Mixed use site Chinatown Plaza sold en bloc for $260m

It was sold to manufacturing group Royal Golden Eagle.

Chinatown Plaza along Craig Road has been sold for $260m via a collective sale to a property unit affiliated to RGE Pte Ltd. RGE (Royal Golden Eagle), Edmund Tie & Company (ET&Co) announced. Royal Golden Eagle manages a group of resource-based manufacturing companies with global operations and assets.

According to an announcement, Chinatown Plaza has a land area of approximately 3,154.3 sqm or 33,953 sqft and is zoned for Commercial and Residential use under Master Plan 2014.

"The site has the potential to be redeveloped up to its existing Gross Floor Area (GFA) of 12,610.89 sqm (approximately 135,742 sq ft), exceeding the permissible plot ratio of 3.5 as indicated in Master Plan 2014. Outline Planning Permission for Serviced Apartment with Commercial use has also been granted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)," ET&Co added.

The site has a dual road frontage at the junction of Craig Road and Neil Road. Chinatown Plaza is connected to Singapore through three MRT stations (Tanjong Pagar, Maxwell and Outram Park) operating three MRT lines within a 400-metre radius. The property is also well-served by the Central Expressway (CTE), Cantonment Road, New Bridge Road and Eu Tong Sen Street. It is only a five-minute drive to Raffles Place and a ten-minute drive to Orchard Road.

ET&CO senior director of investment advisory Swee Shou Fern commented: “Such freehold mixed-use sites within the city are rarely available. Given its city centre location in a popular and vibrant enclave within close proximity to MRT stations, the property is perfectly situated for use as serviced apartment. This development option will allow the purchaser to hold the invaluable freehold property for long-term investment.”

“The sale price of $260m reflects a land rate of $1,915 psf ppr. At this sale price, the apartment owners are expected to receive gross sale proceeds of between $3.44m to $4.79m per unit and shop owners are expected to receive gross sale proceeds of between $1.64m to $10.62m per unit," she added.