Keong Saik’s shophouses back in demand as third wave of rejuvenation takes hold
The shophouse at 22 Keong Saik Road is up for sale at $17.5 million (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Formerly a red-light district, lightboxes once indicated the brothels on the upper floors of shophouses along Keong Saik Road. “Ten years ago, we were still taking over units with remnants of the red-light activity Keong Saik was known for,” recalls Ben Gattie, founder and CEO of co-working operator The Working Capitol.
Walking through the same units that have since been turned into offices, Gattie reflects: “It’s wild to think of those days.”
The Working Capitol anchored the iconic 36 Keong Saik Road by bringing in Potato Head Singapore from 2014 to 2024, with all three floors now taken over by 1939, a speakeasy bar and restaurant (All photos by Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
From 2014 to 2024, The Working Capitol anchored the iconic triangular building at 36 Keong Saik Road by bringing in Potato Head Singapore — a multi-concept restaurant and bar that spanned three floors. The space is now occupied by 1939, a speakeasy bar and restaurant.
Before Potato Head, the building housed Tong Ah Eating House, a traditional coffee shop famous for its kaya toast, soft-boiled eggs and kopi. Established in 1939, the building was known as the Tong Ah Building. In 2013, Tong Ah moved a few doors down to 35 Keong Saik Road to make way for Potato Head.
In 2020, Gattie brought Shake Shack to 89 Neil Road, drawing more families from the neighbourhood, including residents of The Pinnacle@Duxton
Shaping the neighbourhood
At the other end of the street sits 1 Keong Saik Road, a block of five shophouses acquired by AIA Singapore in 2013. The Working Capitol amalgamated the five shophouses at 1 Keong Saik and the neighbouring 89 Neil Road to create a cluster of five restaurants, a café and a co-working space that now hosts over 300 members from diverse companies.
In 2020, Gattie brought Shake Shack to 89 Neil Road, drawing more families from the neighbourhood, including residents of The Pinnacle@ Duxton — a public housing development near the CBD, comprising 1,848 flats across seven 50-storey blocks.
Gattie: We’re proud to have played a part in shaping the neighbourhood
Today, The Working Capitol occupies 20 properties across the Keong Saik neighbourhood — including Neil Road, Jiak Chuan Road, Teck Lim Road, Bukit Pasoh Road and Teo Hong Road — all within the Bukit Pasoh Conservation Area.
The company is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. “We’re proud to have played a part in shaping the neighbourhood,” says Gattie. “We started tenant by tenant, curating the right mix of F&B and retail to complement the hundreds of office tenants and members we serve daily.”
Keong Saik Road continues to evolve with a fresh wave of tenants
Fresh wave of retail and F&B tenants
Keong Saik Road continues to evolve with a fresh wave of tenants. Flanking Tong Ah Eating House — one of the street’s long-time anchors — are two newcomers: Acqua e Farina, an Italian restaurant by chef-owners Roberto Galbiati and Antonio Amenetto, which opened in October 2023; and An Omakase, a high-end Japanese dining concept led by three chefs that launched in April 2024.
Further along, the eclectic mix of F&B and retail continues. Olivia Restaurant and Lounge, led by Spanish chef Alain Devahive, has drawn a steady crowd since opening in 2019. Cake Spade, a popular dessert brand, relocated from Tanjong Pagar to 28 Keong Saik Road in July 2024.
Fashion retail has also made its mark — in April 2023, Coach opened its largest concept store, Coach Play Singapore Shophouse, at 5 Keong Saik Road.
Coach opened its largest concept store, Coach Play Singapore Shophouse, at 5 Keong Saik Road
Directly across from Coach is a three-storey block at 6 Keong Saik Road, believed to date back to the 1960s. Lou Lou, a French café and wine bar on the ground floor, opened in 2022.
The second floor, 6A Keong Saik Road, houses creative firms such as real estate and interior design studio Kelvin & Frank Reid, multi- disciplinary design firm Creative United, and branding agency Kock & Fock.
