Three adjoining freehold shophouses on Teck Lim Road, off Keong Saik Road, have been sold to Hilltop Capital, an entity linked to Aw & Sons and Aw Kim Cheng Realty. The shophouses, located in the Chinatown-Bukit Pasoh Conservation area, house the Chinatown Hotel, a 3½-storey boutique hotel with 42 rooms.

The shophouses, which have a total gross floor area of 11,200 sq ft, were sold at $31 million or $2,767 psf. The deal was reached on July 3, after months of negotiation following an expression of interest exercise that ended on March 28.

According to Cushman & Wakefield, which brokered the deal, the Keong Saik Road area has cafés, restaurants and bars frequented by tourists and locals, and enjoys high foot traffic. The property is also within walking distance of the Outram Park MRT Station and the future Maxwell MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line.

It is said that the buyer is looking to run a hotel on the premises under a new concept, with the vision of contributing to further gentrification of the Keong Saik Road area by attracting younger patrons to the location.