Cushman & Wakefield: Singapore to be Southeast Asia’s entertainment hub?

Given the recent CBD incentive scheme, where the government is trying to encourage more mixed-use developments by introducing more residential, retail and hospitality components, the concept of a CBD may become obsolete in Singapore over the long term. 

The sprawling 2,000 hectares of land within the Greater Southern Waterfront (GSW) provides Singapore an opportunity to secure the status as an entertainment hub in Southeast Asia, said Cushman & Wakefield.

Stretching from Gardens by the Bay East to Pasir Panjang terminal, GSW will be six times the size of Marina Bay or twice the size of Punggol.

Christine Li, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at Cushman & Wakefield, said Sentosa and Pulau Brani will “leverage on the waterfront location to create the next generation entertainment and recreational facilities for the region”.

In fact, plans to open a 24,500 sq m lifestyle quarter, known as Siloso Green, is already underway for Sentosa.

Moreover, Resorts World Sentosa had previously announced that it will invest $4.5 billion to expand its current GFA by around half. Upcoming attractions include Minion Park, Singapore Oceanarium and Super Nintendo World nearby.

“Pulau Brani, which is now home to a port terminal is also expected to house a new resort called Downtown South,” said Li.

“The resort is expected to be accessible to the mass market, bringing more local traffic to the south which could help change the perception of Sentosa being too inaccessible and expensive to the local mass market.”

Li noted that these developments will further enhance the attractiveness of decentralised office and business park offerings. They will also help “accelerate the pace of office decentralization away from the central business district (CBD) away from the CBD over the next decade”.

“Given the recent CBD incentive scheme, where the government is trying to encourage more mixed-use developments by introducing more residential, retail and hospitality components, the concept of a CBD may become obsolete in Singapore over the long term,” she added.

This comes as the current CBD and the GSW may eventually evolve into a “central business coast”.

Nonetheless, Li does not expect “these are very long term plans” to affect Singapore’s real estate market in the short to medium term.

Source: 20 Aug 2019, CommercialGuru