BT : Fusionopolis' Solaris 60% leased

Business Times - 17 Aug 2010

Fusionopolis' Solaris 60% leased

By EMILYN YAP

SOLARIS, an extension of the Fusionopolis research cluster at Buona Vista, has been 60 per cent leased ahead of its completion by the end of the year.

The developer Soilbuild Group is in 'advanced negotiations' with other potential tenants.

Soilbuild's executive director Low Soon Sim gave BT these updates following the release of the company's second quarter results last week.

Organisations which have signed leases at Solaris include government agency Spring Singapore, software designer Autodesk, video game creator and publisher Ubisoft, and green building consultancy Kaer.

Spring Singapore is Solaris' largest tenant to date, taking up some 15 per cent of the total net lettable area of around 430,000 sq ft. Tenants should be moving in in the early part of next year, Mr Low said.

Soilbuild won the tender for Phase 2B of Fusionopolis in April 2008 and put in around $140 million to develop Solaris on the 83,248 sq ft site.

The building is designed by famed architect Ken Yeang and will be decked with roof gardens and other energy saving features.

Most of the space at the Solaris is set aside for offices. There will also be a childcare centre, and retail outlets will occupy some 3,000 sq ft of space. Soilbuild plans to start marketing the retail space this quarter.

JTC Corporation, which oversees the development of Fusionopolis as a research centre for the infocommunication, media, science and engineering industries, expects the completion of Solaris to boost human traffic flow in the area.

Fusionopolis Phase 1, which was officially opened in October 2008, currently has a working population of around 2,500 people. According to The Straits Times, business has been poor for retail outlets there. Just about 57 per cent of the retail space has been taken up.

JTC estimates that the daily average human traffic flow will increase to 4,000 when Solaris is completed. The working population could grow further as Fusionopolis expands through more phases.

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