Kingsford Group buys Tan Boon Liat Building en bloc for $950 mil

Tan Boon Liat Building was launched for collective sale with a reserve price of $1 billion in February (Picture: Cushman & Wakefield)

Tan Boon Liat Building, a freehold industrial property at 315 Outram Road, has been sold en bloc to Kingsford Group for $950 million. The deal is subject to “the fulfilment of certain conditions and owners’ approval”, said marketing agent Cushman & Wakefield in a July 21 release.

The sale marks the biggest en bloc deal this year by absolute price, surpassing Loyang Valley, a 99-year leasehold condo in Pasir Ris, which sold to a consortium led by SingHaiyi Group for $880 million in April.

It is also the largest collective sale since Pacific Mansion in 2018. The freehold residential development in River Valley was sold to a joint venture led by GuocoLand and Hong Leong Holdings for $980 million. The biggest collective sale deal on record remains Farrer Court, a privatised HUDC (Housing and Urban Development Company) estate which sold for $1.339 billion in 2007.

The $950 million price tag for Tan Boon Liat Building is about 5% lower than the $1 billion reserve price indicated in February, when the development was launched for sale by public tender. The tender had closed on May 12.

This is the second collective sale attempt by owners, who previously put Tan Boon Liat Building on the market for $1.15 billion last year.

Owners’ approval for the sale will be sought at an upcoming extraordinary general meeting (EGM). “The [Collective Sale Committee] will be briefing owners at an upcoming EGM, as it is important to secure their mandate together with the support of the majority stakeholders, which is critical to crossing the 80% approval threshold,” said Ashok Melwani, chairman of the committee. The deal will also be subject to approval by the Strata Titles Board.

Tan Boon Liat Building is a 15-storey warehouse and showroom adjacent to Havelock MRT Station (Thomson-East Coast Line). The property occupies two separate freehold land plots zoned for Business 1 use, with a combined site area of approximately 141,048 sq ft.

URA has advised that the site be rezoned to “Residential with Commercial at 1st storey” with a plot ratio of 4.9, up from the current 3.1. The rezoning allows for 50% uplift in the total allowable gross floor area (GFA) for the site.

In addition, URA has advised that a few remnant state land plots be amalgamated with the main plot. These state plots total approximately 14,693 sq ft, subject to a final survey by the relevant authorities.

Given the site’s prescribed heights, the new development could potentially be twin skyscrapers of up to 48 storeys, says Cushman & Wakefield. A maximum of 16,146 sq ft of commercial GFA can be supported at the first storey.

URA’s decision to potentially rezone the site follows an eight-month study that came after Cushman & Wakefield initiated a conversion and re-purposing exercise for the project, said Christina Sim, senior director of capital markets at the agency. “By transforming an ageing industrial building into a compelling residential opportunity, we unlocked significant value for the stakeholders, culminating in an extraordinary uplift in the site’s value,” she adds.

The sale will not incur any Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty, given the site's Business 1 zoning.

Kingsford Group’s purchase of Tan Boon Liat Building comes on the heels of its launch of Lentor Gardens Residences. The 499-unit condo in the Lentor Hills estate launched on July 18, with the developer shifting 54% of units on the day at an average price of $2,350 psf.

The deal also marks Kingsford's latest landbanking initiative. Last November, the group had purchased a Government Land Sale (GLS) site on Telok Blangah Road for $918.4 million, or $1,326 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). The 99-year leasehold site — the first private residential plot launched on the former Keppel Club site — can yield about 745 units.

Previously, Kingsford had submitted unsuccessful bids for two GLS sites not far from Tan Boon Liat Building: River Valley Green Parcels B and C, which were tendered in February 2025 and June this year, notes Kelvin Fong, CEO of PropNex. The group offered $1,251 psf ppr for Parcel B and $1,626 psf ppr for Parcel C. "Having pursued sites in this area twice through the GLS, Kingsford has now tried to secure its position via the collective sale market instead."

Fong also points out that land rates for GLS sites in the vicinity have increased, with River Valley Green Parcel C awarded to Sunway MCL and CSC Land Group at $1,730 psf ppf. "Developers who have been unable to secure GLS sites could increasingly explore opportunities in the en bloc market, favouring freehold tenure, established locations with a proven sales record, sites near to MRT stations, and realistically priced collective sale developments," he continues.

Strong private housing demand in the neighbourhood

Four projects have been launched in the vicinity of Tan Boon Liat Building over the past year, with the developments collectively selling over 2,000 units. notes Fong. These comprise Wing Tai Holdings' 524-unit River Green and GuocoLand's 455-unit River Modern, both in River Valley Green, along with Allgreen Properties' 596-unit Promenade Peak and City Developments-Mitsui Fudosan's 706-unit Zyon Grand, both on Zion Road.

Caveats lodged with URA as of July 11 show that all the projects, except Promenade Peak, have achieved take-up rates of at least 90%. Average prices of all four projects range from $3,033 to $3,281 psf [see Table 1].

River Valley Green (Parcel C) was the last GLS site in the River Valley Green locale, which means moving forward, private residential development sites in the vicinity are limited, says Fong. This means a redevelopment of Tan Boon Liat Building could help bolster the housing pipeline. The future project also has the advantage of having a freehold tenure, compared with the 99-year leasehold tenure for GLS sites.