The row of shophouses at 2, 4, 6 and 8 Keong Saik Road was built in the 1960s and has been conserved
The first level of 6 Keong Saik Road is now occupied by Lou Lou, a French café and wine bar. The unit changed hands for $8.5 million in September 2024 in the latest transaction in the neighbourhood
The second level of the shophouse at 6A Keong Saik Road has been leased to creative firms such as real estate and interior design studio Kelvin & Frank Reid, multi-disciplinary design firm Creative United, and branding agency Kock & Fock
Office space for SMEs
The top-floor unit — 6B Keong Saik Road — has been fitted out as a co-working space by The Working Capitol and is fully leased to a video solutions company. The freehold strata unit spans 1,039 sq ft and is currently on the market for $4.48 million ($4,312 psf). The unit's monthly rental rate is $11,500, with the lease expiring in November. However, the tenant has the option to renew the lease. Based on the current lease and asking price, the gross yield is estimated at 3.08%.
“Strata-titled shophouse units are very rare in the CBD, but more common in fringe conservation areas like Joo Chiat,” says Yap Hui Yee, executive director of investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, the exclusive marketing agent. The unit at 6B Keong Saik Road is up for sale via expression of interest (EOI), which closes on May 8 at 3pm.
The top-floor unit — 6B Keong Saik Road — has been fitted out as a co-working space by The Working Capitol
The 1,039 sq ft, freehold strata-titled unit on the third floor at 6B Keong Saik Road is fully leased to a video solutions company. It is on the market for $4.48 million
Another shophouse on the market is 22 Keong Saik Road. The Working Capitol has been the master tenant since August 2022. The first level is leased to a 7-Eleven convenience store. The second level is currently under renovation for the new tenant — a commodities trading firm — while the third level and mezzanine have been leased to a software company.
According to Gattie, 22 Keong Saik Road gave The Working Capitol the opportunity to occupy an entire building. This allowed the firm to increase operational efficiency by turning the upper floors into serviced offices for its member tenants.
Like its other office spaces, 22 Keong Saik Road is within walking distance of The Working Capitol’s main campus hub at 1 Keong Saik Road. It houses shared facilities such as meeting rooms, event spaces, reception services and community programming. The Working Capitol’s member tenants from other buildings in the area also have access to the facilities.
The shophouse at 22 Keong Saik Road sits on a freehold site of 1,258 sq ft, with a built-up area of 3,306 sq ft. The Working Capitol has been a master tenant since August 2022
“Often we see our offerings fill a gap for companies,” says Gattie. “This is exactly what we intended to do from Day One. A decade later, we’re thrilled to be part of so many companies’ journeys in Singapore.”
The shophouse at 22 Keong Saik Road sits on a freehold site of 1,258 sq ft, with a built-up area of 3,306 sq ft. The owner has put the entire property on the market for $17.5 million, with Savills as the exclusive marketing agent. The expression of interest (EOI) exercise closes on May 28.
The current asking price of $17.5 million is slightly below the $18 million guide price previously indicated by Colliers International when the shophouse was launched for sale via tender last October.
The second level of 22 Keong Saik Road is under renovation, and will be leased to a commodities trading company
The third level and mezzanine of 22 Keong Saik Road has been leased to a software company
The meeting room on the mezzanine level of 22 Keong Saik Road
‘Revitalisation more organic’
Unlike other parts of the Bukit Pasoh Conservation Area or Ann Siang Hill — traditionally associated with clans and associations — Keong Saik’s colourful past makes it more alluring, notes Savills’ Yap. “The revitalisation also feels more organic, driven by entrepreneurs, artists and chefs,” she adds.
Yap has brokered several transactions in the Keong Saik area in recent years. These include selling a pair of shophouses on Teo Hong Road for around $40 million in 2022. That same year, she also handled the sale of three adjoining shophouses at 47, 49 and 51 Kreta Ayer Road to Singaporean real estate investor Lim Chin Huat for $44 million.
Lim, who made his fortune as a wholesale trader of fresh fruits and vegetables, has since diversified into restaurants, wine distribution and hospitality. In 2022, he also acquired the 45-room Hotel Soloha — comprising three shophouses on Teck Lim Road — for $53.38 million in a deal brokered by CBRE. The property was refurbished and reopened as Claude Hotel in September 2024.
