Sim Lim Square up for en bloc sale with S$1.25b reserve price

SHOPPING mall Sim Lim Square on Rochor Canal Road has been put up for collective sale via public tender at a reserve price of S$1.25 billion on April 29, marketing agent SLP International Property Consultants announced on Monday.

The retail strata mall, one of Singapore's largest IT shopping centres, comprises six floors and two basements, housing 492 commercial units.

It sits on a 99-year leasehold site with a land size of 78,152 square feet and a remaining lease of 63 years.

The latest Urban Redevelopment Authority-approved (URA) gross floor area (GFA) is 391,000 sq ft, with the site zoned for commercial use with a plot ratio of 4:2 according the URA's 2014 Master Plan, SLP said.

The site is square-shaped and fronts three roads with pedestrian access on all four sides.

Built in 1985, Sim Lim Square is known for its cluster of electronics and IT goods and services retailers, which are operated by individual shop owners and entrepreneurs. Some of the owners of the units have been in business since the 1980s.

It is located near the commercial precinct in the Bras Basah-Bugis planning area and the historical district of Kampong Glam. As a result, it sees high volumes of footfall from tourists, foreign visitors and local shoppers, SLP said.

Given the mall's location at the apex of the Ophir-Rochor Corridor, which is part of the expanded downtown area, the new owner can sync its asset management strategy of the property with current urban upgrading plans, SLP noted.

Vikas Gupta, chairman of the mall's collective sales committee, said: "We are currently heavily under-utilised and the strata system does not allow Sim Lim Square to use the spare space, so it's the ideal time to refresh (the mall)."

The tender closes at 3pm on June 24.