URA’s SDI Scheme and Union Square Residences

Published 15 October 2026 · Figures as at October 2026

Union Square Residences and the SDI Scheme in Brief

Union Square Residences exists in its present form because of a URA incentive. The Strategic Development Incentive scheme encourages owners of older buildings in the city centre to redevelop them together, offering additional floor area for schemes that bring wider benefits.

Union Square is the first redevelopment in the Singapore River planning area under the scheme, and CDL’s release describes it as one of the largest in the precinct.

The Sites Behind Union Square Residences

Three sites were brought together: the former Central Mall office block, the Central Mall conservation buildings and Central Square. CDL already owned Central Mall, and its acquisition of Central Square allowed the sites to be planned as one.

In March 2024, Written Approval was granted for the enlarged site, and the 99-year lease of the residential component began on 11 October 2024.

The 67% Uplift and Union Square Residences

Under the scheme, the enlarged site gained 67% more gross floor area than before, bringing Union Square to about 735,500 sq ft. That additional floor area is what allows a 40-storey residential tower to sit alongside a 20-storey office tower, a co-living block and the conserved buildings.

For buyers, the practical effect is a larger, more complete development than any of the old sites could have supported alone.

What URA Asks in Return at Union Square Residences

Incentive schemes of this kind expect public benefits. At Union Square they include public plazas and gardens on level 1, partial pedestrianisation of Merchant Road and Solomon Street, a refurbished pedestrian bridge over Upper Cross Street with lift access, and sheltered links to neighbouring sites.

Conserved buildings are kept and given new uses, and an amphitheatre is planned to recall the street opera once performed in the area.

Heritage Around Union Square Residences

The site sits in one of the oldest parts of the city. CDL’s release notes the Omar Kampong Melaka Mosque of the 1820s, the Kampong Melaka settlement of the 1850s and the Tan Si Chong Su temple of the 1870s, now a national monument.

The conserved buildings within Union Square carry that history into the new quarter, housing shops and restaurants at street level.

Green Targets Linked to Union Square Residences

The scheme’s emphasis on quality shows in the green targets. The residential component of Union Square Residences holds BCA Green Mark Platinum (Super Low Energy), and the commercial components target the same.

Over 70% of the site area is planned as greenery, and a district cooling satellite plant serves the commercial blocks through SP Group’s network.

CDL’s Record and Union Square Residences

CDL presents Union Square as its third major enhancement initiative in the Central Area, part of a longer effort to renew older city-centre property. The group has been developing in Singapore since 1963.

The developer page sets out CDL’s record and the companies behind the project.

What the SDI Scheme Means for Union Square Residences Buyers

For a buyer, the scheme is background rather than a feature of the unit itself. Its effects are visible in what surrounds the home: a mixed quarter with offices, shops, plazas and conserved buildings, and improved walking links to the river and Chinatown.

Those effects take shape as the development is completed; the developer expects vacant possession of the homes on 15 March 2031.

Further Reading on Union Square Residences

The project details page lists every particular with its source, and the latest updates record each milestone from the Written Approval onwards.

The Sales Concierge can send the brochure and the current price list for Union Square Residences on request.

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 Union Square Residences are from the developer’s brochure and announcements, and sales figures from published caveat reports.