Cityvibe in Clementi sold for S$71m to Zhao family from China

Singapore CITYVIBE, a four-storey commercial building near Clementi MRT Station, has been sold in a deal that values the property at S$71 million, BT understands.

The property is on a site with a balance lease term of about 60.5 years.

Under the transaction, which was effected through a sale of shares in the company that holds the asset, an entity controlled by a Zhao family from China is the buyer. Some members of the family reside in Hongkong.

The family is also understood to own a bungalow on Sentosa Cove.

The sellers were Victor Boh See Fook, Eric Cheng Kwee Kiang and Woon Yong Thai.

Cityvibe is more than 90 per cent occupied. Based on rental income from the existing leases, the price reflects a net yield of slightly above 4 per cent.

The top floor is leased to Frontier Family Medicine Clinic, a medical centre set up by Frontier Healthcare Group in partnership with National University Hospital.

Other tenants in the building include Maybank as well as Japanese and Chinese restaurant operators.

Located at 3151 Commwealth Avenue West, Cityvibe is near Clementi Polyclinic and The Clementi Mall.

It is also a short distance from educational institutions such as Singapore Polytechnic and the National University of Singapore.

Cityvibe has a gross floor area of 46,557 square feet; this works out to about 2.98 times the site area of 15,597 sq ft.

Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan 2016, the site is zoned for commercial use.

Cityvibe was completed less than 10 years ago as a redevelopment of a former cinema building.

Its current lettable area is slightly under 29,000 sq ft.

There are no car parking lots in the development.

Analysts say the new owner could potentially achieve a higher average rent in the building by subdividing the bigger tenanted floor plates into smaller units for lease.

The S$71 million price at which Cityvibe has been transacted pales in comparison with the sellers' asking price of more than S$130 million in 2013, when the property was put on the market through an expression of interest exercise by Knight Frank.

The property consultancy is understood to have brokered the recent sale of Cityvibe.

This article was first published on November 30, 2016.
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