SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - ARA Asset Management and Chelsfield Asia have secured a $385.8 million green loan from DBS Bank and United Overseas Bank to finance the acquisition and asset enhancement plans of their 50:50 joint venture purchase of 5One Central.

The building is the former Manulife Centre on Bras Basah Road. The development has a floor area of 241,000 sq ft, and comprises a ground floor retail podium and large, contiguous office floor plates of at least 23,000 sq ft.

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“DBS is delighted to support ARA and Chelsfield on their maiden green loan for 5One Central, and we applaud the slew of innovative sustainability features that are being incorporated into the development,” says Chew Chong Lim, managing director and global head of real estate & institutional banking at DBS.

The green loan is issued under the green loan framework that is jointly developed by ARA and Chelsfield and is in line with both companies’ commitment to develop and design buildings that achieve the highest standard of sustainability. 5One central is expected to receive the Green Mark Platinum certification from the Building and Construction Authority when the planned asset enhancement works are completed in 2H2021.

The 11-storey commercial building will undergo several asset enhancement initiatives to improve its environmental footprint and create a more positive impact on the surrounding community. This includes new vertical and horizontal fins to enhance the building’s façade and provide shade to diminish the building’s solar heat gain. This will reduce the building’s cooling load and overall energy consumption.

Other green features include CO2 sensors to regulate fresh air supply indoors, occupancy sensors to optimise light usage, paper ad plastic recycling facilities electric vehicle charging facilities, and a high efficiency variable and constant air-distribution system. The energy conservation initiatives are expected to cut the building’s overall energy consumption by half. The ground floor retail space will also feature a wider variety of product offerings, and the carpark space on the lower floors will be converted into additional office space.

“In this major repositioning, we have been able to improve significantly the environmental performance of the building while refreshing the design to create a contemporary setting that appeals to the dynamic technology and creative industries,” says Nick Loup, group vice-chairman and CEO at Chelsfield Asia.