More prime commercial sites are entering the market through collective sales. The Centrepoint is making its debut for the first time in at least a decade.
The seven-storey shopping mall, which includes two basement levels and a residential component with 66 apartments, was developed by Frasers Centrepoint (now Frasers Property) and opened in May 1983. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it was regarded as the grand dame of Orchard Road.
In its heyday, Robinsons department store served as the anchor tenant, but it was later replaced by Metro department store. Today, anchor tenants at Centrepoint include the French sporting goods retailer Decathlon, the co-working space JustCo, and the premium supermarket FairPrice Finest.
According to Frasers Property’s FY2024 annual report, the mall has a total lettable area of 355,912 sq ft. It sits on two adjoining sites: a freehold plot at 176 Orchard Road with prominent frontage, and a 99-year leasehold site at 176A Orchard Road to the rear, which has 53 years remaining on its lease.
The residential units at The Centrepoint span the fourth to seventh floors and range from one- to three-bedrooms with sizes between 732 sq ft and 3,003 sq ft. These units have a 99-year lease from 1979. Hence, they have a remaining lease of 53 years.
The most recent transaction was for a 732 sq ft, one-bedroom unit on the sixth floor, which, based on caveats lodged, changed hands for $2.1 million ($2,869 psf) in May 2023.
Only the leasehold portion at 176A Orchard Road — comprising the rear of the mall and the residential complex — is being offered for collective sale.
Under the latest URA Master Plan, the site is zoned for commercial use with a plot ratio of 5.6 and a maximum height of 10 storeys, allowing redevelopment into a new mixed-use development.
Frasers Property currently owns 100% of the mall’s total lettable area and eight of the 66 apartments, giving it a majority stake exceeding 50% in both strata area and share value.
The Centrepoint has a freehold site at 176 Orchard Road and a 99-year leasehold site at 176A Orchard Road. Only the leasehold portion (outlined area) is being offered for collective sale (Credit: URA)
‘Still early days’
The reserve price for the site is understood to be around $350 million. The collective sale committee (CSC) has appointed Savills Singapore as the marketing agent. Signature collection to reach the mandatory 80% consent threshold has just commenced.
Savills brokered the last two collective sales along Orchard Road in 2024 — Delfi Orchard and Concorde Hotel & Shopping Mall.
Luxury Peak, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hotel Properties (HPL), acquired Concorde Hotel & Shopping Mall in November 2024 for $821 million. The price translates to a land rate of $1,804 psf per plot ratio (ppr). It includes a $213 million land betterment charge, based on a redevelopment plan comprising 40% hotel, 40% residential and 20% commercial use.
Before the collective sale, HPL already owned 95.4% of the strata area — including the 407-room hotel (occupying the fourth to ninth floors) and
63 of the 98 strata-titled shops in the three-storey retail podium, which spans 108,510 sq ft.
Similarly, Delfi Orchard was acquired by City Developments (CDL) in May 2024 for $439 million, or $3,346 psf ppr based on its existing gross floor area (GFA) of 131,186 sq ft. CDL already owned 84%, or 126 out of the 150 strata commercial and residential units, prior to the en bloc deal.
Elsewhere on Orchard Road, some of the former CSC members at Far East Shopping Centre are exploring a potential restart of the collective sale process, after Glory Property Development pulled out of a proposed $908 million deal in April 2024.
The 999-year leasehold Tong Eng Building in the CBD is making its first collective sale attempt (Photo: Tong Eng Group website)
Tong Eng Building’s first foray
CBRE was recently appointed the marketing agent for the collective sale of Tong Eng Building in the CBD. The 26-storey, strata-titled office building was developed by the Teo family of Tong Eng Group and completed in 1980.
The building sits on a 999-year leasehold site dating back to 1885. The building is located at the junction of Cecil Street and Boon Tat Street.
“This will be the first time that Tong Eng Building will be launched for collective sale,” says Michael Tay, deputy managing director and head of capital markets at CBRE Singapore.
The building could be redeveloped into a new mixed-use project featuring a hotel, residences and long-stay serviced apartments, as well as other commercial uses such as retail under the CBD Incentive Scheme.
Based on caveats lodged, the latest transaction at Tong Eng Building was for a 463 sq ft strata office unit on the 20th floor, which sold for $1.55 million ($3,349 psf) in December 2024.
Tong Eng Group continues to hold over 30% of the strata area and well over 50% of the share value in the property. The group also maintains its headquarters in the building.
Just across the road is Solitaire on Cecil, a freehold Grade-A office redevelopment of the former PIL Building. The new tower is being developed by TE Capital Partners — the real estate investment arm of third-generation Teo family members, Emilia and Terence Teo — in partnership with LaSalle Investment Management.
Launched in May 2023, Solitaire on Cecil saw its final floors sold between April and July 2024 at prices ranging from $4,130 to $4,200 psf. Caveats indicate that units on the ninth floor, totalling 12,465 sq ft, were sold for $51.48 million ($4,130 psf), while the 13th floor, with a strata area of 13,132 sq ft, fetched $55.15 million ($4,200 psf). The entire project was fully sold within 16 months of launch.
The owners of Cashew Park are moving towards a collective sale with a reserve price of $510 million (Photo: Albert Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Cashew Park – 60% of owners have signed up
Despite ongoing concerns over price expectations and replacement costs, interest in collective sales persists, especially among owners of ageing condominiums and apartment blocks.
“The market is adopting a wait-and-see stance now because of the tariff situation and an uncertain global economy,” says Christina Sim, senior director of capital markets, Cushman & Wakefield. “Still, there are quite a number of en bloc hopefuls out there because real estate is a long-term investment and en blocs are really difficult to time.”
Among the hopefuls is Cashew Park, a 999-year leasehold condo developed by Hong Leong Holdings and completed in 1983, which is now making a second en bloc attempt.
“The first attempt didn’t take off as we didn’t even secure 80%,” says Roland Ng, the collective sale committee (CSC) chairman for Cashew Park.
The CSC has appointed Cushman & Wakefield as the marketing agent and Terra Law as the legal advisor. Since the second extraordinary general meeting (EOGM) was held on April 26, about 60% of strata owners have signed the collective sale agreement.
“It shows keen interest in the collective sale,” says Ng, who has been a resident of Cashew Park for 34 years. His home is a 1,367 sq ft, three-bedroom corner unit.
Cashew Park comprises 150 units, including two 506 sq ft shop units on the second floor. The residential units range from 893 sq ft two-bedroom units to 1,819 sq ft four-bedroom units.
Ng estimates that over 60% of the owners at Cashew Park are also residents, while the remaining owners are investors. Foreigners account for fewer than 10 units, he reckons.
The development is situated on a 249,735 sq ft site, with a 999-yearlease dating back to 1882. The area is zoned for low-rise residential use, with a maximum building height of five storeys.
According to Cushman & Wakefield’s Sim, the reserve price for Cashew Park is $510 million, or about $1,326 psf ppr. No land betterment charge is payable. “The site is smaller than some of the others that run into the billions,” she observes. “It’s more palatable to developers, it’s a 999-year leasehold site and very close to the MRT station.”
Sim estimates that a new residential project with about 380 units could be built on the site. Cashew Park is a five-minute walk from Cashew MRT Station on the Downtown Line and is close to several schools, including Bukit Panjang Primary, CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace (a Catholic primary and secondary school for girls), as well as international schools such as German European School and the Perse School Singapore.
The latest transaction at Cashew Park was for a 1,152 sq ft, three-bedroom unit that sold for $1.55 million ($1,346 psf) in November 2024.
“We are quite confident about the prospects of our collective sale,” Ng adds.
