The Greater one-north – Is this Singapore’s Silicon Valley?

What is one-north and why it was planned

Since the 1990s, Singapore’s economic growth was shifted towards high value chain industries that rely on a high-skilled workforce. Structural reforms were made to promote innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship. The Biomedical as well as Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industries were among the new key economic drivers that the Singapore government is pursuing. Investments were made to attract world-class research talents and infrastructure development. In addition, more emphasis was placed on creating an environment that allows for start-ups to grow and thrive.

Hence, in the 2000s, JTC Corporation (JTC) was tasked to undertake the development of one-north as Singapore’s research and development (R&D) and high technology cluster. One-north was envisioned to have eight distinct precincts, each playing a unique role, forming a hub for the respective industry clusters.

Unlike other business parks that are specialised for a single manufacturing industry, one-north supports a dynamic ecosystem. This helps foster better collaboration, which is key for firms in the research and knowledge sectors.

Over the last 20 years, Singapore government has consistently invested about 1% of GDP annually in R&D – an investment proven to have borne fruit. Over two decades ago, Singapore’s biotech ecosystem was led by the construction of Biopolis, which has successfully served as a platform for biotech talent to gather and share knowledge.

The respective precincts of one-north (Source: JTC)

In the 2010s, emphasis was placed on the work-live-play concept. Wessex Estate, for instance, offers homes that are tenanted to staff working nearby, including the iconic conserved black-and-white bungalows. As one-north’s workforce grew, co-living spaces, serviced apartments, hotels and condominiums were introduced into other precincts to facilitate community bonding. With further development, the ‘learn’ component was added, with the addition of INSEAD Asia Campus in Ayer Rajah, ESSEC business school and Unilever’s training centre in Nepal Hill.

Currently, as a prominent research hub and a business centre for over 400 leading companies and 800 start-ups with 50,000 knowledge workers employed, one-north has attracted upwards of $8 billion worth of investments.

As a hub for high technology, innovation and a thriving startup ecosystem, it is little wonder why one-north has drawn comparisons with Silicon Valley, the world’s leading innovation hub that draws significant venture capital investments.

Biomedical, sciences and research

Biopolis, the first cluster developed in one-north, primarily supports biomedical R&D. Dedicated to promoting collaborations between private and public scientific communities, it houses research institutes with labs for pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies.

The development also includes spaces catered to private institutes with specialised capabilities, such as those focusing on neuroscience, immunology, and pre-clinical trials. Wilmar International has since chose to locate their global headquarters in Biopolis, while Procter & Gamble Singapore also opened its $250 million innovation centre in 2014.

Most recently, in December 2023, Biopolis Phase 6 (Named Elementum) was completed. This biomedical science building adds a 12-storey development catering to the demand for semi- or fully furnished laboratories, along with integrated community areas. As such, smaller firms supporting these Multi-national Corporations in the upstream and downstream supply chain can establish themselves there for better synergy.

In addition, firms in the ICT, physical sciences and engineering industry are housed mainly in Fusionopolis. Mainly serving as a R&D hub, there are various organisations, high-tech companies and government agencies housed there. Examples include Linden Research, the makers of the 3D virtual online world, Thales Technology Centre, A*Star and the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA). Razer SEA has also set up their headquarters there.

Tech, sciences, media and start-ups

Mediapolis plays a vital role in Singapore’s infocomm and media ecosystem. It houses studios including those in Mediacorp Campus and Infinite Studios, a 1.2-hectare soundstage facility. It also includes ALICE@Mediapolis, a privately-developed, green and smart multi-tenanted business park and office space for start-ups and as a base for established media firms.

Grab also opened its 9-storey headquarters located across Mediapolis. With an area of more than 42,000 square metres, the new Grab HQ houses approximately 3,000 employees, an R&D centre, and the first GrabMerchant centre.

The neighbouring precincts, Launchpad and Ayer Rajah are home to start-ups, incubators and firms specialising in emerging industries. LaunchPad, also known as the cradle of Singapore’s blossoming start-up scene, allows for the test-bedding of ideas. Clustering similar firms together creates a synergistic effect, allowing like-minded budding entrepreneurs to thrive within their own eco-system. With a vibrant economy of diverse startups, incubators, venture capitalists and ecosystem partners, they can scale-up their business more easily. Some firms that have benefited from this and grown significantly are Carousell, 99 Group, Shopback and IglooHome.

Amenities and Institutes of Higher Learning

Within the one-north precinct, there are two MRT stations – Buona Vista and one-north. There are also amenities near both MRT stations, Biopolis, Media Circle and Rochester Park to cater to residents’ needs.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Polytechnic are in the vicinity of one-north. With an emphasis placed on knowledge-sharing and collaboration, firms, especially those doing research and these tertiary institutions can foster industrial-academia collaboration.

