Portfolio of 32 strata office units at Manhattan House sold for $14.79 mil
The workplace units seem to have been sold in two sets, with 16 settled for a total amount of $7.531 million on June 27, and yet another 16 units on July 4 for $7.262 million.
The commercial establishment has a 99-year contract with effect from 1969. Thus, it has 43 standing years. Based on latest listings, monthly asking rents for units vary from $3.16 psf to $4.02 psf.
Based on real estate title searches, the buyer of the strata units is Abwin (HP) Pte Ltd, an entity associated to one of the largest sized pre-owned car dealers in Singapore, that also offers motor financing and hire purchase.
Manhattan House has a total amount of 269 strata office units. The 99-year leasehold building was finished in 1976. It was first sold for collective sale in September 2019 for $300 million. In January 2023, a second collective sale effort was made at a reservation price of $280 million with JLL as the advertising firm. Nonetheless, there were no takers at the time.
Swee Shou Fern, head of expenditure advisory at ETC, who brokered the sale, says that the 32 strata office units were acquired “for financial investment”. Nevertheless, she declined to comment on the buyer.
The units are part of a portfolio of 33 strata office units that were launched for sale last October by exclusive marketing agency ETC. The guide price was then $24.5 million. The units marketed range from 323 sq ft to 850 sq ft. Based upon the total strata location of 19,547 sq ft, the overview cost calculated to $1,250 psf.
Under the 2019 Master Plan, the 4167.7 sq m (44,861 sq ft) site is zoned “commercial” with a gross plot ratio of 4.7. However, URA has indicated that the site may be rezoned to “housing with commercial at first storey”, with a substantial section of the site supported for a residential tower of approximately 30 storeys with an optimum gross floor location of around 21,000 sq m (226,044 sq ft).
A portfolio of 32 strata office units on the third floor of Manhattan House, a 16-storey business structure on Chin Swee Road. Based on cautions lodged, the 32 units were offered for a sum total of $14.793 million or an ordinary rate of $783 psf, based upon caveats lodged as of August 5.
Situated in the CBD fringe, Manhattan House is within walking range of the Chinatown MRT Interchange Station on the Downtown and North East Lines. It is also adjacent to Pearl’s Hill City Park.
The purchasers are most likely to be investors, hoping to take a position in case of a successful en bloc sale of the building in the future. The units on the third level control 9% of the overall strata location of the structure, and 13% of the total share worth.
