What Is the CBD Incentive Scheme Behind Skywaters Residences?

Published 18 October 2026 · Figures as at October 2026

The CBD Incentive Scheme and Skywaters Residences in Brief

The CBD Incentive Scheme is a URA programme introduced in 2019 to encourage owners of older office buildings in the central business district to redevelop them into mixed-use towers with homes and hotels. Skywaters Residences exists because of it: The Skywaters, on the former AXA Tower site at 8 Shenton Way, was among the first redevelopments under the scheme, as the URA notes.

The aim is a city centre that is lived in as well as worked in, with life in the evenings and at weekends.

Why the CBD Needed Skywaters Residences

For decades the financial district has been mostly offices. When the working day ends, the streets of Shenton Way and Raffles Place quieten, and the buildings stand largely empty until morning. Adding homes and hotels to the district spreads its use across the day and the week.

Older office towers are also reaching the age where they need major renewal. The scheme gives their owners a reason to rebuild with a mix of uses rather than simply refurbish offices.

Redeveloping an office tower is a long undertaking. The old building was taken down to its basement and foundations, parts of which are reused, before the new tower could rise, and it is targeted for completion in 2028, according to Perennial Holdings and the URA, so the scheme’s results in this case arrive after several years of planning and construction.

From the AXA Tower to Skywaters Residences

The site carried the AXA Tower, a 50-storey office building. A consortium led by Perennial Holdings, with Alibaba Group holding half of the building since 2020 and Singapore partners including Chip Eng Seng and SingHaiyi joining in 2022, redeveloped it, as EdgeProp reported.

The new tower rises to 305 metres and 63 storeys, with Grade A offices, about 70,000 sq ft of shops and dining, the Aman Singapore hotel, the Aman Residences and Skywaters Residences. The redevelopment came with a new 99-year lease, which Perennial gives as running to 30 October 2122.

Building Better at Skywaters Residences

The URA highlights the way The Skywaters was built as well as what it contains. Part of the old building’s basement and foundations is being reused instead of dug out, cutting the embodied carbon of the new tower, and the design aims to reduce operational carbon too. Perennial reports the BCA Green Mark Platinum award.

About 10,000 square metres of greenery and communal space run through the tower, which the URA describes as adding to the public life of the Downtown core.

What the Scheme Means for Skywaters Residences Owners

For residents, the scheme’s purpose is the neighbourhood they move into: a city centre gaining homes, hotels, restaurants and public space. The Skywaters sits at the meeting point of the financial district, Marina Bay, Tanjong Pagar and the Greater Southern Waterfront, as the URA describes it.

The lease article explains the fresh 99-year term, and the Marina Bay guide describes the district.

The Skywaters Residences Location in the Scheme

The scheme covers the central business district and its fringes, where older office towers stand closest to the MRT lines and the city’s amenities. The Skywaters shows why that matters: its site at Shenton Way, Anson Road and Maxwell Road is linked underground to Tanjong Pagar station, with Shenton Way, Maxwell and Prince Edward Road stations within a five-minute walk, according to Perennial Holdings.

Homes built under the scheme therefore come with transport that most residential areas cannot match, together with the hawker centres, heritage streets and waterfront that surround the financial district. For residents, the scheme turns a business address into a neighbourhood.

What Changes Around Skywaters Residences Over Time

A single redevelopment does not change a district on its own, but the scheme is designed to work building by building. As more older towers are rebuilt with homes and hotels, the evening and weekend life of the CBD grows, and services such as restaurants, shops and gyms follow the people who live there.

The URA describes The Skywaters as adding to the public life of the Downtown core, with about 10,000 square metres of greenery and communal space, shops and dining at its base and a hotel within the tower. Residents of Skywaters Residences are among the first to live in the district as it changes. The latest updates record each step at the tower.

Next Steps at Skywaters Residences

The project details page lists every published particular, and the Sales Concierge sends the current price list on request.

Showflat viewings are arranged by appointment through the Sales Concierge.

This article is general information as at the date shown and is not financial, legal or tax advice. Statutory figures are from IRAS and MAS; particulars of Skywaters Residences are from the developer, Perennial Holdings and the URA, and dates from the developer, the LTA and published reports.