100m Biopolis Phase III Starts Taking Shape

Source : The Business Times, April 3, 2008

The 41,500 sqm complex will be ready by Q4 2009

CONSTRUCTION of the $100 million Biopolis Phase III project began yesterday, and its developer hopes to achieve a take-up rate of at least 50 per cent by the middle of June. Said Patrick Teo, CEO of Crescendas Bionix, at the groundbreaking ceremony: ‘We are optimistic that the response from the biomedical industry will be positive.’

A member of the Crescendas Group which bagged the development project, Bionix is already in talks with prospective tenants. Some of them require large space and may occupy entire floors.

On the positive outlook, assistant CEO of JTC Corporation Philip Su said: ‘With Biopolis Phases I and II fully taken up, the launch of Phase III is both timely and necessary in meeting the increasing demand for biomedical R&D space.’ JTC Corp is the master developer for one-north, the focal point for research and technopreneurial activities.

Scheduled for completion by 4Q 2009, Biopolis Phase III will add another 41,500 sq m to the research park. The complex will consist of two buildings, and will house private and public research institutes, incubator research activities, medical technology research centres and clinical research centres.

Crescendas Bionix hopes to achieve a take-up rate of at least 50 per cent by the middle of June, said Mr Teo.

The growth of the biomedical sciences industry is likely to place greater demand on space, and JTC Corp plans to expand the Biopolis cluster further. In fact, BT understands that it may launch Phase IV at the end of this year to yield another 30,000 sq m. Asked if Crescendas will also bid for the Phase IV project, Mr Teo said that ‘as a developer, we will be interested’.

Rental rates for the Biopolis Phase III complex have not been finalised, but according to Mr Teo, they will be market-driven, and will factor in construction costs.

‘Construction costs have gone up by 30 per cent from a year ago,’ he said. For larger tenants, Crescendas is prepared to offer more attractive rental rates.

Crescendas is the first privately owned Singapore company to clinch a major development project on Biopolis.