Marina One Residences is part of the $7 billion Marina One integrated development, the newest and largest such project in the Marina Bay financial district. Marina One was developed by M+S, a joint-venture company 60%-owned by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional and 40%-owned by its Singapore counterpart Temasek Holdings. The development was completed in November last year and comprises 1,042 luxury residential units, 1.88 million sq ft of Grade-A offices and 140,000 sq ft of lifestyle retail space.
Marina One Residences won the Top Development Excellence Award for a completed development in the Central Region (Picture: M+S)
Marina One Residences clinched the Top Development Excellence Award for a completed development in the Central Region at the EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards 2018 on Oct 3. The residential and commercial components of the development were praised by the judges for being well integrated through their sensible architecture and design by Christoph Ingenhoven, founder of Ingenhoven Architects, a leader in sustainable architecture.
The development’s façade is inspired by a city’s street grid, while the iconic louvres visually unify the development and are integral to Ingenhoven’s supergreen architecture, which aims to create a comfortable climate within the project.
At the core of Marina One are multiple stepped gardens inspired by rice terraces. The lush greenery and cascading waterfalls in the development form a natural cooling system. This Green Heart comprises over 160,000 plants across an area of 65,000 sq ft and is the largest green sanctuary in the CBD. The buildings in Marina One harvest rainwater to irrigate foliage through an automatic drip system. The development’s sustainability features won it the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum certification, the highest attainable.
Night-time view of Marina One’s Green Heart and the retail podium
Marina One’s residential component, Marina One Residences, comprises twin Park and Garden towers of 33 storeys. M+S launched the 521-unit Park Tower in 2014 when the market was in a trough, following tough property cooling measures the previous year. But buyers were impressed by the residential development’s concept, luxuriously sized units and palatable selling prices. The project recorded an average selling price of $2,242 psf and sold more than 53 units during its first month of sales.
Marina One Residences has a wide mix of unit types, with sizes considered large by today’s standards. At Garden Tower, which was launched in July, one-bedroom units start from 657 sq ft, two-bedroom units from 980 sq ft, three-bedroom-plus-study units from 1,561 sq ft, and four-bedroom units are 2,034 to 2,250 sq ft. There are also four penthouses at each of the two towers that start from 6,469 sq ft.
A three-bedroom unit in the Garden Tower, which was launched in July
On top of the spacious living areas, units come with Villeroy and Boch bathroom accessories, Miele kitchen appliances and signature Poggenpohl fittings. All units have uninterrupted sea views — those at Park Tower face Sentosa, while those at Garden Tower face Marina Bay. Facilities include a 50m lap pool, aquatic gym pool, children’s pool, gym and barbecue terrace.
So far, more than 89%, or 462, of the units at Park Tower have been sold. One of the most expensive units to be sold was a 2,250 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the 32nd floor, which fetched $7.1 million ($3,157 psf) in May last year. A 6,469 sq ft penthouse fetched $18 million ($2,782 psf) in June this year. The four-bedroom penthouse is on the 33rd floor.
More than 34 units at Garden Tower have been sold so far, according to URA caveats. The most expensive unit in terms of absolute price was a 2,250 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the fifth floor that was sold for $5.4 million ($2,407 psf) on Sept 7.
A four-bedroom unit in Park Tower, which is more than 89% sold
With the implementation of the latest property cooling measures in July, “a more paced-out sale of the remaining units is expected”, says Kemmy Tan, CEO of M+S. But she is encouraged that purchasers of units at Garden Tower have bought into the development, believing in its long-term capital appreciation potential.
The new office space at Marina One will double the total commercial office space at the Marina Bay financial district. The centre of the development features a 140,000 sq ft retail and F&B podium that is open to the public and also serves the community within Marina One. More than 90% of the office space has been committed and 80% of the retail space leased.
Prominent tenants in Marina One’s two office towers include Swiss private banker Julius Baer, social media giant Facebook, consultancy PwC Singapore, ride-sharing provider Grab and financial companies such as Daiwa Capital, BP Global and Mitsubishi Financial Group. Home-grown co-working operator JustCo has also taken up 40,000 sq ft in both towers.
The 50m lap pool on the third floor of Marina One
Anchor tenants at its retail and F&B podium include fitness club Virgin Active, which occupies 26,000 sq ft over two levels and boasts the only indoor swimming pool and the largest indoor climbing wall in Marina Bay. There is also a Cold Storage supermarket, a Cookhouse by Koufu food court, UK pizza chain Pizza Express and Majestic Restaurant, which serves Chinese cuisine.
Marina One will be linked to three MRT stations: the future Shenton Way station on the Thomson-East Coast Line, the existing Downtown station on the Downtown Line and the Marina Bay interchange station for the North-South, Circle and Thomson- East Coast Lines. The transport convenience benefits the large residential and commercial community within the development.
Its strategic location in the Marina Bay financial district means the development is well suited to cater for growth in the area. The project also faces little competition, as the surrounding area has no new, launch-ready projects in the immediate future.