Fragrance Group Buys Katong Plaza 180 Mil Potential Redevelopment New Hotel
Singapore – In a recent transaction, property developer Fragrance Group has successfully acquired Katong Plaza in the district of Marine Parade for a sum of $180 million. This amounts to $1,809 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) including the land betterment charge.
Formerly a commercial and residential mixed-use development, Katong Plaza is situated at 1 Brooke Road and holds 132 strata retail units and 14 residential apartments. According to Terence Lian, Huttons Asia’s head of investment sales who facilitated the deal, the retail unit owners will receive proceeds ranging from $502,000 to over $6 million, while the residential owners will receive between $2 million and $5.1 million.
The existing development sits on a land area of 34,044 square feet with a gross plot ratio of 3.0. This translates to a maximum gross floor area of 102,132 square feet.
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Katong Plaza is currently zoned for commercial and residential use but has received approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for hotel use. Lian estimates that the new hotel could accommodate between 300 to 340 rooms.
Rewritten:
Situated in a long-standing residential area, The Orie CDL boasts a prime location with a plethora of dining and recreational choices in its vicinity. This only adds to the appeal of the development, making it an even more desirable place to live.
The prime location of Katong Plaza in District 15, just 120 meters away from the Marine Parade MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line and the Parkway Parade shopping mall, could potentially make it an attractive location for redevelopment into a new hotel under the Accor brand. It is also adjacent to Roxy Square and the Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore, with other nearby hotels such as Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong, an IHG Hotel, and Village Hotel Katong.
“We believe this sale will boost confidence in the collective sale market as developers continue to pursue attractive land parcels,” says Lian.
Fragrance Group, along with its hospitality arm Global Premium Hotels, is headed by billionaire property developer and hotelier James Koh. The company holds a portfolio of brands including Fragrance and Parc Sovereign, and in 2019, they partnered with international hotel group Accor to open 13 new ibis Budget hotels, previously under the Fragrance brand. They also introduced the ibis Styles and Mercure brands.
Last month, Fragrance Group and Global Premium Hotels signed an agreement with Accor to open three new hotels under the Mövenpick Singapore brand and Handwritten Collection brand at two prime locations by 2027. The first one will be the largest Mövenpick hotel in the Asia Pacific region on Hoe Chiang Road, with 808 keys and a Mövenpick Living Singapore, an accommodation with 37 rooms targeting travellers on extended stays. The second property, located at Waterloo Street, will be a new 502-room hotel under the Handwritten Collection brand, a redevelopment of the former Min Yuan Apartments acquired en bloc for $141 million in September 2019 and Waterloo Apartments acquired for $131.1 million in November 2018. The two 999-year leasehold sites were merged, and URA gave their approval for the redevelopment into a 500-room hotel.