SINGAPORE – Punggol Digital District, an upcoming business park in north-east Singapore, is set to have a 200-room hotel facing Coney Island.
JTC Corporation, the 50ha district’s master planner and developer, told The Straits Times on April 29 that the new serviced residence or hotel will be part of a business park tower that will be located at the eastern end of the district.
JTC, which oversees Singapore’s industrial spaces, is seeking proposals from parties interested in operating the serviced residence or hotel on a 60-year tenure, said a spokeswoman for the agency.
She added that the exercise will be conducted by JTC’s appointed agent, real estate services firm JLL. The hotel’s opening date is yet to be confirmed.
JTC was among the organisations that received development approvals for commercial projects between January and March, according to data published by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on April 26.
The agency had received approvals for the hotel in Punggol Way, which will have a gross floor area of 8,141 sq m and 223 rooms. The tower housing the hotel is set to be completed alongside other buildings in the district later in 2024.
JTC also holds approvals to develop 31,022 sq m of office and 26,865 sq m of retail space in the district, tentatively by end-2024.
JTC on Feb 16 received planning clearance from the Government for eight buildings in the district designed by architectural firm Woha – a nine-storey block, a 10-storey block, two 11-storey blocks, three 12-storey blocks and a 13-storey block.
To be opened progressively from the second half of 2024, Punggol Digital District will house the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), with students starting classes there in September, as well as retail, dining and lifestyle amenities.
Also to open by end-2024 as an extension to the upcoming SIT campus is the Punggol Coast MRT station.
Mr Christopher Khoo, managing director of hospitality consultancy MasterConsult Services, said that besides academics and business travellers, tourists could take advantage of the new hotel in Punggol, especially if room rates are lower than those at downtown hotels.
The hotel may also draw Singaporeans if its facilities are attractive, he said, adding that there are generally “so few good-quality rooms in the north-east of Singapore”.
He noted that timing the full launch of hotel rooms to meet growing market demand is tricky, and suggested that the hotel’s eventual operator should coordinate its opening with firms in the area to drive demand.
JTC broke ground on the district in January 2020, and has since confirmed a number of tenants that will move in, including blockchain firm Wanxiang and local bank UOB, which will move in by end-2026.
Meanwhile, real estate company City Developments Limited (CDL) received development approvals from URA between January and March for its planned redevelopment of its properties Central Mall and Central Square in Havelock and Merchant roads.
To be called Union Square, the redeveloped property is slated to comprise 366 apartments, 27,955 sq m of office space, 5,580 sq m of retail space, and a 71-room, 4,539 sq m hotel.
CDL on March 11 received written permission from URA to redevelop its existing conserved shophouses and the office tower of Central Mall into an integrated project that will include a new three-storey hotel with retail units and a 20-storey office and retail tower.
Permission was also granted to redevelop Central Square into a 40-storey residential tower, with commercial units on the first two floors, called Union Square Residences.
A CDL spokesperson did not provide more details when asked, saying only that “the development is still in the planning stage”.
The spokesperson added that more information will be announced closer to the launch of Union Square Residences, slated for the second half of 2024.
Correction note: This story was edited for accuracy.
