Hoa Nam Building going for en bloc sale with S$160m asking price

HOA Nam Building, a freehold mixed-development in the Jalan Besar/Lavender Street locale, has been put up for collective sale with an asking price of S$160 million.

Marketing agent Huttons Asia said that this works out to S$1,866 per square foot based on the building's existing gross floor area (GFA) of 85,744 sq ft.

This is 4.0133 times the site area of 21,365 sq ft - exceeding the 3.0 plot ratio designated for the site under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Master Plan 2014; the site is zoned for commercial and residential use.

Hoa Nam Building, at 27 Foch Road, is next to Arc 380, a freehold mixed development project comprising a 16-storey office development with retail units on the ground level.

Arc 380, which was completed last year, was developed by a company associated with the Tong Eng Group.

Hoa Nam Building currently has a total of 83 units comprising 36 residential apartments, 14 office units and 33 retail units.

The site can be redeveloped into a new commercial and residential project that can be built up to the existing GFA, said Huttons Asia's Stephen Tan, who is marketing the collective sale.

Another option for a potential buyer would be to keep the existing building, and do alterations and additions works.

The city-fringe property is located near Bendemeer MRT Station; the Farrer Park and Lavender MRT stations are a short distance away.

"This property would be ideal for co-living and co-working space on the upper levels, with shops and eating outlets on the lower floors," said Mr Tan.

URA has advised that it can consider rezoning the site to full commercial use at a plot ratio of 3.0, subject to conditions.

Mr Tan highlighted that if a buyer pursues this route, the additional buyer's stamp duty would not be applicable.

"No development charge is payable for Hoa Nam Building due to its high development baseline," he added.

The tender for Hoa Nam Building will close on Aug 20, 2019.

Separately, the collective sale for Sultan Plaza along Jalan Sultan in the Beach Road area is set to be relaunched on July 11. Under Master Plan 2014, the site is zoned for commercial use.

The reserve price for the collective sale remains S$380 million. However, the potential redevelopment options have increased.

The collective sales committee made an outline application to URA for a proposed hotel development with 5.3 plot ratio.

URA reverted, offering an option of three uses: hotel, commercial and residential use, and the existing full commercial use. For all three options, the plot ratio will be 5.0. This means that the 52,471 sq ft site can be redeveloped up to GFA of about 262,354 sq ft.

"The development baseline for Sultan Plaza has been ascertained to be 22,730.35 square metres (about 244,667 sq ft), reflecting an approximate plot ratio of 4.66; therefore, some differential premium is payable to maximise the redevelopment potential for Sultan Plaza to 5.0 plot ratio," said ERA Realty Network, the marketing agent for Sultan Plaza.

The differential premium is estimated at S$57.5 million for hotel use, at S$12 million for commercial and residential use, and at nearly S$16.1 million for full commercial use, it added.

Sultan Plaza is on a site with 99-year leasehold tenure starting May 1978, leaving a balance lease term of about 58 years.

A lease upgrading premium would be payable if the developer seeks and obtains approval from the state for a top-up of the site's lease.

The tender for Sultan Plaza will close on Aug 1, 2019.