Some Katong commercial properties going for en-bloc sale

Some Katong commercial properties going for en-bloc sale

Buildings include Katong Shopping Centre; sales could help rejuvenate area and boost image
By Jessica Cheam
ST GRAPHICS

FACED with flagging businesses and dwindling human traffic, the shop owners of several commercial buildings in Katong are coming together to sell their properties en bloc.
This has led to renewed interest in the old East Coast hot spot recently, sparking hopes among residents and shopkeepers nearby that the area - famed for its good food and old-world charm - will get the rejuvenation that it needs to boost its image.

At least five commercial buildings along Mountbatten Road and East Coast Road have, or are in the process of engaging marketing agents to launch their collective sales. These include Katong Mall, Paramount Hotel and Shopping Centre, Roxy Square, Katong Plaza and the iconic Katong Shopping Centre, said Mr Lui Seng Fatt, the regional director and head of investments at Jones Lang LaSalle.

In its heyday, Katong Shopping Centre was the heart and soul of the East. But as the years wore on, the lack of entertainment facilities and an attractive retail mix made it a poor rival to malls like Parkway Parade.

Many of these buildings in Katong are more than 20 years old and, in the case of Katong Shopping Centre, which opened in 1973, more than 30.

Dr Lim Un Huat, an owner of several shops at Katong Mall, told The Straits Times most shop owners were in favour of a collective sale, and were waiting for the right price to sell.

Mr Lui said the ‘tired-looking’ buildings were overdue for a revamp, especially since residential projects in the area have gone upmarket.

Prices of homes in the Katong, Meyer and Amber Road residential enclave have soared recently with the property boom. The area’s proximity to the upcoming Integrated Resort in Marina Bay is an added lure.

United Industrial Corporation’s One Amber and Grand Duchess sold out around $700 to $800 per sq feet (psf) recently. CapitaLand’s The Seafront on Meyer and GuocoLand’s The View @ Meyer fetched new highs of between $1,500 psf and $1,800 psf.

While the shop owners do not expect to make a ‘huge windfall’, Mr Lui said selling en bloc would help them unlock the value of their shops.

He estimates that the prices transacted would be between $500 psf and $1,000 psf, depending on the building.

Colliers International’s executive director for investment sales, Mr Ho Eng Joo, said Katong’s rejuvenation would be a ‘natural progression’ following the influx of residents living in the area’s new condominiums.

‘Katong’s residential area is getting quite vibrant, so the commercial side has to catch up now,’ he said.

The only setback, he added, would be the new rules for collective sales - expected to kick in next month - which will prolong the sale process.

But in three or four years’ time, Katong could be transformed, he added.

However, while some property consultants remain optimistic about Katong’s future, others remain cautious.

Director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong at Savills Singapore said the area was a ‘bit of a mixed bag’ - comprising offices, residential apartments, hotels and retail space - which makes it ‘neither here nor there’ for redevelopment.

‘The area’s physical limitations mean a very creative approach is needed to redevelop it,’ he added.

From a conservation perspective, the revitalisation of Katong is desirable if done properly, said Singapore Heritage Society president Kevin Tan.

Over the years, the retail business in the area has withered, and given way to maid agencies, pubs and video arcades. But this can be changed by injecting some new life and a new trade mix into the area, he added.

He hopes, however, that the architecture of Katong Shopping Centre will be conserved as it was ‘very important in East Coast’s history’.

Shop owner Dr Lim concurred: ‘We all hope to bring back the hustle and bustle of the old Katong.’

Source : Straits Times - 10 sept 2007

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$660 million lifestyle hub to go up at Buona Vista

$660 million lifestyle hub to go up at Buona Vista

5,000-seat theatre, shops part of Rock Productions, CapitaLand project
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent
FUTURISTIC LOOKING: An artist’s impression of the integrated complex, which will have eight levels of civic and cultural space, and four levels of retail and entertainment space. — PHOTO: ROCK PRODUCTIONS

COME 2011, a futuristic-looking lifestyle hub with a 5,000-seat theatre, restaurants, shops, chill-out wine bars and even dance clubs will emerge in Buona Vista.
Property giant CapitaLand and a church-linked business company, Rock Productions, announced yesterday that they will jointly develop an integrated complex in Singapore’s one-north science hub at a cost of $660 million.

CapitaLand’s share of the proposed development, including the ownership of about 1,000 carpark lots, will be about $380 million.

Rock Productions - the business arm of the 16,000- strong New Creation Church - will invest $280 million.

The complex, which will be connected directly to the Buona Vista MRT station, will be sited within the 17ha Vista Xchange, the business service centre as well as lifestyle and cultural hub of one-north.

Designed by Mr Andrew Bromberg of Aedas Hong Kong, it will have eight levels of civic and cultural space, and four levels of retail and entertainment space.

The project came about after JTC Corporation last Friday awarded Rock Productions the tender to build, lease and operate an integrated civic, cultural, retail and entertainment hub at Vista Xchange on a 60-year lease at a land price of $189 million.

