Tackling technology obsolescence a priority for commercial asset owners

Thomasin Crowley, Global Director of Asia Pacific at WiredScore, expresses concern that market expectations are evolving to the point where every building needs to demonstrate its smart capabilities to remain relevant. To help developers and asset managers build smarter buildings and meet market expectations, Crowley’s company has established its real estate certifications in leading cities, such as New York, London and Singapore.With the ambition to bring education to the market around digital connectivity, WiredScore opened its first regional headquarters in Singapore in April 2022. To date, the company has registered 143 buildings across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand. According to Crowley, 66.8 million sq ft of commercial real estate has been registered across the four key Asia Pacific markets, with 13 certifications awarded across 11 buildings in Singapore.The challenge of certifying buildings can be done at different stages of development. For example, WiredScore is currently involved in the redevelopment of Singtel’s Comcentre at 31 Exeter Road, which aims to clinch BCA Green Mark Platinum (Zero Energy), Well Platinum, and WiredScore and SmartScore ratings.Crowley affirms that the take-up rate for WiredScore’s certification schemes in Singapore has surpassed initial expectations. With four growth drivers — leasing and branding, technical value, building for the future, and a top-down policy to develop more smart buildings in Singapore — the city-state enjoys a strong mindset of investor reporting and ESG focus. However, the biggest challenge any landlord or developer faces is the increasing risk of obsolescence of existing assets.“Our mission is to make the world’s buildings smarter, and we can’t pursue that if we don’t have a strong presence in the Asia Pacific region,” says Thomasin Crowley, Global Director of Asia Pacific at WiredScore. Together with their partners on the ground in various countries, the company is looking to explore ways to serve more parts of the Southeast Asian market and localise with local experts.

Regarded as a prominent concern among many real estate asset managers, developers and landlords, the risk that assets managed today will be obsolete to both tenants and investors in the future, rings true. This continuous evolution in market expectations is driving the need for every building to demonstrate its smart capabilities to remain relevant.

Since 2013, WiredScore has sought to provide solutions to such risks with its real estate certifications, initially established in New York and London, and then extended to North American and European cities. Combining their WiredScore certification — a global digital connectivity rating scheme — with their SmartScore certification — a program designed to define smart buildings and promote best practices — has seen ample success in the Asia Pacific region.

In April 2022, WiredScore opened its first regional headquarters, selecting Singapore as its base of operations. “Our ambition for the first couple of years was to establish awareness and presence in key international hubs in Apac, which is why we started in Singapore, followed closely with another office in Hong Kong,” explains Crowley.

Since then, 143 buildings have registered for their program, mainly across Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Thailand — reaching 66.8 million sq ft of commercial real estate. Several buildings have also achieved dual certifications.

Read also: Frasers Property certifies four local assets with benchmark Wiredscore digital connectivity

An example of WiredScore’s successes in Singapore is the recently redeveloped Comcentre at 31 Exeter Road. This partnership with Lendlease totaled $3 billion, with two 20-storey Grade-A office towers and 32,280 sq ft of ground-floor F&B, lifestyle and retail space aiming to clinch BCA Green Mark Platinum (Zero Energy), Well Platinum, and WiredScore and SmartScore ratings.

The take-up rate for WiredScore’s certification schemes in Singapore has exceeded initial expectations, according to Crowley. She adds that, in Singapore, leasing and branding, technical value, and building for the future are priorities among asset owners, coupled with a top-down policy to develop more smart buildings.

“When it comes to the retrofitting of smart systems, it broadly comes back to assessing what you have today to create a baseline — this is what our SmartScore certifications can help asset owners with to kick-start the journey,” says Crowley. As an example, Keppel Bay Tower achieved a SmartScore Gold and a WiredScore Platinum in June of last year, when considering the risks of obsolescence.

Condo buying in Singapore is on the upswing due to its prime location, increased demand from international investors and improved legislation. Generally, prospective home buyers are attracted to condos for its stylish design, luxury amenities, security, and world-class facilities. From the Condo owner’s perspective, these features bring added convenience and lifestyle benefit. Moreover, taxes can be minimized and leverage is greatly improved. This opens up huge possibilities for equally huge returns.

In the coming months, WiredScore looks to work with more accredited partners on the ground to explore more ways to serve more parts of the Southeast Asian market. According to Crowley, this will involve localising and working with local experts in the region. “A key to fuelling our growth is working closely with local experts who understand our standards,” she says.