The long and storied history of the former Golden Mile Complex is about to take a new turn as Perennial Holdings and Far East Organization unveiled their plans for the development. In a press conference on Dec 10, the partners shared their vision for the refreshed conservation building and also announced the preview of the strata-titled commercial units.
The entire development will now be known as Golden Mile Singapore, making it the first large-scale strata-titled conserved building in Singapore. It will retain its iconic identity as a tropical linear urban complex with brutalist architecture.
The conserved building, now renamed The Golden Mile, will be transformed into a commercial development. It will feature 156 Grade A office units, 19 medical suites, a two-storey retail component spanning 123,388 sq ft, and an architecture centre open to the public.
At the press conference, Perennial and Far East revealed that the office units and medical suites will be available for sale this month. However, they did not disclose any pricing details at the moment. In addition to this, a new 45-storey residential tower called Aurea is being developed on the site of the former residential carpark. The 188-unit condominium is set to be previewed in the next quarter.
Pua Seck Guan, CEO of Perennial Holdings, reminisced about the vibrant and eclectic retail mix that characterized Golden Mile Complex during its heyday in the 1970s. However, with the change in ownership over the years, the development lost its status as a prime mixed-use complex. Perennial Holdings and Far East Organization are determined to revive and elevate its reputation as a next-generation urban complex in Singapore.
To fulfill this vision, the partners have joined forces with local architecture firm DP Architects and architecture conservation specialist consultancy Studio Lapis to bring Golden Mile Singapore to life. It is worth noting that DP Architects was the original firm responsible for the iconic design and mixed-use concept of Golden Mile Complex.
In the past, the strata area at Golden Mile Complex was divided into 40% for retail, 41% for offices, and 19% for residential use. However, in the revamped Golden Mile Singapore, the proportion of retail has been reduced to 15%, with offices occupying 48% and residential units taking up 30%. The remaining 4% and 3% will be allotted for medical suites and the architecture center, respectively. The architecture center will be established under the government’s Community/Sport’s Facilities Scheme, and the joint venture partners have allocated 24,994 sq ft to URA for its establishment.
Moreover, two new public access urban gardens will be created on the 9th and 18th floors. This makes use of previously vacant spaces in the former Golden Mile Complex, including the rooftop, which will be transformed into a sky garden. The 18th floor will boast a public access sky terrace with stunning views.
Golden Mile Singapore will feature a revamped two-storey retail atrium, complete with a new event space and food and beverage outlets. This new design will reintroduce natural light and ventilation, just as it was designed originally. Pua hopes to recreate the street shop-style retail experience that defined Golden Mile Complex’s shopping landscape during its early days.
The retail units will remain under the joint venture partners and not be available for sale. Pua explains that retail is not a major component of The Golden Mile, considering the dominance of offices and residential units in the development. Additionally, the location is not known as a retail hub in Singapore. Instead, the retail units will complement the offices and residential units.
This month, Perennial and Far East will launch the preview of the strata-titled office units at The Golden Mile. They have designed six different office layouts to cater to a diverse range of end-users. Each office suite will have its own dedicated office lobby, and new lift cores will support the office floors above. Unlike the original design, which featured two lift cores, the new lift shafts and cores have been added to accommodate the increase in office units and private lift access. The new office lobby will also feature a 6m high ceiling and modern facilities, such as a concierge and centralized access control.
The Flagship office units on the 4th to 7th floors will have a dedicated lift lobby with direct access to the basement carpark and retail floors. Each unit will come with two toilets. The range of Flagship office units is from 1,378 sq ft to 4,682 sq ft. On the 4th and 5th floors, the Loft Suites and Loft Executive units will have full-height windows that offer a landscape view of Beach Road. The Loft Suite units measure from 958 sq ft to 2,034 sq ft, while the Loft Executive units cover an area of 710 sq ft to 926 sq ft.
The Loft Mezzanine units on the 6th to 15th floors are located in the recognizable stacked terrace portion of the building. These units will provide breathtaking bay views, thanks to their double-volume ceiling and balcony, which offer natural ventilation and illumination. These units also feature a dual-key design, commonly found in private residential projects. The Golden Mile is the first strata-titled commercial development to feature office units with this layout. The area of these units ranges from 1,528 sq ft to 2,799 sq ft.
Each Loft Mezzanine unit combines two former residential units by removing a portion of the ceiling to form a single office unit with a double-volume ceiling of 5.4m. The upper office space can be accessed via a staircase, which has its own entrance or can be reached from the lower floor.
On the 16th and 17th floors, the Enterprise Office units will be located. These units were previously the duplex penthouse units and will offer stunning panoramic views of the city and the bay. Each unit will have two toilets, and the sizes range from 1,851 sq ft to 3,122 sq ft.
Finally, the newly built Crown Office units will occupy the top four floors. There will be four units per floor, except for the penthouse floor, which will feature two office units. The sizes of these office units range from 3,315 sq ft to 5,393 sq ft.
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Pua believes that their office units, especially the Loft Mezzanine units, will appeal to family offices, and they hope to attract many of the 2,500 family offices based in Singapore. He adds that the other office layouts will also attract a diverse range of corporate tenants.
In conclusion, The Golden Mile will have a balanced mix of tenants, including corporate tenants and family offices. Pua says that they will carefully screen potential buyers to create an ecosystem of tenants from different industries and market segments. With the launch of the preview this month, The Golden Mile is set to become a new landmark in Singapore’s cityscape.…