SINGAPORE - Realty Centre, an office building in Tanjong Pagar, has been sold for $148 million in 2019's first commercial en bloc sale, although the figure falls short of the reserve price.

Marketing agent Cushman & Wakefield had put the freehold 12-storey building up for collective sale with a reserve price of $165 million in January.

The buyer is Singapore-listed The Place Holdings, which intends to redevelop the property into a mixed-use commercial andresidential tower, subject to regulatory approvals. The building will also serve as the company's headquarters, according to SGX filings on Monday night.

The Place Holdings deals in branding, events organising and tourism-related business development, and is backed by China's The Place Investment Group.

Realty Centre has a land area of about 11,000 sq ft and is zoned for commercial use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's 2014 Master Plan with a plot ratio of 5.6 times and a maximum storey height of 35 storeys.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that under the recently announced CBD Incentive Scheme, Realty Centre falls under the Anson precinct. This means that the property is expected to enjoy bonus plot ratios of between 25 per cent and 30 per cent if there were to be a change ofuse to either residential and commercial (+25 per cent) or residential with commercial on first storey (+30 per cent).

Its director of capital markets, Christina Sim, called Realty Centre a "versatile site" sitting on the fringe of a location which will be undergoing "massive urban rejuvenation and transformation".