SINGAPORE – Ming Arcade, which used to house The Rainbow Lounge, a theatre disco lounge set up by Singapore literary pioneer Goh Poh Seng, was sold on Thursday via collective sale to property investment chain Royal Group for $172 million.
This works out to a $3,125 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), a new benchmark price exceeding the previous record of $2,910 psf ppr when a unit of Hong Kong-listed Shun Tak Holdings paid $375.5 million for freehold Park House in Orchard Boulevard in 2018.
Marketing agent Savills Singapore said that Ming Arcade received multiple bids. “The transacted price is 34 per cent above the reserve price and 14.8 per cent higher than that of Tanglin Shopping Centre, which was also brokered by Savills, at $868 million, or $2,769 psf ppr, in February this year,” said Mr Jeremy Lake, Savills’ managing director for investment sales and capital markets.
The seven-storey, 88-unit freehold commercial complex near the junction of Cuscaden Road and Orchard Road was built by Ming Arcade, a subsidiary of People’s Park Development that was owned by the late property developer Ho Kok Cheong.
The owners stand to get between $750,000 and $30 million for each unit, Mr Lake said, adding that the units range in size from 13 sq m to 620 sq m.
Royal Group is studying various options for redeveloping the site. Property magnate Asok Kumar Hiranandani, chairman of Royal Group, told The Straits Times that the site is “excellent for commercial development, given that two new hotels are opening up – Artyzen Singapore and The Singapore Edition – which will mean more traffic flow to the area”.
The 12,132 sq ft site is zoned “commercial” with an existing gross floor area of 55,046 sq ft, equivalent to a plot ratio of 4.54. It has three basement levels and has a height control of up to 20 storeys.
Savills Singapore said the buyer can carry out asset enhancement initiative works or redevelop the site into a new upscale development comprising luxury hotel, retail, office and residential spaces. No additional buyer’s stamp duty is payable.
“Ming Arcade used to be an urban and vibrant lifestyle hub back in the 1980s, and we are pleased and eager to embark on the rejuvenation of this enclave of Orchard Road precinct,” Mr Asok Kumar and co-chairman Bobby Hiranandani said in a statement.
Among Royal Group’s other assets are Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, and the Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa that features 62 luxury villas and is expected to open by the end of 2023. It was originally set to open in 2022 but this was delayed because of the pandemic, Mr Asok Kumar said.
Meanwhile, freehold Trendale Tower in Cairnhill Road is being put up for collective sale for a third time, marketing agent Savills said.
The reserve price of $168 million works out to $2,257 psf ppr after factoring in the 7 per cent bonus gross floor area (GFA) for balconies. The development charge payable for the 7 per cent bonus GFA is about $7.6 million.
Its previous tender exercise, at a guide price of $178 million, closed in September without any bids.
Located near Newton MRT, the 20-storey project has 18 flats, each about 298 sq m. The owners of each unit stand to get about $9.3 million, Mr Lake said.
The 21,708 sq ft site is zoned “residential” with a height control of up to 36 storeys. A pre-application feasibility study is also not required by the Land Transport Authority to redevelop the site with up to 103 flats.
Mr Galven Tan, Savills Singapore’s deputy managing director for investment sales and capital markets, noted that the buyer may “curate a unique luxury development and launch the project in 12 to 15 months’ time, and there may be no competition in that segment of the market”.
The tender closes on Jan 12, 2023, at 3pm.
