News Releases

29 MARCH 2005

URA RELEASES TWO SITES AT ORCHARD ROAD

FOR SALE ON RESERVE LIST

1. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) will release two sites at Orchard Road/Paterson Road (Orchard Turn) and Orchard Road/Killiney Road (Somerset) for sale tomorrow. The sites will be available on the Reserve List of the Government Land Sales Programme and from tomorrow onwards, developers interested in purchasing these sites will be able to apply to URA for them to be put up for tender.
   
   
   ORCHARD ROAD – SINGAPORE’S PREMIER SHOPPING STREET
   
   
2. Orchard Road is Singapore’s premier shopping street and a popular destination for visitors. Stretching close to 2km, Orchard Road today has about 800,000sqm gross floor area (GFA) of shopping and entertainment attractions, complemented by hotels, offices and residences along wide shady boulevards. Coupled with a lively street culture, Orchard Road offers a unique shopping experience in a tropical setting.
   
    
3. The vision for Orchard Road is for it to be one of the greatest shopping streets in the world, a pulse for fashion and all things hip and happening. To bring this vision to reality , URA will make available two prime sites for sale under the Government’s Reserve List to encourage new developments along Orchard Road. The two sites at Orchard Road/Paterson Road and Orchard Road/Killiney Road are envisaged as new anchor retail developments that will expand the diverse range of shopping outlets available and also generate added vibrancy to activities along Orchard Road.
   
   
4. The release of the 2 sale sites will complement MND/URA’s recently announced initiatives to encourage developments along Orchard Road to support this vision:

   
   

   1. the setting up of an Orchard Road Development Commission (ORDEC) to encourage quality, innovative projects that contribute to making Orchard Road a distinctive place. Projects supported by ORDEC could be granted incentives such as additional GFA, over and above the Master Plan, or approved GFA;
      
      
   2. GFA incentives and relaxation of guidelines to encourage more dynamic pop-out façade on buildings along Scotts Road and;
      
      
   3. GFA incentives and relaxation of guidelines to allow buildings to expand their shopping podium up to their boundaries.
      

   
   SITE AT ORCHARD ROAD/ PATERSON ROAD (ORCHARD TURN SITE)
   
   

5. The Orchard Turn site, which marks the gateway to Orchard Road, is planned for a signature retail development that is integrated with the Orchard MRT Station and seamlessly connected to the surrounding developments.
   
    
6. The site, which comprises 1.8ha of land above the Orchard MRT Station and an adjoining 0.3ha of subterranean space below Paterson Road, is zoned for commercial use and will yield a total GFA of 125,726 sqm. In order to provide a major anchor retail development that will offer shoppers a wide range of retail outlets and diverse shopping experience, at least 40% of the total GFA has to be built for retail, food & beverage and/or entertainment use. The developer will be given the flexibility to use the remaining GFA for other commercial and complementary hotel and residential uses.
   
    
7. The Orchard Turn site also has an unsurpassed height limit of 218m AMSL along Orchard Road. This could cater for a commercial building of about 40 storeys, which would make the development the tallest along Orchard Road. The vantage point from the top of the development will offer spectacular views of the surroundings and to allow the public to enjoy these views, the development is required to incorporate an observation deck on any of its top three floors. This observation deck shall be open to the public.
   
    
8. One of URA’s planning objectives for Orchard Road is to enrich the experience of visitors to the area by injecting more cultural and civic uses. In line with this, the development on the Orchard Turn site will include an art exhibition space of at least 500 sqm GFA. This will provide a venue to showcase artworks and sculptures ranging from rare works by renowned artists to new works by the various art schools.
   
    
9. Given its prominent location and the fact that it is on top of the Orchard MRT Station, the Orchard Turn site is ideal for staging major events and national celebrations. The development will thus include a 3,000 sqm public event space on the first storey that will be seamlessly integrated with the Orchard Road pedestrian mall and allow activities to flow into Orchard Road when it is closed for major festive celebrations.  
   
                
10. The development will also be integrated with Orchard MRT Station and connected to the surrounding developments. Direct access will be provided to the Orchard MRT Station below. A new underground pedestrian mall across Paterson Road to Wheelock Place will be built as part of the development. This will complete the underground pedestrian network at the Orchard Road/ Paterson Road junction. In addition, the existing underpass to Wisma Atria will also be widened to 6.0m and provisions will be made in the development for future direct connection to the 4th storey of Wisma Atria. These connections will facilitate and enhance the flow of commuters and shoppers between the Orchard MRT Station and the surrounding developments.
    
    
    SITE AT ORCHARD ROAD/ KILLINEY ROAD (SOMERSET SITE)
    
     
11. Located at one of the main crossroads of pedestrian and commuter traffic along Orchard Road, the Somerset site is envisaged as another anchor retail development that will capitalise on its extensive frontage along Orchard Road.
    
     
12. Zoned for commercial use, the site, which comprises 0.6ha of land and part of the Stamford Canal as well as 0.2ha of subterranean space below Orchard Road, will yield a total GFA of 36,045 sqm. The developer can build over part of the canal to optimise the area available for development. Given the objective to develop the site into an anchor retail development that will offer a wide range of retail outlets, at least 60% of the GFA has to be built for retail, food & beverage and/or entertainment use. The remaining GFA can be developed for other commercial and complementary hotel and residential uses.
    
     
13. In keeping with the surrounding developments, the Somerset site can be developed for a commercial building of up to 16 storeys. The developer is required to provide an underground pedestrian mall that will connect Centrepoint Shopping Centre through the Somerset site to the Somerset MRT station. This will facilitate commuter and shopper flow between the Somerset MRT Station and the surrounding developments on both sides of Orchard Road.
    
    
    DESIGN ADVISORY PANEL
    
    
14. Given their prominent locations, it is important to ensure that the Orchard Turn and Somerset sites are well-designed as landmark developments that will further enhance the skyline and quality of the physical environment along Orchard Road and also serve as icons of Singapore to the rest of the world. A Design Advisory Panel will thus be set up to review the development proposals of the sites.
    
    
15. The Orchard Turn and Somerset sites are offered on 99-year leases. Details of the two sites are provided in Annexes 1A & 1B and Annexes 2A & 2B.
    
    
    ORCHARD TURN AND SOMERSET SITES AVAILABLE ON RESERVE LIST
    
    
16. The detailed tender conditions for the Orchard Turn and Somerset sites will be available in the URA website http://www.ura.gov.sg/sales/sales_main.html on 30 March 2005. Information on the Reserve List mechanism can be found in Annex 3. Under the government’s Reserve List System, a site in the Reserve List would only be put up for tender if the developer’s indicated minimum bid price in his application is acceptable to the government. When the sites are put up for tender, a tender period of 12 weeks will be allowed before tender closes.