Collective sale tender of The Arcade in Collyer Quay given more time

The Arcade, a well-known, 20-year-old building in the heart of the central business district, comprises 127 office and retail units. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

SINGAPORE - The deadline for the collective sale tender of The Arcade in Collyer Quay has been extended after feedback from developers that they require more time to assess the site, marketing agent Colliers International announced on Monday (Dec 16).

The new deadline is now 3pm on March 5 from the same time on Jan 8.

Owners of The Arcade launched a second stab at an en bloc sale on Nov 14 with an asking price of $780 million, 10 per cent lower than the $868 million price tag attempted in 2014.

The well-known but aging 40-year-old building in the heart of the central business district, comprises 127 office and retail units. Depending on the size of their property, each owner stands to receive between $700,000 and $29.9 million from a successful sale, according to Colliers.

Tang Wei Leng, Colliers International managing director, said, "Since the collective sale tender was launched, The Arcade has received strong interest from numerous developers and we have conducted many site viewings.

"With the long Christmas and New Year holidays upon us, many developers have requested for us to extend the deadline for the submission of tender so that they have more time to evaluate the site owing to its tremendous redevelopment potential. We have taken this feedback into consideration and have revised the tender closing date."

Colliers said it has also revised the land rate upon receiving the verified gross floor area (GFA) for the site from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The reserve price of $780 million will now translate to a land rate of $2,840 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) - up marginally from its estimate of $2,833 psf ppr when the tender was launched last month.

The 20-storey office and retail property sits on a 2,035 sq m (21,909 sq ft) site with a 999-year land tenure that began on April 20, 1826. Under URA's Master Plan 2019, the site is zoned commercial with a gross plot ratio of 15. Subject to relevant approvals, it site could potentially be redeveloped into a 50-storey integrated development, comprising a hotel, residential units, office and retail space.

Ms Tang added: "The response to the site has been positive so far, with developers particularly drawn to its city centre location, proximity to the Raffles Place MRT interchange station, its 999-year land tenure, and the ongoing urban transformation in the area.

"We believe the extension of the tender submission date will give developers more time to uncover many more merits of this unique redevelopment plot."

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.