The Tanglin Shopping Centre may soon make way for a new luxury project
A company owned by the family of Indonesian lumber tycoon Sukanto Tanoto has acquired the Tanglin Shopping Centre in Singapore’s Orchard Road area at a 10 percent premium over the reserve price in the asset tender, as commercial properties in the Lion City continue to attract investors.
Pacific Eagle Real Estate acquired the 12-storey commercial complex for S$868 million ($645.6 million) via a collective sale by the strata-titled asset’s owners, including local heavyweight City Developments Ltd (CDL), which concluded on Tuesday.
The sale of the 313,435 square foot (29,119 square metre) freehold project clears the way for redevelopment on the site along Tanglin Road and Cuscaden Road, as collective sales of Singapore commercial assets continue to surge.
“This is the fourth collective sale attempt by Tanglin Shopping Centre and Savills is excited to have achieved success for the owners,” said Galven Tan, deputy managing director for investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, which served as the sole marketing agent for the complex.
Seller’s Market
With the current 1970s-era commercial and retail building occupying a 68,512 square foot site in Singapore’s busiest retail strip, Pacific Eagle paid S$2,769 ($2,059) per square foot of built area.
Sukanto Tanoto is expanding his Singapore portfolio
At that rate, the price paid for the site is the second highest ever in Singapore on a potential GFA basis, surpassed only by the S$2,910 per square foot shelled out by casino tycoon Stanley Ho’s Shun Tak Holdings for Park House on Orchard Boulevard in 2018.
The collective sale drew applause from CDL, which indirectly held 85 of the centre’s 363 freehold strata units through its Millennium & Copthorne Hotels subsidiary.
“We are pleased to see the collective sale of Tanglin Shopping Centre come to fruition, notably at a premium of 10 percent over the reserve price,” said CDL group CEO Sherman Kwek. “This prized asset is in a prime location and was keenly contested by several parties.”
Posh Project Potential
The current structure comprises retail and office units from the second basement level to the sixth storey, office units from the seventh to the 12th storey of a tower block added in the 1980s, and an eight-storey car park annex.
The property sits less than 10 minutes’ walk from the Orchard and Orchard Boulevard MRT stations in one of Singapore’s ritziest areas. No specific plan for the asset was disclosed, but the new owner hinted at a potential redevelopment of the ageing complex.
“Tanglin Shopping Centre is one of Singapore’s earliest retail landmarks and occupies a prominent location next to the St. Regis Hotel in the Orchard Road enclave,” said Pacific Eagle director Sun You Ning. “Pacific Eagle Real Estate is honoured to have the opportunity to create an iconic development befitting the property’s heritage and its frontage along one of our island’s most important streets.”
Commercial Surge
Pacific Eagle, which operates as a unit of the Tanoto family’s Royal Golden Eagle energy and pulp-wood conglomerate, first made waves in Singapore’s real estate market in 2018, when it purchased the mixed-commercial and residential Chinatown Plaza project. The company paid S$260 million for that freehold project on Craig Road near the Tanjong Pagar MRT station.
The property is now being redeveloped into Mondrian Singapore Duxton, a luxury hotel promising a combination of historic shophouse architecture and modern, contemporary influences.
In mid-2021, Singapore developer SingHaiyi Group led a consortium purchase of the Maxwell House commercial project near Tanjong Pagar for S$276.8 million, with that project also sold via collective sale.
Closer to the Tanglin Shopping Centre’s location, the owners of the Orchard Towers complex, which is just 10 minutes’ walk to the east, have put that 1975-vintage property on the market via collective sale for an asking price of S$1.6 billion.
Note: This story has been updated to include an image of the Tanglin Shopping Centre. An earlier version had displayed an image of the Tanglin Mall. Mingtiandi regrets the error.
Leave a Reply