One Bukit Senyum has grand ambitions to be the new Central Business District and administrative centre of Johor Bahru, and the first two 65 and 70 storey towers (reported to be the tallest residential towers in Southeast Asia back in 2018) certainly do transform the skline. The area is planned to include a five-star hotel, residences, serviced apartments, a shopping mall, an office tower and the new headquarters of Johor Baru City Council, Menara MBJB. Of these, by mid-2020 the City Council and first two towers are built and open, with cleared sites but little sign of construction commencing on the others.
Tellingly, while the area is very difficult to reach on foot, a dedicated tunnel connecting to the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex, which is advertised as 'a minute’s drive away', is planned. Yet it is only 800m from the Menara MBJB at One Bukit Senyun to the CIQ. Surely better to build an attractive elevated walkway like the one connecting to Princess Cove (which is a similar distance with a walkway of 650m), rather than encouraging people to drive to the CIQ complex while deterring pedestrians? And when the time required for waiting for a taxi or car-share pickup (if not driving) or parking (if driving) is included, 'a minute's drive away' is a fantasy and walking is always going to be faster.
The inner ring road on the southern perimeter of One Bukit Senyum severs it from the whole CBD and CIQ area to the south, including the site of the planned RTS rail connection to Singapore. With the RTS due to start construction in late 2020 and be completed by the mid-2020s, hopefully better pedestrian connections between One Bukit Senyum and the CBD and CIQ will arrive before then, but until this happens it's not a very easy walk despite the proximity.
The impressive architecture of the City Council building didn't quite extend to the street level, with more attention by the project's starchitects to the skyline than the street. Rather than presenting a welcoming and active facade at the street level where people actually experience the city, the building is fenced and ringed by car parking access lanes. Still, the street has been nicely landscaped and even includes seating sections.