Tanjong Pagar Centre set to be Singapore's tallest building at 290m

A skyscraper to be built on top of Tanjong Pagar MRT station will be Singapore's tallest building by the time it is finished in 2016.

The 64-storey Tanjong Pagar Centre will stand at 290m, said Singapore-listed GuocoLand yesterday.

This means the mixed-use development will narrowly edge out One Raffles Place, Republic Plaza and United Overseas Bank Plaza One, which are all 280m tall.

It will also trump Singapore's tallest residential skyscraper, the 245m Marina Bay Tower, which is part of The Sail @ Marina Bay and boasts 70 storeys.

The maximum building height allowed in Singapore is 280m but GuocoLand obtained permission to build Tanjong Pagar Centre up to 290m.

The development will consist of a tower housing Grade A office space, residences and retail space. This will be linked to a posh business hotel with about 200 rooms.

Its office portion - to be called Guoco Tower - will occupy 38 storeys and have 850,000 sq ft of net lettable space.

As the office units have higher ceilings than the homes, the height of the office tower is roughly that of a 50-floor residential building. The residential portion will be on top, taking up the 39th to 64th storeys.

Called TP180, it will have nearly 200 units ranging from one- to four-bedders and penthouses.

TP180 starts at the 180m mark and reaches to 290m, eclipsing Far East Organization's nearby 62-floor condominium Altez which is 250m tall.

GuocoLand Singapore group managing director Trina Loh said the homes will be priced at a premium to the surrounding area.

HSR research head Elaine Chow reckons that they could be marketed at above $3,000 per sq ft (psf), given the project's location right above the MRT and view of the city skyline. The 100,000 sq ft of retail space in Tanjong Pagar Centre will be connected to the MRT station below.

The development, which is GuocoLand's first mixed-use project in Singapore, was estimated in 2011 to cost $3.2 billion, including the land cost.

Mrs Loh declined to confirm the total project cost yesterday but said construction alone will cost around $700 million.

GuocoLand, which is controlled by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan, paid $1.71 billion - or $1,006 psf per plot ratio - for the white site at the corner of Peck Seah Street and Choon Guan Street in February 2011.

melissat@sph.com.sg

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