The Straits Times CapitaLand's 79 Robinson Road achieves TOP amid Covid-19 restrictions

SINGAPORE - CapitaLand announced on Tuesday (May 5) that its prime office development 79 Robinson Road, on the site of the former CPF Building, obtained its temporary occupation permit (TOP) on April 28, in the face of work restrictions and circuit breaker measures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The landmark 29-storey Grade A office building in the heart of the central business district is jointly owned by the Singapore property giant and Japanese partners Mitsui & Co and Tokyo Tatemono Co.

"The completion of 79 Robinson Road on schedule in 2Q 2020, amidst complexities caused by COVID-19 since early this year and the circuit breaker measures since April, is a testimony of our development expertise and collaborative working relationships with the main contractor, suppliers and other stakeholders in the real estate ecosystem," said Mr Tan Yew Chin, CEO, business parks and commercial, CapitaLand Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Over 70 per cent of the development's 518,000 square feet (sq ft) of net lettable area, primarily in the low- and mid-zone, has been taken up to date, CapitaLand said on Tuesday.

Check out more information on renting a space in 79 Robinson Road here:

The multinational companies who have signed on as tenants include Allianz, EFG Bank, Howden Insurance and William Grant & Sons.

The building's tenants will take over their premises from June 2020, following the end of the circuit breaker period, and are expected to move in progressively from the third quarter of the year.

Bridge+, CapitaLand's wholly-owned coworking and flexible workspace business unit, will take up 56,000 sq ft of space in the fourth quarter of 2020. In addition to a variety of meeting and event spaces for tenants of the building, Bridge+ 79 Robinson Road will offer fully furnished contemporary workspaces for companies of all sizes.

79 Robinson Road is designed by American architecture firm Gensler, in collaboration with Singapore's DCA Architects. The 180-metre tall development features a pixelated façade with panel sizes of varying sizes and tilt angles, akin to an algorithm of binary codes.

The development has received the Building and Construction Authority's Green Mark Platinum Award for its sustainable and environmentally friendly features, which include lush greenery as well as energy- and water-efficient building systems.

The office building has sheltered access to and from Tanjong Pagar MRT station. It is also 200 metres away from the upcoming Shenton Way MRT station.

CapitaLand said Bridge+ will spearhead and curate community-driven programmes to foster connections and interactions among its members, tenants of the building and businesses and professionals working in the CBD. One such initiative is the seeding of a fintech hub at Bridge+ 79 Robinson Road. Bridge+ has inked memorandums of understanding with various partners to deliver programmes such as seminars, hackathons and lab crawls to bring together the fintech community.

The office development is also expected to further benefit from the upcoming Greater Southern Waterfront, an area stretching from Gardens by the Bay East to Pasir Panjang which will be redeveloped over the next five to 10 years.