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Category: Real Estate

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Real Estate news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Philippines: SM Investments picks 62.21% in MyTown dormitory brand owner PULS

    Philippines: SM Investments picks 62.21% in MyTown dormitory brand owner PULS

    SM Investments (SMIC) has taken 62.21 per cent controlling stake in Philippines Urban Living Solutions Inc (PULS), the operator of dormitory buildings under the MyTown brand.

    According to an SMIC disclosure, it acquired more than 674.8 million common shares of PULS, with price less than 10 per cent of the giant holding company’s net book value, which was determined based on appraised asset value.

    “This acquisition allows SMIC to capture growth opportunities in the dormitel segment,” SMIC informed the Philippine Stock Exchange.

    Established in 2012, PULS owns, develops and operates dormitory spaces for rent under the MyTown brand aimed at young professionals. It has built rental housing communities at a walking distance from the central business districts of Metro Manila.

    “MyTown’s dormitories are equipped with attractive amenities and targeted retail facilities that allow its tenants to save on travel time and transportation cost,” SMIC said in its statement.

    A holding firm of conglomerate SM Group of Companies, SMIC is engaged in retail, property, financial services, among others. Among its subsidiaries are The SM Store, SM Supermarkets, SM Hypermarkets, SaveMore, Waltermart Supermarket Inc, SM Prime Holdings Inc, BDO Unibank and China Bank.

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  • Ginza Six opening with 241 outlets

    Ginza Six opening with 241 outlets

    Ginza Six, one of the largest commercial complexes in Tokyo’s Ginza district, will open tomorrow.

    At Ginza’s 6-chome block, the retail venture was jointly developed at a cost of about ¥86 billion (US$12.4 billion) by companies including J. Front Retailing, which runs the Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores, and Mori Building.

    Ginza Six has about 47,000 sqm of sales space – larger than the neighbouring Ginza Mitsukoshi and Matsuya Ginza department stores. With its open ceiling structure, the complex has 241 retail outlets, mainly overseas luxury brands including Christian Dior and Fendi.

    French luxury house Saint Laurent will have its second flagship store for Tokyo across three floors at Ginza Six.

    Ginza Six inside

    Its 17m backlit black marble facade comprises 18 noren panels (traditional fabric dividers) laminated with low-reflective glass. The store will feature pret-a-porter, accessories, shoes, sunglasses and jewellery for women and men.

    Ginza Six’s owners are estimating it will draw 20 million customers and earn ¥60 billion in sales annually.

    It occupies the site that was home for 90 years to Matsuzakaya Ginza, as well as other stores. Rather than buying and selling goods like a department store, Ginza Six runs on the rent from the outlets. “The same business model used in the past can’t be applied forever,” says J. Front Retailing president Ryoichi Yamamoto.

    Other retail developments in the area also mainly house outlets, such as Tokyu Plaza Ginza and Marronnier Gate Ginza, a renovation of Printemps Ginza that opened in March.

    Ginza Six will attract foreign tourists as well as trigger consumption, says Mori Building president Shingo Tsuji. “This is one of the largest redevelopment projects in the history of Ginza. It will be a new symbol of Ginza.”

    Attractions at the development include a noh theatre and a rooftop garden.

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  • Winter sports theme for Beijing’s Phase 3C mall

    Winter sports theme for Beijing’s Phase 3C mall

    An undulating sledding path will loop around the roof garden of Beijing’s planned Phase 3C mall, which also has an Olympic-sized ice-skating rink at its heart.

    A layer of fake snow will be added to the rooftop track in winter for sledding.

    Designed by Hong Kong-based American architect Andrew Bromberg of Aedas, the Phase 3C building is part of the China World Trade Center complex in Chaoyang, the city’s CBD. It is the fifth and final stage of a 30-year master plan that comprises 14 buildings.

    Phase 3C mall Beijing 1

    Bromberg’s building features a continuous loop that mimics the road, wrapping an elliptical volume at the centre with a roof garden called the Civic Green, reports Dezeen. The garden is set on three stepped levels and surrounded by a pathway that dips down to the entrance on one side.

    Cherry blossom and pine trees will be planted along the walkway, and the upper floors of the building surrounding the green will stagger backward to create terraces with seating areas and trees.

    In the centre of the building, the ice-skating rink will be surrounded by a loop of shops and cafes. There will also be art studios, exhibition spaces, an organic farm, cultural and educational amenities, and a rock-climbing wall.

