Far East Shopping Centre debuts collective sale at $928 million
Far East Shopping Retail Building, which has a tenure 999-years’ leasehold shopping tower from year 1871, lovely seated on a 36,014 sq ft huge regular plot land situated at 545 Orchard Road and is zoned for mixed-development use is due for collective sales. It has a 75m frontage along Orchard Road and a 55m frontage along Angullia Park in premium locale 9 District. The shopping complex is up for tender via collective sale managed exclusively by CBRE agency starts from $928 million on July 25. The commercial building developed in 1974 with strata title, has a multiple layout of five-storey retail podium with 216 standalone retail centre, a 10-storey office block with 80 strata-titled office units and two level of underground parking space. Famous and known by many of commercial units shops selling consumer electronics and sport gears. a family-run jewellery business, House of Hung Jewelleries, has been there since 1975. a Japanese-Thai fusion takeaways, Shashlik Restaurant, has been on the level six of Far East Shopping Centre for more than three decades. Till date as of today, most of the spaces are mostly operated by tour guides companies, money exchangers, artist studios and facial salons. the Ng family-controlled Far East Organization, which is also one of the builders, one of the major stakeholders on Orchard Road, the 298-unit strata-titled, mixed-use development cost $20 million to build. Far East Shopping Centre was considered the most prominent commercial complex in the area in the 1970s. It was built in response to the Singapore government’s call to develop Orchard Road into a prime shopping and tourist strip. The stakeholder still has a 30% company share with interest in the complex relative of share value. The complex in the prime locale potentially can be reconstructed after taking down the old building into a new development mixed with retail, hotel and premium residential dwellings. “Even though residential may not be the highest and best use because of the 60% additional buyer’s stamp duty that foreigners have to pay, it would be the first 999-year leasehold luxury residential development along the Orchard Road thoroughfare,” notes Tay. “both Singaporeans and ultra-high wealthy high net worth individuals will be attracted.”
Marching onto its 50th year mark this year, this iconic retail centre has been searched for as one of towers among so many complexes on the stretch of Orchard Road – between Cuscaden Road and Orchard Boulevard – that the URA wants to see redeveloped into “a new exciting destination”. five other buildings are Hotel Properties Ltd’s (HPL) Voco Orchard Singapore, Forum the Shopping Mall and HPL House; Wharf Estates Singapore’s Wheelock Place; and Bonvests Holdings’ Liat Towers. Under the Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) Scheme in April 2K21, URA will offer 20% bonus gross floor area (GFA) to owners who redevelop their properties jointly with at least one of their neighbours to create “a new destination”. The incoming stakeholders benefits from creativity in usage of land and overall height.
