standard 30-year lease.
The design of the “campus in nature” also preserves more than half of the site’s initial green space. The building itself has green areas such as gardens on the roofs, lush indoor spaces as well as a 60-year-old banyan tree – the focal point in one of the external courtyards.
Already, it is about two-thirds occupied, as Surbana Jurong brings together 4,000 staff from its associated companies under one roof for the first time since 2015, when the company was established as a merger between Surbana and Jurong International.
Surbana was the corporatised development arm of the Housing Board, while Jurong International was its counterpart over at JTC.
Across the globe, the urban, infrastructure and managed services consultancy’s entire group of companies and associates have a headcount of 16,000 spanning more than 40 countries, with about 100 nationalities.
Yeo said the project was fully funded by M&G Real Estate, a British company that is one of the world’s leading property investors and the real estate investment arm of M&G Investments.
He added that instead of the traditional develop-and-lease model, the lease came with a unique feature that allows Surbana Jurong a degree of latitude in choosing who else can lease space within the campus, rather than having M&G, the landlord, calling all the shots.
Yeo said: “We’re not looking to maximise the rental income for the remaining space.
“Instead, we want to attract tenants who can contribute to innovation, as well as research and development – like-minded folk who can collaborate with us and boost the business.” — The StraitsTimes/ ANN
