Planning
The Republic Plaza project was initially conceptualised by Jones Lang Wootton (JLW) in the mid-1980s.[11] The development comprised 3 blocks of 62, 11, and eight floors, and was to occupy a 7,800 sqm site bounded by Malacca, Cecil, Market, and D’Almeida streets. It was to be developed by a joint venture between a consortium of several Japanese firms, including C. Itoh, and Land Equity. Details of the project were first disclosed in a report by The Straits Times in March 1987, which noted that it had been in the works for at least six months.[12]
In the same report, The Straits Times mentioned that the joint venture was planning to take over two plots on the Republic Plaza site from the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation and Great Eastern Life.[12] These two plots were bought by City Developments Limited (CDL) in July 1987 for sgd51000000, in, according to Lee Han Shih of The Business Times, an attempt by CDL to get a stake in Republic Plaza's development.[13] CDL promptly started talks with the joint venture over jointly developing Republic Plaza.[14] The talks concluded in April 1988 with an agreement, under which CDL took a 50% stake in the project, while the other partners, C. Itoh, Land Equity, and Shimizu Corporation, had stakes of 23%, 20%, and 7% respectively. The other partners were also expected to sell their stakes to CDL once the development was completed.[15] Land Equity subsequently withdrew from the Republic Plaza project in January 1990, selling its stake to CDL for sgd19000000.
While negotiations with CDL were underway, the C. Itoh-Land Equity joint venture continued acquiring land for Republic Plaza, purchasing five plots on the development's planned site in December 1987 for about sgd64000000.[11] CDL made further land purchases at the development's site after it took a stake in the project, purchasing the CYS building at the junction of Malacca and Market Streets for sgd16000000 in October 1988,[16] followed by the adjacent FIDVI Building for sgd17000000 in March 1989.[17] In addition, in an Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) land sale in June 1989, CDL bid sgd140000000 for a 2366 sqm plot adjacent to the Republic Plaza site along Cecil Street with the intention of incorporating it into the development,[18] but it was outbid by DBS Land and Straits Steamship Land. Following this, CDL announced in January 1990 that it had revised the plans for Republic Plaza to exclude the state land along Cecil Street and include the sites of the CYS Building and FIDVI Building.[19]
To fund the project, the partners negotiated with several banks for a loan facility worth about sgd600000000. The Business Times reported that, according to several bankers that it spoke to, the loan facility was to comprise three tranches, which were to be provided by several Japanese leasing firms, such as Showa Leasing and Century, several Japanese banks, like the Bank of Tokyo, Sumitomo and Mitsubishi Banks, and by several Singapore-based Japanese banks and a Singaporean bank, respectively.[20] The loan facility, with a final value of sgd630000000, was secured by November 1990.[21]
The 2010s
In the mid-2010s, with the development of new office buildings in Singapore, several major tenants in Republic Plaza chose to move out instead of renewing their leases. The Business Times reported in February 2016 that Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ was planning to move to Marina One,[33] while by September, Itochu had secured office space in Guoco Tower, and ING was in talks regarding a move to the same building.[34] ING and Itochu moved out of Republic Plaza in the third quarter of 2017, followed by Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubish UFJ, until then the building's main tenant, by the end of that year. Subsequently, around 60000 sqft of the vacated office space was taken up by co-working operator Distrii, which opened a co-working space at Republic Plaza in May 2018.[35]
In light of the major tenants moving out of the building that year, in February 2017, CDL announced plans to refurbish Republic Plaza upon the departure of the major tenants in an attempt to bring the building in line with the latest office buildings in Singapore.[36] Costing sgd70000000, the refurbishment works were carried out between April 2018 and September 2019. These works comprised upgrading of the lifts, lobbies, and common areas, work was also carried out at the retail podium, with 3400 sqft of carpark space converted to retail, and existing retail areas were upgraded to handle higher footfall and to allow for more food and beverage outlets.
