Singapore’s The Arcade for Sale a Second Time for $570 Million

(Bloomberg) -- The Arcade, an aging 20-story office and retail building in Singapore’s central business district, has been put up for sale again after a failed attempt five years ago.

Marketing agent Colliers International Group Inc. said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the 11 Collyer Quay property will be put up for collective sale via tender for S$780 million ($570 million) on Nov. 14. The tender will close Jan. 8.

The new asking price, which translates to a per square foot per plot ratio of S$2,833, is about 10% lower than in 2014, when The Arcade last went on the market.

So-called en-bloc sales, where an apartment block or a commercial building is sold to a common developer and the proceeds split among unit owners, have struggled in Singapore after property curbs that made it more expensive to buy land.

Still, the government has embarked on a plan to renew and refresh older buildings in the city. An urban draft plan unveiled in March included a range of proposals including increasing the number of residential apartments and hotels in the central business district by encouraging firms to convert office space.

Under that draft master plan, The Arcade site is zoned commercial. Subject to relevant approvals, it could be redeveloped into an integrated development, comprising a hotel, residential units, office and retail space, Colliers said.

Moeez Hatim Nakhoda, chairman of The Arcade collective sale cmmittee, said the building “is aging and fallen behind the times.” He added that as surrounding buildings undergo a revamp, the owners “feel that it is time The Arcade gets a complete makeover as well.”

Depending on the size of their space in The Arcade, owners could stand to receive between S$700,000 and S$30 million from a successful sale.

--With assistance from Niluksi Koswanage.

To contact the reporter on this story: Faris Mokhtar in Singapore at fmokhtar1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Katrina Nicholas at knicholas2@bloomberg.net

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