GEA, the German engineering group, chose 202 Kallang Bahru as its Asia-Pacific headquarters. The project involved overhauling and retrofitting an existing detached factory and adding two new office floors to the main building.

The challenge
The site is zoned Business 1 (B1), reserved for clean industry. GEA’s business model did not fit neatly within URA’s definition, and an earlier change of use application by the previous QP had been turned down by URA and JTC after five months.

The approach
Y2G started by understanding GEA’s operations in depth, through detailed site inspections and interviews with the team. With this understanding, Y2G reframed and presented GEA’s business model to URA, demonstrating that its activities qualify as clean industry.

Y2G manage to present the case to URA and convinced the agency that the property is only meant for repair and service the client’s ASEAN’s customer with no production involved though the machinery and testing area seems like production at first glance.

The outcome
Y2G obtained change of use clearance from URA within two months, allowing GEA to establish its regional headquarters at the site.