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Soilbuild and RF360 team up for $610m redevelopment at Kallang Way

By Angela Teo

/ EdgeProp |

December 5, 2017 9:00 AM SGT

Updated, Dec 6, 2017, 10:01 p.m., to change description of Soilbuild Group Holdings to Singapore-based privately held property developer instead of a Singapore-listed developer as previously published.

Singapore-based privately held property developer Soilbuild Group Holdings is collaborating with RF360, a joint venture between Qualcomm and TDK, to develop a build-to-suit facility called Solaris @ Kallang 171. The Germany-headquartered RF360 will commit $500 million for the development of the new customised facility, while Soilbuild will investing more than $110 million.

The facility will have a total gross floor area (GFA) of more than 320,000 sq ft and will be used by RF360 for production, R&D, product testing and ancillary purposes. The building will have customised specifications that are higher than typical industrial buildings, such as vibration- controlled structural elements and enhanced floor loading for certain production floors.

With the expansion into this new facility, RF360 hopes to capture a bigger share of the radio frequency application market. Soilbuild E&C Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Soilbuild Construction Group Ltd, will oversee the construction of the building, which is scheduled for completion in June 2019.

Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat as guest of honour at Solaris @ Kallang 171 Collaboration Ceremony

Soilbuild and RF360 held a ceremony on Nov 29 to celebrate their partnership, with Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat (centre) as guest of honour (Source: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)

Soilbuild had acquired the site at 171 Kallang Way (for Solaris @ Kallang 171) and the adjacent 164 Kallang Way in 2011. The two sites were part of a portfolio of 83 ageing flatted factories and industrial properties with a total GFA of more than 21 million sq ft that JTC Corp had divested to Mapletree Industrial Trust and Soilbuild in two phases in 2008 and 2011.

Soilbuild’s plan was to redevelop the two plots into an integrated hightech industrial development with a combined GFA of over 900,000 sq ft. “The flatted factories had to be rejuvenated to meet the demands of newer industries,” explains Lim Cheng Hwa, director at Soilbuild Group Holdings. The tenants in the flatted factories were given five years’ notice to vacate the building.

The site at 164 Kallang Way is being concurrently developed into two blocks of nine-storey multiple- user industrial building with business park-like design and specifications. The units are targeted at the infocomm, media, R&D, science and engineering sectors. The development will feature expansive green spaces and Soilbuild is targeting to obtain the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum award, the highest certification in sustainable design. The project, which has a GFA of 586,530 sq ft, is scheduled for completion in 1H2019.