    Earlier this year, the Phase 3C was awarded Best Future Project at the MIPIM Awards, an annual real-estate event in Cannes.

    You can see more images of the mall on Dezeen here.

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  • Singapore apartments main target of Indonesian property investors

    Singapore apartments main target of Indonesian property investors

    Indonesian property investors would prefer to go to Singapore if they want to invest in apartments and to Australia to buy houses to be leased out, a survey has said.

    Profit, better guaranteed, is the main reason for investing abroad, the survey Property Affordability Sentiment Index by Rumah.com said here on Sunday.

    Country Manager of Rumah.com Wasudewan said the Indonesian investors chose to invest in Singapore on better infrastructure, stability and security that would be needed by the would be tenants.

    Property Affordability Sentiment Index is an annual survey held by Rumah.com in cooperation with research center Intuit Research of Singapore. The survey involved 1,030 respondents in November-December 2016.

    “Singapore has good transport access locally and internationally. For that Singapore has received an appreciation as the Best Location in Asia for expatriates and the 25th best in the world, according to a survey on Quality of Living by Mercer early this year,” Wasudewan said.

    The results of the surveys matched data from Cushman & Wakefield, an international property consultancy company, which said that in the first half of 2016, Indonesians bought 189 property buildings of various categories in Singapore, or a 23 percent increase compared with the same period in the previous year.

    Purchases by Chinese and Malaysians declines, but purchases by Indonesians rose 19 percent in the second quarter of 2016.

    According to property company Propnex Realty Pte, as quoted from PropertyGuru.com.sg, which handles the sales of luxurious condominiums OUE Twin Peaks in the Orchard Road, Singapore, the developer of the condominiums has succeeded in disposing of almost 50 percent of 86 units built in the first phase at a price of 4 million Singaporean dollar per unit and Indonesians are the main foreign buyers, Wasudewan said.

    He said growing number of Indonesians buy property abroad as technology makes it easier to have information about market in other countries. Indonesians buy property abroad especially in Singapore for commercial purpose.

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  • Link REIT buys Guangzhou mall

    Link REIT buys Guangzhou mall

    Link REIT has bought a shopping mall in Guangzhou for RMB4.065 billion (HK$4.57 billion; US$588.4 million).

    The property, Metropolitan Plaza, is located at No. 8 Huangsha Road in Liwan District. It comprises retail space from basement level one to the third floor and two levels of parking.

    Its gross lettable area is about 85,732 sqm.

    Link REIT said in a stock exchange filing the acquisition was in line with its investment strategy to invest in income-producing real estate which has potential for long-term income and capital growth and to build a large and diversified portfolio of retail and/or commercial real estate in Hong Kong and in Tier-1 cities of the PRC.

    “Guangzhou (being such a Tier-1 city) is mature and the disposable income of Guangzhou residents has been rising. The property will add to Link’s portfolio of investments in Tier-1 cities of the PRC along with its shopping mall in Beijing and an office/retail property in Shanghai.”

    As at February 28, there were 219 tenancies at the property, occupying approximately 94.1 per cent of the total gross lettable area.

    The monthly gross income of the property (excluding management fees) was approximately

    RMB16.06 million. Food & beverage, fashion/accessories and kids/education account for, respectively, 33.4 per cent, 24.7 per cent and 13.7per cent of the total leased retail area.

    Link REIT said Liwan District is one of the most popular mass market shopping and leisure destinations in the city.

    It is also one of the most densely populated districts of Guangzhou, with a population of approximately 930,000 as of 2016. The property is strategically located on top of the intersection of Metro Lines 1 & 6 among the busiest Metro Lines in Guangzhou, with direct access to the station concourse.

    The Guangzhou mall opened for business in 2012.

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  • Community park to be settled in MyTown Kuala Lumpur

    Community park to be settled in MyTown Kuala Lumpur

    MyTown Shopping Centre has opened in the Kuala Lumpur CBD as a joint development by Boustead Holdings and retail banker Ikano.

    It features 1.6 million sqft (148,644 sqm) of retail space (more than 400 stores), an alfresco dining area and a park.

    Anchor tenants include the biggest Ikea and Zara stores in Malaysia, Malaysia’s first Best flagship, Food Empire, Golden Screen Cinemas, H&M, Parkson Department Store and Village Grocer.

    Biggest ZARA in Malaysia @ MyTOWN

    Its two-acre (0.8ha) Town Park has been set aside for community events. It includes ramps and tracks for rollerblading and skateboarding. A Sunken Garden features amphitheater-style.

