Historic warehouse to serve North Bund companies, talent
The North Bund Company Service Center is launched in the over 90-year-old Pier Marden.
The North Bund Company Service Center has opened in a more than 90-year-old warehouse along the Huangpu River to provide bespoke, intelligent and around-the-clock services.
The center was unveiled on the ground floor of the historic Pier Marden, built by Britain’s G.E. Marden & Co in 1930, at 147 Yangshupu Road. The six-story warehouse is one of the city’s best-preserved Western industrial heritage buildings.
The British-style building features spiral decoration imitating the walls of Greek temples. The original concrete and steel frames have been preserved. It has been listed as one of the outstanding warehouse structures in Shanghai.
The upper floors have been renovated into innovative offices for startup and fintech firms, while the ground floor was newly unveiled as the service center.
“The center is like a 'service supermarket' with a total of 1,061 approvals and services to be available,” said Zheng Hong, deputy director of Hongkou District.
Twenty-nine government bodies, including the public security, science and technology commission, human resources and taxation, have assigned officials to the center.
Company officials and entrepreneurs talk at the newly unveiled service center.
An international talent service station was also unveiled at the center on Saturday. Companies can apply for residence and work permits for their foreign professionals.
Artificial intelligence, big data and 5G technologies have been widely applied in the center. A self-service zone is open around the clock for customers to talk with an AI robot or apply for taxation and other issues through the intelligent machines.
“There is no service window in the center, but coffee tables and meeting rooms to offer bespoke services to each of the companies based on the North Bund,” said Liu Jun, an official with the North Bund Development Group, which takes charge of the new round of development of the waterfront.
“Problems can be solved and certificates be released over a cup of coffee,” Liu said.
The application process has been shortened to five days from over 20 days for some issues for some tenants based at the Raffles City on the North Bund, according to an official with the landmark complex, featuring office buildings and malls.
A salon is held at the newly unveiled center.
“The streamlined services have effectively showcased the improved business environment of the North Bund and attracted many global companies and businesses,” said an official with the city’s third Raffles City project.
The new-look North Bund, listed as a “new engine” of growth for Shanghai, includes a central business district with high-density office buildings and commercial facilities. The riverside region, covering about 4 square kilometers, will meet the same high standards of Lingang Special Area and the Pudong New Area in the east of Shanghai.
About 8.4 million square meters of new construction space have been planned for the waterfront, equivalent to the total amount of urban space in Lujiazui and on both sides of Century Avenue in Pudong. These include dozens of top-level office buildings, which will house about 100 headquarters of multinational firms, international organizations and functional institutes.
A coffee counter at the new service center
