Owners of High Street Centre make second collective sale attempt at $748 mil

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

October 26, 2023 4:04 PM SGT

High Street Centre at 1 North Bridge Road will be launched for collective sale a second time at $748 million (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Join our Telegram channel and follow our Facebook for the latest update.

The collective sales committee of High Street Centre has decided to make a second attempt at a collective sale of the building at 1 North Bridge Road. The committee has retained Cushman & Wakefield as its marketing agency and Legal Solutions LLC as the legal adviser.

Over 80% of the strata-titled owners have agreed to the collective sale. The building will be launched for tender by Cushman & Wakefield on Oct 26.

A 29-storey mixed-use development, High Street Centre has 429 strata-titled units, including one strata title for the carpark. The retail podium spans basement 1 to level 3 and contains 190 strata-titled retail units. The carpark on levels four and five has just one strata title. Another 183 strata-titled office units are on levels six to 24, with 55 apartments from levels 25 to 29.

“In the past, the 30th floor used to be an observatory and even tourists could go up to enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the city,” says Johnny Ong, the collective sales committee (CSC) chairman. “We have since converted the space into our management office and for other uses.”

Top row (from left): Patrick Ee and Christopher Yong from Legal Solutions; Johnny Ong, CSC chairman of High Street Centre; Andy Kirpalani, CSC member, Christina Sim of Cushman & Wakefield. Sitting (from left): Dayal Khemlani and Annalyn Ooi of Cushman & Wakefield, and Harry Gurnani, CSC member (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Many strata-titled unitholders have held units at High Street Centre for the long term. For instance, Ong owns three office units on the 22nd floor, from where he has operated his electronics trading business, Telesonic Singapore, for over 30 years.

Besides being chairman of the CSC, Ong has been an active council member of the management corporation strata title (MCST) board for over 20 years. Harry M Gurnani, director of Lucky Store, has been running his electronics, IT, and appliances store at High Street Centre since the late 1980s. It is a family-owned business founded by his father in 1948, with several outlets across the island.

Gurnani’s Lucky Store occupies two prime corner units on the first level of the retail podium. Gurnani is also a member of the CSC. He is philosophical about the collective sale: “I have been at High Street Centre for many years, and I have two other outlets elsewhere,” he says. “If the collective sale goes through, then I will move out. If not, I will stay.”

High Street Centre has a frontage of over 100m along the Singapore River promenade (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

Transformation

High Street Centre opened in 1974. “It was very vibrant,” Gurnani recounts. “Many of the shops were family-owned, specialising in textiles and electronics.” High Street was Singapore’s main shopping belt in the 1950s and 1960s, and many Sindhi and Sikh merchants had set up their textile shops there. Department stores like Chotirmall and Metro were once located on High Street.

The area around High Street Centre began to transform into Singapore’s Civic and Cultural District in the late 1990s. The new Parliament House, officially opened in October 1999, sits opposite the High Street Centre.

The old Parliament House built between 1826 and 1827, is now The Arts House, an arts and heritage centre. The former Supreme Court Building, officially opened in 1939, has been refurbished and reopened in 2015, as the National Gallery Singapore. Adjacent to the Art House are the Victoria Concert Theatre and the Asian Civilisations Museum.

These civic buildings overlook the Padang, the historical green open space where the Singapore Cricket Club sits at one end. In March, the National Heritage Board said that the Padang and the civic buildings around it had been placed on Singapore’s tentative list of Unesco World Heritage Sites. It will be the second World Heritage Site after the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

“High Street Centre is a landmark in the area,” says CSC chairman Ong. It boasts a frontage along Hill Street, North Boat Quay and North Bridge Road, with a waterfront promenade along the Singapore River, extending over 100m.

High Street Centre is accessible via North Boat Quay and North Bridge Road. It sits on a 60,298 sq ft, with a gross plot ratio of 7.72, bringing the total gross floor area (GFA) to 466,085 sq ft. The property has a 99-year lease from 1969, which means it has a remaining lease of 45 years.

Besides the Padang and the surrounding civic buildings, High Street Centre is near The Capitol, The Funan, Raffles City, Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and the upcoming CanningHill Piers (Source: EdgeProp Landlens)

‘Trophy asset’

According to Christina Sim, senior director of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, the site has commercial zoning. That means at least 60% of the GFA must be for commercial use, such as office and retail (including F&B). Another 40% can be allocated for hotel use, with a maximum of 450 keys. “It’s an ideal location for a premium, five-star hotel,” says Sim.

Alternatively, the 40% can be allocated for residential or serviced apartments instead of hotel use. Based on the reserve price of $748 million, and depending on the potential developer’s proposed use for the site, the land rate is equivalent to $2,164 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) if the 40% allocation is for residential use. If the 40% allocation is for hotel use, the land rate is higher at $2,290 psf ppr. It includes land betterment charges and a lease upgrading premium for 99 years.

Given its location at 1 North Bridge Road, Cushman & Wakefield’s Sim believes High Street Centre “is poised to be an iconic trophy asset”. At 145m tall, the new building will have a view of the Formula One Night Race, the skyline of Raffles Place, Marina Bay and the East, she notes.

Besides the Padang and the surrounding civic buildings, High Street Centre is near The Capitol, The Funan, Raffles City, Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and the upcoming CanningHill Piers.

When High Street Centre was launched for sale in June 2020, during the pandemic, the reserve price was $800 million. In May 2021, Cushman & Wakefield worked to lower the reserve price to $700 million.

The reserve price is set at $748 million in this latest tender, which will close on Jan 25, 2024.

Check out the latest listings for High Street Centre properties

Tags: