Three Freehold Properties Hit The Market At $67M

A portfolio of three freehold assets has been put up for sale at a combined guide price of $67 million, comprising two commercial buildings on South Bridge Road and a two-storey shophouse on Frankel Avenue. The properties can be acquired collectively or individually.

The two commercial buildings on South Bridge Road – 74 South Bridge Road, and 80/82 South Bridge Road – are on sale for $20.5 million and $40 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the shophouse at 89/A Frankel Avenue is listed for $6.5 million.

As commercial properties, the transactions of the two South Bridge Road buildings are open to foreigners and corporate entities, and attract no Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) or Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD).

However, the Frankel Avenue shophouse is zoned “Residential with Commercial at 1st storey”, thus ABSD applies to the purchase of its residential second storey component.

The portfolio will be sold in an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise managed by CBRE, the exclusive marketing agent.

The commercial buildings are fully leased with a conversion opportunity

The property at 80/82 South Bridge Road is the Golden Castle Building. Sitting on a 3,127 sq ft plot, the six-storey property has a gross floor area (GFA) of 9,848 sq ft. All six floors are leased.

The sites are zoned “Commercial” with a plot ratio of 4.2 under the latest Master Plan, and CBRE is marketing the unused balance as redevelopment potential, putting total GFA at about 13,133 sq ft if the authorities approve the intensification.

The $40 million guide for the property works out to $4,062 psf on the GFA and $3,046 psf against a potential redevelopment.

The building carries F&B approvals on the first and second floors, and URA records show that there are written permissions for continued restaurant use on both floors as recently as March 2024.

The two six-storey commercial buildings sit a few doors apart on the same stretch of South Bridge Road. Source: CBRE

A few doors down, 74 South Bridge Road is the Wong Shee Fun Building. The building sits on a 1,093 sq ft plot and the six-storey building has a GFA of 5,791 sq ft, with tenants from a range of business types across its floors.

The guide price of $20.5 million works out to $3,540 psf on the existing GFA.

In June this year, URA relaxed the rules on new hotels, hostels and serviced apartments in the Upper Circular Road area. Unveiled in a circular, the policy adjustment ended a 12-year ban on new short-term accommodation in the precinct, making these shophouses more attractive to investors. The relaxation runs as a two-year pilot to May 2028, which means a buyer would still need to obtain approval for the conversion before the pilot lapses.

But CBRE says the two buildings “stand to benefit from enhanced redevelopment flexibility” as a result, and that a buyer could look at turning them into boutique hotels, subject to approvals.

Both buildings sit between Chinatown and the Central Business District, with Raffles Place, City Hall and Clarke Quay all a short walk away. Retail and pedestrian footfall typically comes from office workers, residents and tourists.

Four MRT stations are within walking distance: Clarke Quay on the North East Line, Chinatown on the North East and Downtown Lines, Raffles Place on the North South and East West Lines, as well as Telok Ayer on the Downtown Line.

Recent commercial sales along South Bridge Road include spaces at Merchants Building at 76 South Bridge Road and MMI Building at 72 South Bridge Road. The sixth to tenth floors of Merchants Building fetched $20.4 million when the units were sold in April 2022, while MMI Building was sold for $39 million in July 2022.

38 South Bridge Road was also launched at $38 million in July 2026, a restored conservation building on a 2,624 sq ft site with 10,503 sq ft of GFA, or $3,618 psf. The asking price of $3,540 psf for 74 South Bridge Road is about 2% below that listing.

The residential component of the shophouse on Frankel Avenue carries ABSD

The third asset, 89/A Frankel Avenue, is a shophouse off East Coast Road in the Frankel Estate landed housing enclave in District 15. The property sits on a 2,296 sq ft site, and the two-storey property has a built-up area of about 3,441 sq ft.

The ground floor has permanent restaurant approval and the second storey is approved for residential use. The $6.5 million guide price works out to $1,889 psf across both floors.

The property is zoned “Residential with Commercial at 1st storey” with a gross plot ratio of 1.4. Under that zoning, the ground floor counts as commercial and the storey above it as residential, so the upper half is taxed at residential stamp duty rates and attracts ABSD if sold.

Bee Chun Heng, a bak kwa retailer, occupies the ground floor, and the rest of the space is leased to a Vietnamese cafe and a tuition centre. Other retail tenants along that row of shophouses include Wine Connection Bar, The Coconut Club, and Dutch Colony Coffee Co. alongside lifestyle and fitness operators.

The shops on this row serve the landed housing estates around them, with Frankel Estate on their doorstep and Opera Estate a few streets away.

A freehold shophouse further along Frankel Avenue sold for $5.9 million in February 2025, or $2,566 psf based on land area. Its plot of 2,299 sq ft is almost identical to the subject shophouse.

Transaction records indicate that five shophouse sales have been recorded in Frankel Estate over the past five years, ranging from $1,739 psf to $2,566 psf. The guide price of the subject shophouse sits above that price range, for a bigger building on roughly the same-sized plot.

“This portfolio presents a compelling opportunity for investors to acquire a collection of rare freehold properties in prime locations that continue to attract strong and consistent demand, supporting long-term rental growth and capital appreciation,” says Ong Zhen Hao, Associate Director of Capital Markets, Singapore at CBRE.

The three assets differ in size, redevelopment potential and price, which Ong says widens the range of buyers they suit. He expects interest from family offices, high-net-worth individuals and owner-occupiers looking to secure strategic premises for their businesses and long-term investment holdings.

The difference in price also means that there is a high chance that the three properties will be sold individually, rather than as a portfolio. The two South Bridge Road buildings lean on the area’s office and tourist footfall and carry redevelopment potential, while the Frankel Avenue shophouse relies on the established residential catchment.

The EOI for the sale of the portfolio closes on October 21.