SELEGIE Centre, located in prime District 7, has been put up for sale by tender with an indicative price tag of $110 to $125 million.
Residents and shopowners of the 25-year-old mixed development located at the Selegie Road and Mackenzie Road junction yesterday officially announced that they had attained approvals from 83 per cent of the shareholders for the en bloc sale.
A previous attempt to sell the development in 1997 failed when buyers, wary of the impact of the Asian financial crisis, pulled out of discussions.
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“There were a couple of other times over the years when some owners were interested in selling but it was mostly small talk,” said Mr Chua Bah Teh, 65, the chairman of the en bloc sale committee and the largest shareholder of the development, with about 20 per cent holdings.
“The majority weren’t interested in letting go of the building, especially as the surrounding areas were being redeveloped and they expected property prices to go up.”
Sentiments have changed. Mr Bhasker Moses, 37, who owns a shop unit in the building, said: “The building is now very old. It requires high maintenance and any refurbishment will cost quite a bit.”
Mr Moses, who is the senior associate manager at Credo Real Estate group, said he believed that it was a good time to sell, as the property market is hot and tender prices have been high.
Situated in a conservation zone, Selegie Centre sits on a site of 9,728.5 sq ft.
About 3,300 sq ft have been taken back by the Government for road expansion. The current building consists of a seven-storey residential tower, each with a gross floor area (GFA) of 3,259.35 sq m, and five floors of commercial space with GFA of 2,637 sq m.
The freehold site is expected to fetch a high price due to its prime location at the fringe of the Central Business District.
Near Peace Centre and Parklane Shopping Mall, the site is also close to schools such as Laselle College of the Arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
Dhoby Ghaut and Little India MRT stations are less than one kilometre away, too.
Huttons Real Estate Group, the agent in charge of marketing the site, said the winning developer could build a project with maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 4.2, subject to a 12-storey height restriction.
The building cannot be demolished but has been approved for conversion into a hotel, hostel or service apartments. There will be no development charge if it is turned into a hotel.
“If you consider the fact that the site is freehold land – a rarity in the city area – and the presence of other hotels located nearby, it is likely the land will be used for a hotel,” said a Huttons spokesman.
Tender for the site opens today and will close on Sept 15.
Source : my paper – 18 Aug 2010