Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI), the global leader in smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings, marks its 40th year in Singapore with continued commitment to digital transformation as a key enabler for  Singapore’s sustainability goals for the built environment.

Johnson Controls in Singapore serves as the regional hub in Asia  Pacific with three locations and over 800 employees. Focusing on making the future more productive and sustainable through  intelligent and smart buildings, Johnson Controls’ suite of smart building products and solutions have been installed in more than 40% of commercial buildings in Singapore.

“Johnson Controls is grateful to have been part of our customer’s journey to achieving green buildings and is now ramping up towards super low energy and net zero buildings. Globally, we have nearly 140 years of experience in the built environment and are involved in many iconic projects – the latest being the World Cup stadiums in Qatar where a custom digital solution powered by our OpenBlue digital platform creates one unified command and control center for all eight stadiums,” said Anu Rathninde, president, Asia Pacific,  Johnson Controls. “In Singapore, the conducive business environment and progressive policies have enabled us to experiment with newer solutions and models. This is one of the first markets in Asia Pacific where we  launched our Johnson Controls capital financing that facilitates innovative as-a-service models such as  healthy air as-a-service and net zero buildings as-a-service.”

Incorporated in Singapore in 1982, Johnson Controls was present in the country prior to that through its various brands including YORK for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning products as well as Tyco for security products. The company has received numerous awards and accolades such as Singapore Green  Building Council for its YORK YZ chiller in the green building solutions product category.

“Johnson Controls is no stranger to Singapore’s sustainability agenda and the Singapore Green Plan 2030.  As a company, we have committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris  Agreement, with science-based targets to reduce our operational emissions by 55% and customers’  emissions by 16% by 2030. In Singapore, we have actively participated in the built environment ecosystem,  including through partnerships with companies and educational institutions, which will serve as the pipeline to build up talents and capacity in parallel, especially in this brave, new, green economy,” said Peter Ferguson,  general manager, Southeast Asia, Johnson Controls.

Johnson Controls has ongoing partnerships with educational and training institutions including the National  University of Singapore, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and SkillsFuture Singapore. Appointed as the SkillsFuture Queen Bee for the Built Environment Facilities Management sector this year, Johnson Controls is now helping and mentoring small and medium-sized enterprises to develop digital capabilities to transform their businesses and kickstart their sustainability journeys. In the previous year, also in collaboration with SkillsFuture Singapore, Johnson Controls trained 34 mid-career individuals on digital transformation in the built environment under the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme – out of which four of the trainee’s secured full-time employment in Johnson Controls.

Another key development, in 2020, Johnson Controls launched the OpenBlue Innovation Center, located at the National University of Singapore, with the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).  A living laboratory, the Center has since served as a collaborative site for academics, students, industry leaders, small- and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups to innovate. Some achievements include:

• More than 300 use cases developed in the areas of sustainability, digitalization and wellness through co-innovation and design workshops with industry players.

• By encouraging ecosystem partners in showcasing their work, seven start-up solutions have been deployed in the Center.

“Congratulations to Johnson Controls on its 40th anniversary in Singapore. Our partnership has grown from strength to strength over the years, with the company making significant contributions to Singapore’s built environment sector in the areas of sustainability, talent development and innovation. We look forward to closer collaboration as Johnson Controls creates and drives, from Singapore, exciting solutions for smart and sustainable buildings in the region,” said Tan Kong Hwee, Executive Vice President, EDB.

Pontiac Land Group hosted distinguished guests from the NSW government, City of  Sydney and the Singapore High Commission to Australia at a special ceremony marking the completion of  Capella Sydney’s construction phase.

Following seven years of meticulous planning, conservation and renovations, the former Department of  Education building has been transformed into a 192-room hotel where contemporary design meets storied  architectural features. Opening in March 2023, Capella Sydney will elevate luxury accommodation options for  business and leisure travellers, bringing heightened cultural immersion to the city’s historical Sandstone Precinct  and contributing to the relaunch of Australia’s high-end tourism economy post-covid.

