Golden Wall Centre eyes S$250m to S$270m in enbloc sale

Singapore

GOLDEN Wall Centre, a freehold commercial property located at the junction of Short Street and Rochor Canal Road, will be launched for collective sale on Thursday.

The bids for the site are expected to be in the range of S$250 million to S$270 million, according to its collective sale committee. This translates to S$2,113-S$2,283 per square foot (psf) on the existing gross floor area of the building.

Golden Wall Centre is currently about 50 per cent owned by corporates and 50 per cent by individuals. Some 80 per cent of the subsidiary proprietors had signed the collective sale agreement before the Chinese New Year.

SLP Realty is the appointed marketing agent for the property. SLP Realty division director Kevin Lim said he is confident that the site will garner keen interest from the market due to the scarcity of good freehold land available there, its bite-size and the likelihood of URA supporting a wider mix of uses for the site due to the eclectic characteristic of the locality.

Located near the Rochor MRT Station on the newly opened Downtown Line, the 24,240 sq ft site is nestled within the Bras Basah-Bugis Planning Area that Singapore land-use planners envisage to be a lively arts, learning and heritage district.

The site is zoned as "commercial" with a gross plot ratio of 4.2 in Master Plan 2015. The existing building's plot ratio is 4.88.

Based on existing Urban Redevelopment Authority policy, this as-built higher plot ratio quantum may be retained upon redevelopment, especially when the proposed use remains unchanged, Mr Lim said.

Some companies that currently operate in Golden Wall Centre include CKM BuildTech, Haru Corporation, HY M&E Consultancy Services and Wigit Trading.

JLL head of research for South-east Asia Chua Yang Liang noted that the "discount" in the asking price for the collective sale versus the average selling price of S$2,335 psf for two strata units in the building last year is reasonable in light of the rejuvenation efforts in the area. There is potential for a mixed-use development to be built on the site, he said.

One enbloc transaction specialist felt, however, that it is unclear if developers will be comfortable paying that asking price.

One other site in the vicinity that managed to be sold in December last year was The Verge, a "white" site that had a remaining lease of 80 years and allowable use for office, retail and serviced apartments.

It was sold for S$317 million or S$1,329 psf, based on its existing gross floor area of 238,527 sq ft, to a company controlled by Keith Tang, grandson of CK Tang founder Tang Choon Keng and who owns a chain of hotels and serviced apartments in Australia and New Zealand.

There are plans to redevelop the property into "Studio by Tang" serviced apartments, a mall and a Signature block, which is likely to be offices or retail but could also include medical suites.

lynkhoo@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on March 2, 2016.
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