Singapore Science Park

Lying within the greater one-north community is the Singapore Science Park. Home to over 350 multinationals, companies, and laboratories, it is amongst Asia’s most prestigious addresses for biomedical, R&D and technology development. Its close proximity to key research and tertiary institutions and Singapore’s technology start-up community caters to the needs of companies such as Defence Science Organisation National Laboratories, TÜV SÜD PSB, AT&T, Institute of Microelectronics and Crimson Logic.

The Singapore Science Park is also currently undergoing rejuvenation, transforming it from a business park into a work-live-play precinct. Most recently, the first phase of Geneo was completed in December 2023 and Citadines Science Park Singapore has begun operations in February 2024. When Geneo is fully completed in 2025, the total working population in SSP is expected to reach about 21,000, up from 12,000 currently.

While there was much fanfare around one-north and the Singapore Science Park development, companies there struggled to attract talent, largely due to an underdeveloped transport network and a shortage of nearby housing.

Private Homes in one-north

Currently, there are only five condominiums in the entirety of one-north, with two of them being new launches – Blossoms By The Park (275 units, launched 2023) and The Hill @ One-North (142 units, launched 2024).

One-North Residences (405 units) and The Rochester Residences (366 units) were both launched in 2007, while One-North Eden (165 units) was launched in 2021. Buyers would have all made significant gains, in line with one-north’s development on a precinct level. Based on median price psf of all transactions, One-North Residences price growth was the most significant, rising 72.1% since launch. More recently, property prices at one-north Eden have grown 29.3% since its launch in 2021.

Chart 1: Price performance of condos in one-north

Source: URA as of 24 Feb 2025, ERA Research and Market Intelligence

More New homes to be added to support the workforce

One-north has been primarily seen as a workplace, housing local and foreign firms With just five condominiums in the precinct, the Urban and Redevelopment Authority (URA) realised the need to inject more housing. A larger stay-in population that can support the workforce will help spruce up the estate, creating a vibrant work-live-play-learn environment. The area will also be connected by cycling paths and covered walkways/linkways to improve first-mile connectivity.

Having more housing units in one-north will also cater to the large tenant pool of lecturers, researchers, foreign students and expats working in the firms there. This can provide a steady stream of rental income.

The next area for residential development in one-north will be in Media Circle, a part of Mediapolis. Thus far, URA has released three non-landed residential sites in there. One has been awarded (now Bloomsbury Residences), and other two are open for tender. In total, these three future developments will yield up to 1,185 units. Thereafter, depending on the demand, there could be more sites being sold. They could potentially be mixed-used developments.

Map of Media Circle (Source: URA, ERA Research and Market Intelligence)

Making sense of the recent land bids trend in Media Circle

The site at Media Circle (Parcel A) recently closed with three bids, with the highest coming from a joint venture between QingJian Realty, Forsea, and Hoovasun. The winning bid of $1,037 psf ppr is about 13% lower than the $1,191 psf ppr they secured for a site last year. It was a good defensive move and buffered in headroom for more options to respond to any changes in market conditions in the future Another reason for the lower bid is that, unlike Bloomsbury Residences, the commercial component of Media Circle (Parcel A) will be part of the development’s common area and will eventually fall under the care of the MCST. Nonetheless, the lower land price may not translate to lower selling price as considering higher-for-longer interest rates and and rising construction cost.
Furthermore, having both sites developed simultaneously by the same developers will allow for better alignment of design intentions with the surroundings, resulting in a more seamless and cohesive integration.

In conclusion

New residential developments being injected into the precinct will further add to the rejuvenation. It could transform Media Circle into a vibrant mixed-use district. A larger live-in population would mean that the transport infrastructure will also be upgraded to cater to the residents there. We could see more feeder buses that comes frequently to take residents to amenities and the MRT stations.

Moving forward, it was announced during Budget 2025 that the government will refresh the public biosciences and med-tech research infrastructure in the greater one-north area. This will mean more investments to provide state-of-the-art facilities, promote collaboration within Singapore’s research community, and enable faster translation of research into commercial solutions. These investment commitments will ensure that one-north and Science Park will continue to develop into a thriving work-live-play-learn business park anchored by large high-tech firms.

Expanding the residential offerings in one-north will accommodate the growing workforce. This provides an opportunity to investors to acquire a home here to capitalise on potential future growth, and the large tenant pool for passive rental income.

Interested to know more about what the estate offer to prospective homeowners and tenants? Speak to any ERA Trusted Advisor today to find out more!

Disclaimer

This information is provided solely on a goodwill basis and does not relieve parties of their responsibility to verify the information from the relevant sources and/or seek appropriate advice from relevant professionals such as valuers, financial advisers, bankers and lawyers. For avoidance of doubt, ERA Realty Network and its salesperson accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, reliability and/or completeness of the information provided. Copyright in this publication is owned by ERA and this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, in whole or in part, without prior written approval.