The event opened with a First Nations Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to Country, followed by speeches from David Tsang, Chief Executive Officer of Pontiac Land Group, The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Councillor  Clover Moore and His Excellency Anil Kumar Nayar, Singapore High Commissioner to Australia. Guests were  hosted in the hotel’s entrance foyer, where four specially commissioned heritage interpretation artworks by  renowned Australian artist Judy Watson were unveiled within the Education Building’s original directory boards.

“It took seven years of planning, conservation work and renovations, and although not easy, the stunning result  makes it worthwhile. Pontiac Land has collaborated with the City in the areas of heritage restoration and  interpretation, public art and most recently Sydney’s North Public Domain Plan Update so we knew these precious  buildings were in good hands,” said The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Councillor Clover Moore. “We are  working with Pontiac Land and the team to undertake public works to Farrer Place and to achieve a service tunnel  under Loftus Street to the former Lands Department building, another landmark sandstone building. And from  March, when Capella Sydney opens to its first guests, it will add to the vibrancy of our Quay Quarter with its web  of laneways and variety of venues in heritage buildings. A once strictly nine-to-five part of town will be alive  around the clock, and the hotel will be a wonderful addition to the rejuvenated Circular Quay precinct.”

A holistic mixed-use development in the making

Capella Sydney is a two-phase restoration project, comprising two heritage properties – the former Department  of Education building and Department of Lands building, collectively known as the Sandstone Precinct.

Restoration works at the Department of Lands building are still underway, with an estimated completion date  in 2026. Upon completion, Capella Sydney will be extended into a mixed-use development with larger-scale  event and meeting spaces, curated retailers and signature food and beverage establishments, catering to both  luxury travellers and the precinct’s thriving business scene.

The extended Capella Sydney will become one of the largest privately funded tourism infrastructure projects in  NSW and one of the biggest job-creating foreign investments in Sydney. An economic impact analysis by Ernst  and Young estimates it will create over 500 full time equivalent jobs across the construction and tourism sectors  and contribute approximately A$1.2bn both directly and indirectly to Sydney’s economic output.

Pontiac Land’s scale of investment on the project is comparable to the International Convention Centre in  Sydney’s Darling Harbour and Allianz Stadium at Moore Park.

An amalgamation of Singaporean and Australian expertise and experience  

Pontiac Land Group was awarded the lease and redevelopment project in 2015, following a rigorous and  competitive public tender process where the Group demonstrated a strong track record for transforming spaces  and communities through iconic architecture, thoughtful design and luxury hospitality. As one of Singapore’s  pioneering developers, Pontiac Land has played an instrumental role in shaping Singapore’s luxury real estate  landscape, particularly along the city’s iconic Orchard Road shopping belt and idyllic Marina Bay waterfront  business district.

The privately-held real estate company takes a long-term view on their investments and firmly believes in  uplifting and growing alongside the communities they operate in. Throughout the project, Pontiac Land made  every effort to engage Australian companies and craftspeople in this iconic restoration project. Over 95% of the  project’s builders, craftspeople and consultants are local Australian companies, including Essence Project  Management and Built, one of Australia’s largest construction groups who have been involved since the project’s  tendering stage in 2014. Since then, Essence has grown from a small talented team of three individuals into a  50-person state-accredited service provider. Built, which has been spearheading the complex restoration works  at both the Education and Lands buildings, is now recognised as one of the country’s most innovative tier one  contractors and trusted heritage adaptive reuse experts.

“The work on the Sandstones Precinct was a wonderful opportunity to make better use of government assets to  boost the NSW economy with the creation of hundreds of construction and hospitality jobs,” said Leon Walker,  Chief Executive Officer, Property and Development NSW. “It also means these landmark buildings will, for the  first time, be open to locals and visitors to enjoy.”

“We are thankful for the trust extended to Pontiac Land of these historically significant buildings. Capella Sydney  demonstrates the Group’s expertise in architectural and heritage conservation, our commitment to be a  custodian of Australian art and culture, and our beliefs in creating inspiring environments in partnership with the  local communities,” said David Tsang, Chief Executive Officer of Pontiac Land Group. “We look forward to  unveiling this new landmark of luxury hospitality for the public to experience in March 2023.”

For more information, visit https://capellahotels.com/en/capella-sydney