Union Square is also set to achieve Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy certification for its residential and commercial components. The entire project is targeted for completion in 2029. (Picture: CDL)
City Developments (CDL) will preview Union Square Residences, the residential component of its large-scale mixed-use development Union Square, on Nov 1. The mixed-use project is designed by award-winning architectural firm Aedas in collaboration with renowned local architectural firm ADDP for the residential component.
Union Square will feature a 20-storey, freehold Grade-A office tower called Union Square Central alongside retail and F&B spaces. It will include a co-living component with a hotel licence and offer 366 luxury residential units within a 40-storey tower known as Union Square Residences. Additionally, there will be a three-storey block dedicated to co-living and commercial spaces.
The 99-year leasehold Union Square Residences will consist of one- to four-bedroom units that range from 463 sq ft to 1,518 sq ft, as well as two Sky Suites and a penthouse. CDL says that the apartments will have views of the Singapore River, Marina Bay, Pearl’s Hill and Chinatown. Condo amenities include two swimming pools, two resident clubhouses, a sky gym and seven recreational pods.
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Union Square is also set to achieve Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy certification for its residential and commercial components. The entire project is targeted for completion in 2029.
Union Square Residences offers recreational facilities on Levels 3, 34 and seven recreational pods. Pictured here is the sky pool on Level 34. (Picture: CDL)
The redevelopment project sits on three combined sites, with a total land area of 148,000 sq ft, on Havelock Road in prime District 1. The area is the former sites of Central Mall (a seven-storey office tower), Central Mall (a cluster of conservation shophouses), and the mixed residential and commercial building Central Square.
CDL owned the two Central Mall properties and acquired Central Square for $315 million in December 2021. At the time, CDL also announced its intention to redevelop the three sites into a large-scale mixed-use development under the URA Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme.
The SDI scheme was introduced by the government in 2019 to encourage the redevelopment of older buildings in strategic areas, such as the Singapore River Planning Area, where Union Square is located. Its eligibility for the SDI scheme includes at least two adjacent sites for amalgamation and will have a “strong transformational impact” on the surrounding environment, says the URA circular.
In a press release on Oct 11 announcing next month’s preview of Union Square, CDL said that it was able to realise a 67% uplift in the total allowable gross floor area (GFA) to about 735,500 sq ft under the SDI scheme.
The luxury residential component, Union Square Residences, will take up 310,190 sq ft (42%), the Grade-A office spaces will take up 300,910 sq ft, while the retail and co-living spaces will take up 75,540 sq ft and 48,860 sq ft, respectively.
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From Havelock Road, the architectural facade features a unique u-shaped profile which CDL says represents the union of the two distinctive areas (riverside and CBD fringe) and the collective redevelopment of the former Central Mall and Central Square sites on which Union Square is built. (Picture: CDL)
The redevelopment of Union Square is the third enhancement initiative that CDL is undertaking in the Central Area, says Sherman Kwek, group CEO of CDL. “Union Square underscores our commitment to master planning and placemaking. Due to the URA’s incentive schemes that encourage the rejuvenation of older precincts, we can leverage our property development and asset management expertise to transform existing assets into large-scale mixed-use landmarks, revitalising the neighbourhood and creating significant value.”
CDL’s other ongoing redevelopment projects in Singapore’s Central Area include Canninghill Piers and Canninghill Square (the former Liang Court), as well as Newport Plaza (the former Fuji Xerox Towers).
Apart from the partial pedestrianisation of nearby streets, public spaces like a central plaza will feature placemaking activities to enliven the precinct, says CDL.
As part of the redevelopment, CDL will be building public access plazas and partially pedestrianising Solomon Street and Merchant Road. Visual enhancement includes heritage markers, public artworks and public realm amenities. Green spaces will also host events like fitness activities, pop-up markets and arts performances.
The developer will also enhance the existing connectivity from Fort Canning Park to Pearl’s Hill City Park, refurbish an existing pedestrian overhead bridge across Upper Cross Street, and provide lift access, sheltered walkways, and general road improvements around the site.
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