Downtown at Marina Bay- A distinctive and Global location for Business, Living, working and Leisure

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) latest master plan for the Downtown @ Marina Bay aims to make Singapore's international business and financial hub a distinctive and global location for business, living, working and leisure.
The Downtown @ Marina Bay extends Singapore's Central Business District seamlessly around the Bay from the existing Raffles Place, Shenton Way and Marina Centre.

A Great Place for Business

Prestigious address for future business and financial institutions

The area around the Marina Bay is earmarked for the expansion of the existing CBD to strengthen Singapore's position as an international business and financial hub.
As the next phase in its development, a 3.5-hectare, prime waterfront site fronting Marina Bay and the Central Linear Park has been earmarked for a Business and Financial Centre (BFC) development.
The site forms part of the seamless extension from Raffles Place and would add to the critical mass being formed with the sites already sold (One Raffles Quay and the other one sold to City Development Ltd) and One Marina Boulevard, which is in an advanced stage of construction. It will include a 1.8ha subterranean space that can be developed as an underground mall with retail outlets. The site will be a focal point for the Central district, as it links the surrounding developments, the waterfront promenade, the existing Raffles Place MRT Station and the future adjacent RTS Station.
The BFC is an important long-term project. It is part of Singapore's efforts to improve our operating environment to support the development of our business and financial services sector. The intention is to allow a master developer to plan, design, phase and develop a well-integrated development as well as customised buildings to meet the specific needs of business and financial tenants. This will provide financial institutions and companies a wider choice of developments to house their activities in Singapore, and attract more such businesses to invest and grow in Singapore.
While there has been interest from investors in the project, the Government has decided to defer the release of the BFC site until the first half of 2004 when the economic outlook is expected to be clearer. In the meantime, URA will prepare the site for sale and finalise the conditions for the tender.
Given the large size of the development, some of the usual tender conditions will be modified, allowing for a longer Project Completion Period, and a flexible payment scheme, to help mitigate the developer's risks and allow the developer to phase the development to match market demand. For example, the developer may only need to purchase and develop perhaps 100,000sqm gross floor area in the first phase of the project. He can be given up to 10 years to pay for and start building on the rest of the site. The whole BFC development of about 425,000 sqm GFA could therefore be phased out over possibly 18 years. URA will finalise the detailed terms of sale in consultation with the real estate industry before the site is released for sale.

The current review of the Master Plan

The plan for the Downtown @ Marina Bay is part of the ongoing review by URA to ensure that the plans for the area respond to current business needs and development trends. It allows Singapore to continue to compete at a global level and provides flexibility for the future.

State-of-the-art infrastructure

Equipped with the latest infrastructure, from rail transit systems and hub car parks to common services tunnels and centralized refuse disposal systems, a comprehensive and integrated infrastructure network will provide state-of-the-art conveniences and seamless access to transportation and utilities.
Rail transit stations and hub car park stations (integrated within developments or formed by connecting car parks within adjacent buildings) will be integrated with developments. The first hub car park at One Raffles Quay will be completed by 2005 and will be connected to the adjacent developments by a 2^nd storey travellator.

Flexible framework

The land parcels within the Downtown @ Marina Bay will be configured in regular street blocks to ensure a flexible framework for the future to respond to changing market needs. Local access roads can be removed, creating larger parcels for expansion. Street blocks can also be sub-divided or new service roads introduced to accommodate smaller-scale developments.
The majority of the street blocks are zoned "white" giving flexibility for mixed-use developments with a variety of office, hotel, residential, retail and entertainment facilities.

Easy access and good connectivity

A primary street grid of east-west boulevards and north-south avenues will provide access within the area. The area will be well connected to the existing CBD and realigned ECP, linking it to the islandwide road network.
A new low-level bridge over Marina Channel will ensure a continuous vehicular and pedestrian loop around Marina Bay. New two-lane, one-way roads will also be introduced around the open spaces and along the waterfront to provide access to the main public open spaces.
A new extension to McCallum Street will link Shenton Way with the future developments around the Central Linear Park.

A Great Place for Living

Sites will be designated for high-density, high-rise residential developments, to provide quality options for city living. These homes will provide owners with the convenience of the city's attraction at their doorsteps and great views out across Marina Bay and Marina City Park.

A Great Place for Leisure

Marina Bay will continue to be developed as a multi-purpose destination and major gathering point in the city, offering round-the-clock amenities.
To tap on available attractions already in place around Marina Bay - The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, the New Merlion Pier and the One Fullerton - the two promontory sites have been earmarked for future landmark civic and cultural institutional developments. In the meantime, these sites could be landscaped as public open spaces and used for interim activities such as outdoor theatres and carnivals.
The existing promenade along the water's edge will be extended and linked across Marina Channel by a new low-level bridge. Forming a 3.35 km loop around the bay, the promenade will be lushly landscaped and lined with pavilions, sculptures, outdoor refreshment areas and kiosks. Tiered steps and lower level boardwalks can be introduced to allow people to get down to the water's edge. Other ideas include moveable platforms located within Marina Bay for events and activities to be staged on the water.

A Distinctive Place

Three distinctive sub-districts around Bayfront Avenue and the two main open spaces - Central Linear Park and Marina Station Square - will be created to provide a variety of development locations and amenities. These identity-creating open spaces will provide major frontages for developments, enhancing value for surrounding street blocks. They will be complemented by landscaped public spaces, boulevards and roof gardens.
To create a unique and instantly recognisable signature image for Singapore's CBD, building heights around Marina Bay will be kept low-to-medium rise in the foreground, with higher heights stepping up behind. This is to achieve a unique 3-dimensional layered effect.
Distinctive night lighting of key buildings and structures will enhance the downtown skyline creating a unique and memorable night time setting.

A People-Friendly Place

A comprehensive pedestrian system of landscaped boulevards, covered walkways, underground link malls and high-level links will make it pleasant and comfortable for pedestrians to move around Downtown@Marina Bay.
Buildings along key streets will be set back from the road and additional trees planted to create unique boulevard characters with shady tree canopies for the streets. Buildings will also be lined with retail frontages, cafes & restaurants, creating vibrant and active streets, while outdoor refreshment areas and kiosks will provide options for pedestrians to take a minute or two to sit and relax and watch the city go by.
Wide covered walkways, integrated into the building façade at street level, will provide pedestrians with alternative, all-weather sheltered routes. Gallerias and arcades within the buildings will provide easy access across the city between street blocks.
Underground malls lined with exciting retail spaces, similar to CityLink at City Hall, will link from rail stations to the basements of the surrounding developments. The first 220m of this network, between Raffles Place MRT Station and the new One Raffles Quay, is now under construction and will be completed by 2005.
To ease movement between buildings, there will be high-level links located at lift interchange floors and inter-linked podium roof-top garden decks.

What you can look forward to in the near future

Two sites have already been sold in the area. The first site, One Raffles Quay, is already under construction and will provide 147,000 sqm of office space when completed in 2005. The other site was sold to City Development Ltd in 2002 and the detailed plans for the site are still being firmed up.
The remaining sites fronting Marina Bay will be released progressively for development. This represents 15-20 years' growth, generating around 1.27 million sqm of gross floor area and 1,150 residential units.
To jump-start activities around the Bay, some sites are being explored for development on shorter-term lease at lower development intensities. These sites will be developed for low-rise, two to three storey buildings with food and beverage, entertainment and recreational uses, which will bring buzz to the area early. When the time comes for their permanent uses to be implemented, they can be redeveloped to their full potential in the longer term.

Source: URA 2003

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Downtown at Marina Bay- A distinctive and Global location for Business, Living, working and Leisure

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