The 33-room Hotel 1929 is now owned by Cheong Keng Hooi, who is also the owner of Warehouse Hotel on Havelock Road
Boutique hotels
Before its rebranding as Hotel Soloha, the property operated as the 42-room Chinatown Hotel for 25 years. It was then acquired for $31 million in 2017 by Hilltop Capital — an entity linked to Aw & Sons and Aw Kim Cheng Realty, which refurbished and rebranded it Hotel Soloha.
Many of the area’s boutique hotels are clustered along the stretch of Keong Saik Road beyond 36 Keong Saik, and along Teck Lim Road.
One of the earliest examples is the 33-room Hotel 1929, spread across five shophouses at 50 Keong Saik Road. The property was purchased in 2002 via a mortgagee sale by former lawyer turned hotelier and restaurateur, Loh Lik Peng, under his company Unlisted Collection, for just $3.4 million.
Loh later sold the hotel in 2013 for $35 million — more than 10 times the purchase price — to I8 Investment Holding, a company linked to Cheong Keng Hooi, who also owns the Warehouse Hotel on Havelock Road. Cheong is one of the 16 sons of Cheong Eak Chong, the patriarch who developed International Plaza and founded both Hong Fok Corporation and Tian Teck Group.
Kesa House, a 60-room boutique hotel owned by 8M Real Estate is now managed by The Unlimited Collection under The Ascott
Shaun Poh, head of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, believes the launch of Hotel 1929 two decades ago marked the beginning of Keong Saik’s first wave of rejuvenation. “That was also when the phrase ‘boutique hotel’ was coined,” says Poh, who had sold the property to Loh 23 years ago.
The 79-room hotel across the road opened in 1995 as the Royal Peacock, owned by Grace International, led by Geeson Lawadinata, a scion of an Indonesian trading family. Grace International also owns The Scarlet, an 84-room boutique hotel on Erskine Road near Ann Siang Hill.
In 2010, the Royal Peacock was rebranded as The SAFF and later sold to Naumi Hotels for $42 million in September 2011. Naumi Hotels, owned by the Jhunjhnuwala family, refurbished the property and renamed it Naumi Liora.
In 2017, real estate investment firm 8M Real Estate purchased the former Naumi Liora for about $75 million. The property was repositioned as Kesa House, a 60-room boutique hotel now managed by The Unlimited Collection under The Ascott, the lodging arm of CapitaLand Investment.
Savills’ Yap: Conservation shophouses are tightly held, limited in supply, and steeped in heritage - qualities that give them enduring value regardless of market cycle
New-to-market buyers post-Covid
“The profile of shophouse buyers in Singapore has evolved since the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Savills’ Yap. “There has been a marked increase in new-to-market buyers, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals.”
These investors are often seeking “a blend of personal use and investment opportunities,” she adds. Some families have acquired shophouses to open Japanese omakase restaurants, wine bistros, and art galleries while holding assets for long-term wealth preservation.
In Keong Saik, the latest transaction was for the ground floor of 6 Keong Saik Road — a 1,389 sq ft strata-titled unit with a 999-year lease from 1967 — which changed hands for $8.5 million ($6,121 psf) in September 2024, according to a caveat lodged. The unit is tenanted to Lou Lou French Bistro and Bar.
Prior to that, the shophouse at 34, 34A and 34B Keong Saik Road fetched $15.5 million in 2023, while the unit at 12, 12A and 12B Keong Saik Road transacted for $17 million in December 2022.
Shophouses are seen not just as real estate, but as generational assets — resilient to volatility and uniquely positioned within Singapore’s urban fabric
Yap notes that there have been no shophouse transactions in the Keong Saik neighbourhood this year. “Conservation shophouses are tightly held, limited in supply and steeped in heritage — qualities that give them enduring value regardless of market cycles,” she says.
Even amid global uncertainty, investors are increasingly drawn to “hard assets that offer both character and stability,” Yap adds. “Shophouses are seen not just as real estate, but as generational assets — resilient to volatility and uniquely positioned within Singapore’s urban fabric. In this light, they continue to serve as a safe haven, especially among family offices and high-net-worth individuals looking to hedge against broader macroeconomic risks.”
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