    MyTown is the first shopping centre in Malaysia to feature Soundscapes – special compositions and custom designed sounds to offer an immersive environment in key locations.

    MyTOWN Launch

    Mr Christian Rojkjaer – Managing Director of Ikea Southeast Asia & Director of Boustead Ikano Sdn Bhd (3rd from left) & Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin – Deputy Chairman / Group Managing Director, Boustead Holdings Berhad (4th from left) flanked by Directors from Boustead Ikano Sdn Bhd, Boustead Holdings Bhd & Ikano Ptd Ltd including (from left to right), Mr Lee Hartigan, Dato Sri’ Ghazali Mohd Ali, Datuk Koo Hock Fee, Ms. Cheah Swee Choo, Mr Sebastian Hylving, Mr Joakim Hogsander – General Manager of MyTOWN Shopping Centre & Mr Thomas Malmberg.

    GM Joakim Hogsander describes the centre as a lifestyle mall. “We have created a special customer journey through our choice of tenants, design and experience.”

    MyTown has been awarded green building status by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and Malaysian Green Building Index.

  • Introducing the largest integrated real estate project in Bangkok

    Introducing the largest integrated real estate project in Bangkok

    Described as “a city within a city”, Thailand’s largest integrated development, One Bangkok, is being launched as a joint project by TCC Assets (Thailand) and Frasers Centrepoint (FCL).

    Incorporating green-sustainability principles, the development covers 104 rai (16.7 ha), and will increase green and open areas in the city centre by 50 rai when it opens in 2021.

    One Bangkok 3

    One Bangkok will be the largest private-sector property development initiative undertaken in Thailand, with an estimated investment value of more than THB120 billion (about US$3.5 billion).

    “The fundamental aim in the planning and design of One Bangkok is to enhance Bangkok’s stature as a key gateway city in Asia,” says TCC Group and FCL chairman Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

    One Bangkok 1

    A fully integrated “city-within-a-city” district, One Bangkok will comprise retail and leisure offerings within differentiated precincts, next-generation office buildings, luxury and lifestyle hotels, ultra-luxury residential towers, civic areas, and art and culture amenities as well as greenery and open spaces.

    Leased from the Crown, the land is in a prime location at the corner of Wireless and Rama IV Roads, next to Lumphini Park and with direct linkages to mass transit systems.

    “We are very honoured to be entrusted by the Crown Property Bureau to turn this important plot of land in the heart of the city into a showpiece district,” says Sirivadhanabhakdi.

    “With One Bangkok, I hope to enhance global confidence in Thailand as the epicenter of Asean and a key gateway and lifestyle city in Asia.”

    One Bangkok - Opening Ceremony

    Shared vision

    For the “game-changing” endeavour, he says he has placed his confidence in two TCC Group companies – TCC Assets (Thailand) and Frasers Property. “They are companies that perfectly complement each other and can, together, fulfill our shared vision of a quality development.”

    For the JV, TCC Assets hold an 80.1 per cent interest, with Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand) holding the balance of 19.9 per cent. Frasers Property is the international property brand of FCL, a multi-national real-estate company with more than US$17.6 billion in assets.

    One Bangkok 5

    “By forming such a strategic alliance, we are able to combine the financial strength and local know-how of TCC Assets, with the enormous international property development expertise of Frasers Property, which has an impeccable global track record of award-winning development projects,” says Sirivadhanabhakdi.

    “The partnership will ensure that we have the creativity, capability and capital to bring to life one of our most exciting development initiatives,” says FCL Group CEO Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi. “No single development of this scale and diversity has ever been undertaken in Thailand.”

    He says One Bangkok will attract top-level local and multinational companies to set up headquarters in the district. “It is Bangkok’s first fully integrated ‘people-centric’ development, designed around how people can seamlessly live, work and play, seeking to reinstate a sense of human scale in a way that enhances comfort and convenience.”

    He says One Bangkok’s development philosophy is centred on diversity of uses and architecture, overlaid with sustainability principles and sensitive to the local social and cultural context, incorporating Thailand’s heritage and aspects unique to Bangkok.

    One Bangkok’s CEO Su Lin Soon is supported by a development team of more than 100 specialists.

    “In creating a world-class district in the heart of Bangkok, we envision One Bangkok to be synonymous with Thailand,” she says. “New quality standards, international best practices and diversity in the mix of uses and architecture are fundamental features of the master plan, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, supported by local expertise from Plan Associates and A49.”

