VIABILITY OF RE-CONDITIONING OLD INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS

Abstract

As with the different phases in Singapore's economic development, various types of industrial space have emerged to accommodate to the changing needs of each economy strategy. Consequently, there exist many industrial buildings in Singapore which are built prior to the 1990's unable to meet the requirements of both current and future demands. The principal objective of this study is to investigate the viability of re-conditioning these old developments and identify the significant factors that influence developers to re¬ condition. A review on the current industrial sector uncovered many differences between conventional industrial buildings and high tech developments. A survey was carried out to distinguish the factors that are vital to the developers' decision to re-condition. In addition, a case study of a completed re-conditioning project was done to examine the details of the process. The findings revealed that factors which were significant in influencing developer's decision to re-condition were closely associated to finance. The most important condition was found to be the cost of re-conditioning. The subsequent significant factors included financial status of company, future rental prospects of re-conditioned building and the availability of financial aid. This indicated that finance and economic gains were crucial in influencing the developers' decision to invest in re-conditioning scheme. The case study presented an example on the re-conditioning process, from the justification of the investment to the completion of the project. There is currently an oversupply of conventional industrial space with many obsolete and under-utilized buildings. Hence, this study is critical as re-conditioning old developments into high-tech space can create a new supply of space into the market and such a situation should be monitored.