Raffles Education puts corporate building on the market again for $200 million
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Raffles Education Square consists of a four-storey building connected to two rows of conserved buildings and two levels of basement carpark.
PHOTO: KNIGHT FRANK
Chong Xin Wei
SINGAPORE - Raffles Education’s commercial building, Raffles Education Square, is up for sale again via tender with an unchanged guide price of $200 million.
This translates to about $2,813 per sq ft on the existing gross floor area (GFA), sole marketing agent Knight Frank said on Wednesday.
The private education provider had launched an expression-of-interest exercise for the property on Aug 16, 2021.
The property, located at 51 Merchant Road, sits on a plot spanning 27,669 sq ft zoned for commercial use under the 2019 Master Plan, with a GFA of about 71,111 sq ft.
The leasehold title has an outstanding tenure of 69 years.
Raffles Education Square consists of a four-storey building connected to two rows of conserved buildings and two levels of basement parking. The nearest MRT stations are Clarke Quay, Fort Canning and Chinatown.
Built in 1996, the property was refurbished 10 years ago to house the corporate office and college campus of Raffles Education.
Knight Frank said the premises are currently vacant following the relocation of the office and campus.
It noted that Raffles Education Square could potentially be redeveloped with The Riverside Piazza, the neighbouring mixed-use strata commercial and residential development, which is currently in the process of obtaining the required 80 per cent consensus from its owners for a collective sale.
For a proposed redevelopment, the land rate would translate to about $2,660 per sq ft per plot ratio at a potential gross plot ratio of 2.8, including land betterment charge.
Ms Chia Mein Mein, head of capital markets, land and collective sale at Knight Frank, believes the site could benefit from the major urban renewal process that will transform the area into a new and vibrant lifestyle hub.
“As the urban rejuvenation plans for the Clarke Quay and Singapore River precinct take place, new communities are expected to be formed as the multitude of commercial and communal amenities integrate,” she said.
The tender for Raffles Education Square closes on Aug 1. THE BUSINESS TIMES