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  • Capital 21 mall to be largest in Johor Baru

    Capital 21 mall to be largest in Johor Baru

    Being built by Singapore-listed Capital City Group, Johor Baru’s largest mall Capital 21 will have a gross floor area of 1 million sqft (92,903 sqm) when it opens early next year.

    The mall will be part of Project Capital City, which includes a hotel and residential component. More than 60 per cent of the retail units have been sold.

    Capital City CEO Siow Chien Fu says he is bullish about prospects. “Johor Baru is the second-largest city in Malaysia and it still lacks this type of large shopping centre.”

    Capital City will have 690 serviced apartments and 630 hotel-style serviced suites.

    While the serviced suites have not been launched, 28.6 per cent of the units have been sold.

    “People have been talking about an oversupply of housing in Kuala Lumpur for years, but there has still been good take-up. I’m not worried. Johor Baru is big enough and the state is doing a lot of development, like industrial parks,” says Siow.

    Capital City is the company’s first development and veteran architect-turned-developer Siow is confident of its asset-light business strategy. Unlike traditional property developers, Capital World will not own land. Instead, it works with landowners in joint ventures to develop assets.

    Its pipeline of projects includes another integrated development of retail, office, hotel and residential apartments in Johor Baru.

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  • Laguarda.Low Architects Designs Grandberry Lifestyle Centre in Machida

    Laguarda.Low Architects Designs Grandberry Lifestyle Centre in Machida

    New York City-based architecture and urban planning firm, LAGUARDA.LOW ARCHITECTS, has unveiled the design for Grandberry Center, a new 750,000-square-foot transit-oriented development in Machida, Tokyo. Set on the city’s Tokyu Denen-tonshi train line, Laguarda.Low designed Grandberry Center to be the center of commerce and activity for Machida – a city in the west section of the Tokyo Metropolis.

    The new Grandberry Center development replaces an existing mall and train station and creates a modern, landscaped shopping village with a direct connection to the newly-designed Tsuruma Park. The new train depot, with its undulating roof, tiered gardens, and waterfall create a dramaticsense of arrival. From the platform, a grand stair leads visitors to the multi-level shopping center experience, inclusive of a local food market, retail stores and a cinema. The retail village is organized as a simple loop, referencing a European town typology, with parking positioned in the center. Throughout the loop, visitors traverse a series of open and covered plazas that provide dynamic spaces for socializing, leisure and entertainment.

    The buildings are composed of a mix of stone, steel, wood, glass and green walls. The form, scale, and materiality of the buildings were designed to create variation within the development and to blend with the surrounding residential neighborhood.

    “Grandberry Center provides a warm and modern ambience with sophisticated design that enlivens the surrounding neighborhood for local residents and visitors,” said Pablo Laguarda, Principal of LAGUARDA.LOW. “Its location as an entertainment and lifestyle destination is unique and we look forward to showcasing this development to the Machida community.”

    Situated amidst Tsuruma Park, Laguarda.Low’s design removes an existing street to unify Grandberry Center with nature.  To combine the two parcels, a new park entrance transforms the natural slope in grade into a dramatic stair, with the ground rising to create a green roof for a new restaurant at the threshold of the park. The firm also designed the main promenade, which features lush Cherry Blossom trees, and a designed new landscape plan with designated spaces for a skate park, urban farm, sculpture garden, children’s playground, expansive lawn and library.

    Construction of Grandberry Center will begin in May 2017, with an estimated completion of September 2019.  Grandberry Center is expected to officially open in November 2019. Granberry is one of seven Laguarda.Low-designed developments in Japan. Most recently, the firm was the silver award winner of International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) New Development category for their design of AEON Mall Okinawa Rycom, the largest multi-story commercial facility in Western Japan.

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  • CapitaLand Vietnam opens The Oxygen Mall

    CapitaLand Vietnam opens The Oxygen Mall

    CapitaLand Vietnam has opened a shopping centre, The Oxygen Mall in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2.

    Located at the base of the high-end residential development The Vista, The Oxygen includes three stories with over 8000 sqm retail space and is primarily targeted to residents.

    The mall tenants are mainly F&B operators, with a wide variety of cuisine on offer: “East meets West” fusion food as well as eateries such as Starbucks, Tous les Jours, Gaxeo, Shalom, Kogi Zip Korean BBQ and Genshai supermarket.

    The centre also includes an artistic co-working space called Toong on third floor, which spans more than 1000 sqm. Toong offers a conducive working environment to startups and small and medium enterprises for more than 300 members.

