Strong demand drives further expansion at Maxwell Chambers

THE Ministry of Law (MinLaw) on Thursday announced that 65 per cent of the new office space at 28 Maxwell Road has already been taken up even before refurbishment works begin.

To meet the strong demand, the ministry will build a second annexe block to add 3,500 square feet (sq ft) of office space, on top of the 120,000 sq ft expansion that was originally planned.

28 Maxwell Road has also been renamed Maxwell Chamber Suites to reflect its new role and function as the address of major dispute resolution players, both local and international, Indranee Rajah, senior minister of state for law and finance, announced at the venue.

When completed in 2019, Maxwell Chamber Suites will also provide a 24-hour thoroughfare that will allow easier pedestrian access between Tanjong Pagar MRT station and the Chinatown area.

In all, Maxwell Chamber Suites will provide about 50 new offices over four floors for international dispute resolution institutions, arbitration chambers, law firms and ancillary legal services.

Existing tenants have also decided to expand their floor plates, with The Arbitration Chambers and One Essex Court more than doubling the floor space of their offices.

In January this year, MinLaw announced that it would be taking over the conserved building at 28 Maxwell Road where the Red Dot Traffic Building once stood for the expansion of Maxwell Chambers.