5One Central Office Bldg Rebranded As Lazada One
SINGAPORE – 5One Central, a 11-storey commercial building in Bras Basah within the heart of Singapore’s vibrant Civic District, has been renamed as Lazada One in recognition of its new anchor tenant, reported Mingtiandi on Saturday (12 June, SGT).
This was announced by Magnus Ekbom, Lazada Group’s Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer in a LinkedIn post last week. He also shared that Bras Basah is one of his “favourite areas” in Singapore.
Notably, it was reported in January 2021 that Lazada and its parent company Alibaba have agreed to lease 140,000 sq ft at 5One Central. Formerly known as the Manulife Centre, the 241,000 sq ft mixed-use project comprising office space and retail premises was acquired by a 50:50 joint venture between ARA and Chelsfield Asia at the start of 2019 for S$555.5 million (US$408.8 million).
Lazada One represents the e-commerce giant’s 4th office in the city state. In his LinkedIn post, Ekbom narrated their journey through Singapore’s office property market, beginning with the warehouse-turned-office Aztech Building in Paya Lebar, followed by the famed Bestway Building in Tanjong Pagar.
Thereafter, Lazada’s parent company Alibaba purchased in June 2020 a 50 percent stake in AXA Tower that values the 50-storey commercial property at S$1.68 billion from a consortium led by Singapore’s Perennial Real Estate Holdings.
At present, Alibaba and the Perennial-led consortium are turning the Grade A office building within Singapore’s central business district (CBD) into a mixed-use project with commercial space, residential units, and hotel space.
At Lazada’s new home in Bras Basah, ARA & Chelsfield are carrying out a number of asset enhancement initiatives (AEI) with the support of a S$385.8 million green loan provided by UOB and DBS Bank in November 2020.
Upon completion of the upgrading works by 2H 2021, Lazada One will come with several eco-friendly features. These include sensors that automatically turn on or turn off lights and CO2 sensors that regulate fresh air supply. Once the commercial property has been upgraded, the landlords expect to obtain the Green Mark Platinum certification from Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