    “By harnessing the knowledge, expertise and experience accumulated from CapitaLand Group, The Oxygen will enhance the vibrancy of the shopping scene and experience in District 2 and surrounding areas,” says Chen Lian Pang, CEO of CapitaLand Vietnam.

    Besides the space for Vista residents, The Oxygen will also serve other activities such as garage sales, Sunday markets, birthday parties, charity events, and other festivals.

    CapitaLand said this week it plans to significantly increase its S$2.1 billion multi-asset class presence in Vietnam, including a possible Raffles City in Ho Chi Minh City.

  • CapitaLand inks contract to manage mall at new SingPost Centre

    CapitaLand inks contract to manage mall at new SingPost Centre

    CapitaLand, through its wholly owned shopping mall business, CapitaLand Mall Asia, has signed a contract to manage the upcoming mall at the new SingPost Centre.

    This is the third mall management contract that CapitaLand has inked in slightly over six months, after securing the first two in China, the comnpany said on Tuesday (March 28). With this contract, CapitaLand said its network in Singapore will increase to 20 shopping malls with a combined gross floor area (GFA), excluding car park, of about 14.2 million square feet (sq ft).

    Mr Jason Leow, CEO of CapitaLand Mall Asia, said, “The signing of our first third-party mall management contract in Singapore – also our third across Asia in quick succession – demonstrates the scalability of our asset-light expansion strategy to grow our assets under management. We continue to be on the lookout for suitable opportunities to enlarge our retail footprint through third-party management contracts, to complement our core strategy of developing, owning and managing malls in Asia.”

    SingPost Centre is located in the up-and-coming Paya Lebar Central, next to the Paya Lebar MRT interchange station. CapitaLand currently owns and manages three malls in the eastern part of Singapore, namely Tampines Mall, Bedok Mall and Jewel Changi Airport, which is scheduled to open in early 2019.

    CapitaLand will oversee the pre-opening and retail management for the five-storey SingPost Centre mall, which has 269,000 sq ft of GFA, excluding car park, and a net lettable area of about 175,000 sq ft.

    Targeted to open in the second half of this year, SingPost Centre will house the new General Post Office, which combines traditional counter service with technology-enabled innovations such as POPStations and eSAM machines over a space measuring 3,330 sq ft. The General Post Office will also have a heritage corner, where customers can enjoy a learning journey through SingPost’s 150 years of history.

    Other tenants at SingPost Centre include NTUC FairPrice, Golden Village, Kopitiam, other retail brands, family entertainment outlets and enrichment centres.

    CapitaLand announced last August it is embarking on enlarging its retail footprint through management contracts with the signing of an agreement to manage the retail component of Fortune Finance Center in Changsha, China. In January this year, CapitaLand signed another agreement to manage a mall in La Botanica township in Xi’an, China.

  • CapitaLand to manage SingPost Centre

    CapitaLand to manage SingPost Centre

    CapitaLand, through its wholly owned shopping-mall business CapitaLand Mall Asia, has signed its first third-party shopping centre-management contract in Singapore to run the new SingPost Centre.

    Described as a world-first, Singapore Post is currently building the 25,000 sqm shopping centre which will allow online and offline retailers to showcase their products, side by side.

    The SingPost mall marks the third management contract CapitaLand has inked in about six months, the other two being in China.

    With this contract, CapitaLand’s network in Singapore will increase to 20 malls with a combined gross floor area (GFA), excluding parking, of about 14.2 million sqft (1.3 million sqm).

    CapitaLand Mall Asia CEO Jason Leow says the signing of its first third-party mall management contract in Singapore – also its third across Asia in quick succession – shows the scalability of the group’s asset-light expansion strategy to grow assets under management.

    SingPost Centre is in the eastern part of Singapore, where CapitaLand owns and manages three malls – Tampines Mall in Tampines Regional Centre, Bedok Mall in the rejuvenated Bedok Town Centre and Jewel Changi Airport, scheduled to open in early 2019.

    Five-storey mall

    Under the contract, CapitaLand will oversee the pre-opening and retail management for the five-storey SingPost Centre mall, which has 269,000 sqft of GFA, excluding parking, and a net lettable area of about 175,000 sqft.

    “With CapitaLand as our mall manager, we will be able to optimise the returns from this property while we focus our attention on our core business of postal services and e-commerce logistics,” says SingPost covering group CEO Mervyn Lim.
    Targeted to open in the second half of this year, SingPost Centre will house the new General Post Office, which combines traditional counter service with technology-enabled innovations such as PopStations.

