United House, a freehold commercial building at 20 Kramat Lane off Orchard Road, has been launched for collective sale at a reserve price of $166 million. The collective sale is managed by Edmund Tie.

This is the first successful collective sale launch of United House, following three previous attempts that failed to garner the necessary 80% owners’ consent in both strata area and share value, says Edmund Tie.

The 12,838 sq ft site has a plot ratio of 4.9 and is zoned for commercial use under the Master Plan. According to Edmund Tie, the site could be redeveloped into a 10-storey commercial building with a gross floor area (GFA) of up to 62,900 sq ft.

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Hence, the reserve price translates to $3,025 psf per plot ratio (ppr) if the site is redeveloped into a new commercial project.

“United House falls outside of the areas where new strata subdivision of commercial space is restricted. The successful buyer has the flexibility to consider strata subdivision for the new development,” says Swee Shou Fern, head of investment advisory at Edmund Tie.

The consultancy says that a planning application to change the land zoning for hotel use, with a plot ratio of 4.9, has been submitted to URA. If this is granted and the site is redeveloped into a new hotel project, the land rate would increase to $3,318 psf ppr.

“Given its prime location along the Orchard Road shopping belt, the site would be ideal for redevelopment into a hotel,” says Swee. “The ongoing enhancements to Orchard Road, coupled with United House’s redevelopment potential, are highly likely to result in significant capital appreciation in time to come.”

The Concorde Hotel & Shopping Centre at 100 Orchard Road, which is adjacent to United House, is also attempting a collective sale. Mainboard-listed Hotel Properties owns the 99,623 sq ft plot and has priced the site at $820 million. This price tag includes bonus GFA from balconies and a lease top-up premium of $213.1 million, which brings the land rate to $1,801 psf ppr.

Other buildings along Orchard Road are undergoing redevelopment or asset enhancement initiatives. Those in proximity to United House include The Cathay and Faber House, which is being redeveloped into a 250-key hotel.

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United House is within walking distance of Somerset MRT Station along the North-South Line and Dhoby Ghaut Interchange serving the North East, North-South and Circle Lines.

The collective sale tender of United House closes on Nov 14.