Freehold Shop At Nomu On Sale For $6 Million With Signage Rights

Earlier this week, a freehold shop at Nomu went on the market for $6 million, while a 999-year leasehold conservation shophouse on North Canal Road was listed for $16.8 million. Currently marketed by Knight Frank, each property has a different owner and will be sold separately.

The ground floor shop at Nomu is a strata commercial unit of 1,335 sq ft. Thus, the asking price of $6 million works out to $4,494 psf on the floor area.

Meanwhile, the three-storey commercial shophouse on North Canal Road sits on a 953 sq ft plot, and has an estimated gross floor area of 3,154 sq ft. The asking price of $16.8 million works out to $5,326 psf on the floor area.

Located along Handy Road in Dhoby Ghaut, Nomu is a mixed-use development that was completed in 2009. The building has the distinction of being designed by WOHA, a leading Singaporean architectural firm.

The name of the development is an acronym that stands for ‘North of the Museum and University’ – a geographical nod to its location. It is close to the National Museum of Singapore, and next to city-centre schools like the Singapore Management University and the School of the Arts.

It is the only development on Handy Road with a street-facing commercial presence, and Knight Frank says that acquiring the ground floor strata commercial unit also comes with naming and signage rights. Beyond owner-occupiers, the unit is also currently tenanted, which makes it a pull for investors looking to capitalise on reaping rental income.

Nomu is a mixed-use development on Handy Road. (Map: URA)

Nomu is next to several rejuvenated and repositioned landmark buildings in Dhoby Ghaut. It faces the recently refreshed Temasek Shophouse, a social impact hub owned by Temasek Trust, the philanthropic arm of Temasek Holdings.

Also in the vicinity is The Cathay, a mixed-use development at Handy Road and Mount Sophia that is owned by Cathay Organisation. After an extensive renovation and repositioning exercise from 2023 to 2025, the mall reopened with a refreshed tenant mix and reconfigured internal layout. It now houses Sheng Siong’s first supermarket in Orchard Road, the NTU Alumni Association’s clubhouse, 24-hour gym 24×7 Fitness, a Thermomix concept store, and an e-sports venue.

Opportunities to acquire strata commercial units in this part of Orchard Road are rare, given the scarcity of available units. There are 99-year leasehold alternatives such as One Sophia, the upcoming mixed-use project on Sophia Road. That project, a redevelopment of the former Peace Centre and Peace Mansions, consists of 123 strata titled offices, and a two-storey retail podium with 127 strata units.

In an earlier market report published this year, Knight Frank noted that with retail rents likely to remain elevated, and occupancy costs also on the rise, acquiring a strata-titled retail unit may become an increasingly viable – if not attractive – option for retail businesses and owner-occupiers.

The consultancy pointed out that rather than face periodic rental renewals at higher rates, business owners with their own premises stand to benefit from greater certainty over occupancy costs, while holding on to an investment asset.

Beyond the glitz of large landlord or Reit-owned shopping malls, hole-in-the-wall locations that tap into urban lifestyle trends could be a meaningful way forward for some retailers and F&B operators.

Knight Frank is also marketing the sale of a three-storey conservation shophouse along North Canal Road, in the Boat Quay Conservation Area. This 999-year leasehold property sits at the cusp of the Central Business District, and is opposite OCBC Centre.

It’s part of a prominent cluster of shophouses bounded by North Canal Road and South Bridge Road, and the river-facing shophouses cater to the large professional working population working in the nearby office developments.

“Freehold and near-freehold commercial opportunities remain limited in Singapore, particularly within established city-centre precincts where supply is naturally constrained,” says Mary Sai, executive director of Capital Markets at Knight Frank Singapore.

She adds that this scarcity has supported sustained interest from private investors, family offices and owner-occupiers seeking assets that combine wealth preservation with future upside. As a result, buyers today are becoming more selective, focusing on assets that offer scarcity, visibility and flexibility of use, she says.

On a separate note, the shophouses along Upper Circular Road in Clarke Quay, a stones throw away from the Boat Quay area, have recently come under the spotlight after the government overturned a long-standing guideline and relaxed its stance to new development applications there as well as a street block on Beach Road.

This has excited some shophouse owners and would-be owners to submit proposals for new hotels, hostels, and serviced apartments, with the aim of repositioning some of the commercial properties along Upper Circular Road, Carpenter Street, Hongkong Street, and a portion of North Canal Road. Boosting the hotel and short-stay accommodation options there would have a positive spillover effect on the shophouses in other neighbouring areas like North Canal Road.