Tan: The old Purvis Street was pretty self-sustaining in a way; there were doctors, dentists, restaurants and boutique hotels (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Singaporean Tan See Min is the third-generation owner of the conservation shophouse on 24 Purvis Street, built in 1927. His grandfather had operated a packaging and parcelling business from the first level of the shophouse, while the family occupied five bedrooms on the upper level.
“In those days, people used to send things back to their relatives in China, and my grandfather handled the packaging for them,” relates the 67-year-old. Next door was a “dhobi” or laundry service, while a glazier who specialised in glass windows and other installations occupied the corner shophouse.
However, when World War II came, Tan’s grandfather took the family to Kuraman Island, a small tropical island in the South China Sea, off the Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia. After the war, the family returned to Singapore, and his grandfather resumed his packaging business on Purvis Street. He later ventured into the sale and distribution of baking ingredients.
Tan’s father was equally entrepreneurial. He became an agent for SG Oxygen with his brothers, delivering gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and acetylene to foundries. “The shophouse could store almost 100 cylinders at one time,” he says.
While Tan was a child, he stayed in the family estate in Sembawang, where his grandfather owned 30 acres (12ha) of farmland. “I used to enjoy picking durians, and tapping rubber with my mother,” he recalls.
The two-storey shophouse with an attic along Purvis Street sits on a 1,679 sq ft site with a 999-year lease from Jan 25, 1827, and an existing floor area of 3,702 sq ft (Photo: Savills Singapore)
However, when he became a teenager, he moved to the Purvis Street shophouse to be closer to his school. He even helped his father make deliveries if needed. “I would deliver lorry-loads of cylinders,” he says.
That was in the 1970s, and Tan saw his first gang fights then. “They used to clash in the streets — running and fighting from Purvis Street all the way to Odeon Towers on North Bridge Road,” recounts Tan.
Purvis Street was famous for its Hainanese eateries. Chin Chin Eating House, which opened in 1934 and is still operating, has been famous for its Hainanese chicken rice. Another restaurant was Yet Con Restaurant, whose signature dish was steamboat and Hainanese chicken rice. It closed in 2021, after more than 70 years in business.
Mooi Chin Place, a restaurant that opened on Purvis Street in 1935, was famous for the pomfret and sambal dish, Tan relates. It has since closed. There was also a traditional Hainanese confectionery on Purvis Street named Nam Tong Lee. It was famous for its Hainanese mooncakes.
“The old Purvis Street was pretty self-sustaining in a way; there were doctors, dentists, restaurants and boutique hotels,” notes Tan. His father operated a boarding house — “a backpackers’ hotel” — for about 10 years during the 1970s.
The second level of the shophouse is currently leased to board-game café operator King & the Pawn, which also occupies the attic level (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
When Tan first married, he and his wife lived in the shophouse before moving to their marital home. He is now a father of three grown daughters.
Before he became a businessman, Tan was a regular in the military service for six years. His company, Acmecon Engineers, is a property development consultant. Besides Singapore, most of his projects are overseas, including China and the Middle East.
Following his grandfather’s demise, Tan’s father and uncle became joint owners of the shophouse on Purvis Street. When Tan’s father and uncle passed away within months of each other in 2011, Tan and his cousin became joint asset owners.
In 2016, Tan spent $1 million refurbishing the interiors of the shophouse. As the ceiling height on the second floor of the shophouse is about 11m, Tan was able to create an attic level. After the renovation, the shophouse features high specifications, an efficient layout, generous ceiling height and ensuite washrooms on the first two floors. He conserved the façade and the original window lattices.
The first and second storeys of the shophouse are approved for restaurant use, although the approval will expire on Aug 5, 2025, and Sept 20, 2025, respectively.
Fizzy Dayz, a casual diner bar concept by the award-winning Nutmeg & Clove group, occupies the first storey. It is currently closed for renovation and will reopen at the end of the month with a new concept. Board-game café operator King & the Pawn occupies the upper floors.
According to Tan, the combined monthly rental rate for both tenants is $20,000. Before Covid, it was $24,000 a month, he says. He feels there is room for further rental upside.
The new attic and skylight were added in the 2016 refurbishment (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Tan’s cousin, who is in his 80s, believes it is time to sell the asset. Hence, the cousins have decided to put the property for sale by expression of interest (EOI) via Savills Singapore as the exclusive marketing agent. The EOI exercise will close on June 21.
The shophouse on Purvis Street has a footprint of 1,679 sq ft with a 999-year lease from Jan 25, 1827. The existing floor area is 3,702 sq ft. The property is zoned for commercial and residential use with a plot ratio of 4.2. The new owner can build a five-storey extension, enhancing the floor area to 7,052 sq ft. The indicative price of $17.8 million translates to $2,876 psf per plot ratio.
According to Yap Hui Yee, executive director of investment sales & capital markets at Savills Singapore, adding a rear extension to the existing property can increase the floor area and introduce new tenant concepts. Doing so will lead to “significant value-add potential” and further capital and rental value upside. “Alternative uses such as hospitality, accommodation, wellness and healthcare can be explored, subject to approval from the relevant authorities,” she adds.
The first storey of the shophouse is leased to casual diner-bar Fizzy Dayz, which is currently under renovation and will reopen at the end of May with a new concept (Photo: Savills Singapore)
Purvis Street is located within the Beach Road Conservation Area and has just 20 conservation shophouses, estimates Savills. Shophouses on Purvis Street are tightly held by families, and are rarely on the market for sale, says Yap. Only eight transactions were recorded by Realis from January 1995 to date. The latest transaction was in January 2022, when the 32-room Hotel Kai at 14 Purvis Street changed hands for $28 million. The transacted price translates to $875,000 per key.
Yap says the property at 24 Purvis Street will benefit from the renewal in the Civic and Cultural District. It is within walking distance of Raffles Hotel, Raffles City, South Beach and three MRT stations (Bugis Interchange, City Hall Interchange and Esplanade). It is also near the new mixed-use developments in the Bugis and Beach Road neighbourhood, such as Guoco Midtown, Shaw Towers and The M.
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