Rock Productions had spoken to a few partners and decided on CapitaLand, which entered into an agreement through its indirect wholly owned subsidiary One Trustee to acquire the hub’s retail and entertainment zone, which has a gross floor area of more than 24,000 sq m.

CapitaLand Retail will also manage the entire development of the integrated hub.

It is proposing an open concept for the retail and entertainment zone, which will be spread over two floors above the ground and two basement levels. The basement levels will house chic tenants that will include restaurants, cafes, thematic dance clubs, a concept food hall and a gourmet supermarket.

CapitaLand Retail chief executive officer Pua Seck Guan said the zone presents a unique opportunity for CapitaLand to extend its presence to the Buona Vista area.

The zone will cater to the affluent crowd from the nearby Bukit Timah, Holland and Rochester Park areas, as well as the visitor catchments from the one-north communities, surrounding estates and tertiary institutions, he said.

Rock Productions will own and manage the hub’s civic and cultural zone, which has a gross floor area of 30,000 sq m. This zone will have a 5,000-seat state-of-the-art theatre designed by world renowed performing arts facility design consultants Artec Consultants and Bromberg.

Among Artec’s best-known projects are the Lucerne Culture Centre in Switzerland and the concert hall and opera theatre at the Esplanade here.

Rock Productions has engaged IMG Artists, a global performing arts management company, to work on the marketing and programming efforts for the zone.

A major tenant has already been secured.

New Creation Church, which now holds its services at The Rock Auditorium at Suntec City, will be the anchor tenant of the theatre, using the space on a large part of Sundays and one mid-week night, said Rock Productions director Matthew Kang.

Rock Productions also owns and manages The Rock Auditorium and Marine Cove, the recreational and dining establishment at East Coast Park.
Source : Straits Times - 10 sept 2007

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CapitaLand, Rock to build $660m integrated hub

CapitaLand, Rock to build $660m integrated hub
Hub at one-north to boast civic, cultural, retail and entertainment facilities
By MATTHEW PHAN

(SINGAPORE) CapitaLand and Rock Productions will spend a whopping $660 million to develop an integrated civic, cultural, retail and entertainment hub at Vista Xchange, one-north, which is expected to be completed by 2011.
Away from the city: The hub will comprise a Civic and Cultural Zone of over 30,000 sq m in gross floor area, and a Retail and Entertainment Zone spanning 24,000 sq m
The hub will comprise two zones - a Civic and Cultural Zone measuring over 30,000 square metres in gross floor area, and a Retail and Entertainment Zone spanning 24,000 square metres in GFA.

JTC Corp awarded the tender to build, lease and operate the entire hub to Rock on Friday, on a 60-year lease term at a land bid price of nearly $189 million.

Upon award of the tender to Rock, CapitaLand, through an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, One Trustee, acquired the Retail and Entertainment Zone from Rock.

Rock will develop the Civic and Cultural Zone at a cost of about $280 million, while CapitaLand will invest another $380 million into developing the Retail and Entertainment Zone.

Designed by Andrew Bromberg of the commercial architecture firm Aedas Hong Kong, the hub will have eight levels of the former zone type and four levels of the latter.

The Civic and Cultural Zone is ‘envisaged to become the new dynamic art, cultural, meeting, convention and exhibition centre in Singapore’, a release said. It will contain a proposed 5,000-seat, state-of- the-art theatre for touring concerts, family entertainment, and other large-scale conferences or events.

It will also contain secondary performance and event spaces, like multi-purpose function rooms and outdoor amphitheatres. IMG Artists has been appointed to consult on and develop the strategies for the marketing and programming efforts.

The Retail and Entertainment Zone will comprise two levels above ground and two below. It will have an ‘open-concept with a spiral design’, allowing visitors to stroll casually along a gently sloping spiral walkway to visit the various floors. These will contain restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, fashion and other stores. The zone is envisaged to ‘replicate the atmosphere at Clarke Quay, the premier riverfront F&B, lifestyle and entertainment precinct in Singapore’, the release said.

Director of Rock Productions, Matthew Kang, said his firm’s ‘extensive research indicates an overwhelming need for a sizeable performance venue, away from the city’ but ‘well-equipped with state- of-the-art facilities’.

Pua Seck Guan, CEO of CapitaLand Retail, said the hub represents a chance for CapitaLand to extend its presence to the Buona Vista area in Singapore.

It is expected to ‘benefit from the natural visitor catchments from the one-north communities, surrounding housing estates, as well as tertiary institutions close by’.

The hub will be directly linked to the Buona Vista MRT and also be served by a Circle Line MRT station currently under construction.

Vista Xchange is the first of three ‘centres of excellence’ under JTC’s one-north masterplan. Besides the hub, it will house offices, a business hotel and residential buildings over 17 hectares.

Source : Business Times - 10 sept 2007

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