    Other tenants at SingPost Centre include Golden Village, Kopitiam, NTUC FairPrice, retail brands, family entertainment outlets and enrichment centres.

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  • Accor Hotels to operate 200 hotels in Indonesia by 2020

    Accor Hotels to operate 200 hotels in Indonesia by 2020

    Global hotel management chain AccorHotels is seeking to operate a total of 200 hotels in Indonesia by 2020 on the back of the country’s rapid development.

    At the end of 2016, the company was managing 106 hotels, an increase of 11 units compared to 2015.
    “We aim to have 200 hotels in Indonesia by 2020,” AccorHotels Malaysia-Indonesia-Singapore chief operating officer Garth Simmons said in Makassar on Saturday after launching its latest addition, Ibis Styles Makassar Sam Ratulangi.

    In 2017 alone, it plans to open between 15 and 20 new hotels, five of which will be located in the eastern part of Indonesia, mostly on Sulawesi.

    The chain is planning to make Sulawesi its eastern hub to help expand operations to the other parts of the country, especially Papua.

    “Frankly, we really want to expand to Papua, but we have to strengthen the distribution network first,” Simmons said.

    In 2016, the group had a 70 percent average occupancy rate, with Bali and Jakarta as its strongest bases, where the rate reached 90 percent.

    The Sumatra region has a 70 percent occupancy rate, while eastern Indonesia had around a 55 percent occupancy rate.

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  • Ayala Malls the 30th offering Uber service

    Ayala Malls the 30th offering Uber service

    Ayala Malls has teamed up with ride-sharing service Uber to improve access to its newest mall, and may expand the service to the rest of its empire.

    Ayala 30th Uber

    Initially, Ayala Malls the 30th is teaming with carpool service UberHop, which offers fixed-rate ride shares for people heading in the same direction during rush hour.

    Ayala 30th Uber 1

    For a flat rate, people going to and coming from Ayala Malls the 30th in Ortigas will be linked to the business hubs of Makati City and Bonifacio Global City on weekdays.

    “The beauty of this is that it brings six to eight people together who would have otherwise taken their own cars from Makati and back, so that’s about six fewer cars on the road during rush hour,” says Uber Philippines communications head Cat Avelino.

    The test program may eventually lead to UberHop and other services being used by more Ayala malls.

    “Definitely we hope this will be the first of many more partnerships with Ayala. Ayala has more than 40 malls in Metro Manila and around the Philippines, so we’re definitely open to extending the benefit people get from ride-sharing,” says Avelino.

    The partnership ties in to Ayala’s Easy Ride project, which aims to give customers convenient access to various modes of public transport to and from its malls.

    “The real value-add of Uber is that it can direct where the drop-off and pick-up points are, and that really helps with the flow, the customer experience and our traffic,” says Ayala Malls the 30th GM Mariana Zobel de Ayala.

  • South Korea’s tallest skyscraper to open early next month

    South Korea’s tallest skyscraper to open early next month

    The skyscraper built by South Korean retail giant Lotte Group is due to open early next month, the group’s operating unit said Tuesday.

    The 123-story Lotte World Tower will officially open to the public from April 3, housing offices, luxury residence and a hotel, and an observation deck at the very top, Lotte World said in a press release.

    The construction of the landmark was a mega real estate project long envisioned by Lotte founder Shin Kyuk-ho, who always aspired to have “something world-class” to further grow his sprawling retail and tourism businesses.

    It almost took three decades for Lotte to finally realize Shin’s dream, as his grand plan had faced strong opposition from past administrations and the public over safety concerns.

    Six years after the ground breaking, the 555-meter high skyscraper is now the world’s fifth-tallest building after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Shanghai Tower, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel in Saudi Arabia and One World Trade Center in New York, the company said.

    The lower floors of the Lotte World Tower will consist mainly of offices, with some 30 stories above them accommodating a lavish residence named Signiel Residence, one of which has been bought by the current Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin.

    Signiel Seoul, a luxury hotel will be located in the upper part of the landmark building, where the guests can stay in some 235 rooms. The Signiel Seoul will be the world’s second-tallest hotel, with one of its top suite rooms costing about 20 million won (US$17,860) per night.

    Between the 117th to 123rd floors is a glass-made observation deck designed to accommodate 900 people at once, who will be able to see the entire view of Seoul and, if they’re lucky, as far as the East Sea, according to Lotte.

     

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