Raffles Education Square Up For Grabs For S$200mil
SINGAPORE – Marketing agent Knight Frank announced that Raffles Education Square, a four-storey commercial property at 51 Merchant Road within District 1 in Clarke Quay, has been launched for sale with an indicative price of S$200 million, reported The Edge on Wednesday morning (21 June, SGT).
The asset – which comes with two rows of conserved structures and two basement carpark levels – stands on a site measuring 27,669 sq ft. Given the price, the land rate works out to around S$2,660 psf per plot ratio with a potential gross plot ratio of 2.8, including the land betterment charge.
Apart from having a gross floor area (GFA) of 71,111 sq ft, Knight Frank revealed that the site of Raffles Education Square has a leasehold tenure of 99 years commencing from 15 May 1993. Hence, it has a remaining tenure of roughly 69 years.
Moreover, the marketing agent disclosed that the original structure was completed in 1996 and renovated in 2013. It was previously used as the college campus and corporate offices of Raffles Education, but now lies vacant.
“The property is strategically located in an area with great potential for an uplift in asset value from the revitalisation of the Singapore River precinct,” said Knight Frank Singapore’s head of capital markets (land and collective sale), Chia Mein Mein.
“This is a rare opportunity to acquire a commercial property that is set to benefit from the major urban renewal process that will transform the area into a new and vibrant lifestyle hub”.
Knight Frank shared that Raffles Education Square could potentially be redeveloped alongside The Riverside Piazza, an adjacent mixed-use strata commercial and residential project at 11 Keng Cheow Street. Currently, the unit owners of the latter are gathering the mandatory 80 percent approval to launch an en bloc sale.
“This possibility may allow the combined site to enjoy an uplift in gross floor area to capitalise on the rejuvenation initiatives for the area under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) scheme, subject to the authorities’ approval,” Chia noted.
“Quality commercial assets are hard to come by as many are tightly held by institutional players and unavailable for sale. Private wealth also seeks commercial assets as this asset class is unaffected by the recent imposition of government cooling measures,” she added.
The tender for Raffles Education Square closes on 1 August 2023.
