Lendlease Delivers Landmark Placemaking Project Paya Lebar Quarter

Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ) by Lendlease marked the transformation of Paya Lebar into Singapore’s latest business and lifestyle hub with a grand opening ceremony last Thursday, followed by celebrations over the long weekend. The event was graced by Guest-of-Honour Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance, and Mr Bruce Gosper, the High Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Australia to Singapore.

Mr Wong and Mr Gosper joined Mr Steve McCann, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director and Mr Tony Lombardo, Chief Executive Officer, Asia, Lendlease to mark the opening by activating a vertical domino show, which gradually unveiled the Paya Lebar Quarter logo against the songket inspired backdrop.

The show signified the delivery of the S$3.7 billion, 4-hectare landmark urban regeneration development by Lendlease, which will catalyse the transformation of Paya Lebar Central, a 12-hectare centrally located sub-regional hub, into a dynamic and vibrant business and lifestyle precinct.

With the completion of PLQ, the 22,000-strong workforce within a seven-minute walking radius of PLQ and one million residents in the trade area can now enjoy the 100,000 sq ft of green spaces across the precinct. PLQ also supports Singapore’s car-lite vision with its superb connectivity, with direct links to the dual-line Paya Lebar MRT interchange and seamless connection to the wider Park Connector Network.

Following the domino show was the first-ever joint performance between the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – a musical collaboration echoing the Singapore-Australia connection in Lendlease’s largest project in Singapore.

“Urban regeneration is a key pillar of Lendlease’s strategy. Every day around the world, we work with cities and governments to create the best places. Today, we have before us a truly world-class example of what can be achieved when government and companies such as Lendlease partner with local communities to deliver game-changing urbanisation projects that will leave a positive legacy for the community for generations to come,” said Mr McCann.

A Centrally Located Sub-Regional Business and Lifestyle Hub
Home to Lendlease’s new Asia headquarters, PLQ’s 900,000 sq ft of Grade A office spaces available across three towers and 200 retail shops are almost fully leased, while its residential component, Park Place Residences, has only one unit left before the expected TOP next month.

PLQ Workplace is now home to 18 multi-national corporations and leading Singapore organisations, including newly moved in UOB, Sabre Asia Pacific, Roche Singapore, Obayashi Singapore and Tokyo Electron Singapore. Lendlease’s inaugural flexible workplace solution, csuites, which combines the benefits of premier corporate offices with the advantages of shared services and collaborative spaces offered by co-working products, has received much interest from the market, and is set to welcome German multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company Bayer later this year.

As the heart of a new lifestyle precinct and the social heart of the Paya Lebar community, PLQ is set to welcome even more sumptuous offerings across the development, with the opening of Maccha House, Joe & Dough, Hokey Poki, Donburi King, Makino, Western Mahua and Ichikokudo Hokkaido Ramen (halal-certified), together with experiential brands from Smigy, Zone X to Sing-My-Song Karaoke.

Shoppers can also look forward to exciting retailers such as The Whisky Distillery, H&M, Mango, 6ixty8ight, iStudio and Laneige joining the line-up at PLQ Mall. Living up to its vision of one place, many moments, PLQ Mall also offers a multi-layered experience for the community – from book exchange spots, quirky photobooths, Instagram-worthy backdrops, interactive activity/play areas and a Cine-Mini installation.

“We set out with a mission to create one of the best and most progressive places for Singapore with PLQ. Today, we are proud to say that we have achieved this mission with the support from the community, tenants and partners. Moving forward, our goal will be to create a community fabric in the area to bring everyone who live, work and play here together,” said Mr Lombardo.

One Place, Many Moments for Residents, Workers and the Community
At Lendlease, sustainability is about creating the best places for people today and for generations to come. This vison will come to life at PLQ, which will centre its initiatives around weaving a social fabric for the area, in addition to the development’s environmental focus.

As part of its Community Development Plan, PLQ has been actively engaging the community from the start of the project in 2015, including the conceptualisation of events and activities to be held at 100,000 sq ft of green public spaces in PLQ.

One initiative is an upcoming collaboration between PLQ, Health Promotion Board and anchor tenant Virgin Active to host complimentary health and wellness activities at PLQ to improve the health and wellbeing of residents as well as building a healthy and vibrant workplace community.

PLQ has also been engaging with schools in the area and is partnering a secondary school for the next three years to enable their students to learn about sustainability using PLQ as a case study. Other initiatives are also in the works, including the creation of an online portal to support sustainability education by schools.

On the employment front, PLQ previously partnered with Workforce Singapore for a job fair showcasing jobs at PLQ, bringing jobs closer to homes and enabling employment and upskilling.