SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Singapore Science Park (SSP), the research, development and technology hub near one-north, will enter a fresh development phase that will see over 1.9 million sq ft of gross floor area (GFA) added to the park by 2025.
Geneo, a new $1.37 billion life sciences and innovation cluster, was unveiled by the master developer and park operator CapitaLand Development (CLD) at a launch ceremony on June 26 attended by Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong.
(From left) Jonathan Yap, CEO, CapitaLand Development; Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Trade and Industry; Wong Kan Seng, chairman, CLA Real Estate Holdings; and William Tay, CEO of the manager, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT at the launch event for Geneo (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge SIngapore)
The launch coincides with the 40th anniversary of SSP, which in 1982 welcomed its first tenant Norwegian risk management company DNV. DNV remains a tenant at SSP, with about 350 other local and foreign companies occupying the 55ha park. “Over the last four decades, SSP has established itself as one of Asia’s most prestigious addresses for R&D and technology,“ says Jonathan Yap, CEO of CLD.
He adds that 30% of the park’s tenants come from the life sciences sector, spanning the value chain from venture capital investors, incubators and business accelerators to R&D companies. Geneo will feature purpose-built infrastructure catering to sector firms while incorporating work-live-play elements.
Geneo comprises three properties at 1, 5 and 7 Science Park Drive. The property at 1 Science Park Drive will comprise three buildings linked by an event plaza, offering about 1.2 million sq ft of workspace and 38,750 sq ft of retail and F&B amenities. The project, a 66:34 joint venture between CLD and CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (CLAR), will have an underground connection to the Kent Ridge MRT Station. It is scheduled to be completed by 2025.
The property at 5 Science Park Drive is an existing business park owned by CLD that was completed in 2019. The development has a GFA of 275,556 sq ft and currently houses the headquarters for the e-commerce platform Shopee, which relocated there from its previous offices at Ascent, a neighbouring building within SSP.
The property at 7 Science Park Drive, also owned by CLD, is a mixed-use development that will be completed in 2024. In addition to 310,000 sq ft of workspace, it will house Citadines Science Park Singapore, a serviced residence with a hotel licence operated by The Ascott, a unit of CapitaLand Investment. The 250-key property will be SSP’s first lodging facility and is slated to welcome guests from 1Q2024.
Geneo will feature Science Park's first first lodging facility, Citadines Science Park Singapore (Picture: CapitaLand)
Roughly 861,000 sq ft of the workspace at Geneo will be purpose-built to accommodate biomedical R&D activities. In addition, the cluster will house CapitaLand’s first co-working laboratory space in Singapore, featuring flexible shared laboratory space equipped with common laboratory equipment and facilities.
The 7 Science Park Drive property has been certified BCA Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy, the highest sustainability rating by the Building and Construction Authority. It is the first CapitaLand greenfield project and the first SSP property to be accorded the certification. Meanwhile, the other two properties in Geneo have obtained the BCA Green Mark Platinum certification.
Upon completion, Geneo is expected to increase SSP’s population by 75% to 21,000 once the cluster is fully operational, up from the park’s current population of around 12,000.
Check out the latest listings near Singapore Science Park, Science Park Drive, Kent Ridge MRT Station