LHN announced on April 9 that it will be setting up a joint venture company with Ching Chiat Kwong, executive chairman and CEO of Oxley Holdings, and his son Shawn Ching to acquire the property Wilmer Place at 50 Armenian Street. The purchase price was $26.4 million, excluding GST.

Coliwoo Holdings, a unit of LHN, will hold 50% of the JV company, Ching Chiat Kwong will hold 45%, and his son Shawn Ching will hold the remaining 5%. Coliwoo and the Chings will contribute $24 million each.

The joint venture partners are likely to undertake asset enhancements, with LHN as the project manager. The property will then be managed as a Coliwoo brand co-living space. "Wilmer Place's distinctive location and rich heritage will bring a new dimension to our Coliwoo co-living collection," says Kelvin Lim, executive chairman and group managing director of LHN Group.

Read also: LHN sells 20% of GSM Building to Oxley's Ching

​“Wilmer Place at 50 Armenian Street has had a very long association with the Heng family since 1948," says Dr Brian Heng, director of Wilmer and Sons Pte Ltd, in a statement. "The divestment of Wilmer Place is part of the Group’s capital recycling strategy. We are pleased that this Singaporean JV will be the new Owner of this charming iconic building.’’

Savills brokered the sale in an off-market private treaty deal.

Wilmer Place at 50 Armenian Street is a four-storey non-conservation building situated in the historic Armenian Street, a part of Singapore's Civic and Cultural District. Armenian Street is named after the Armenian Church of St Gregory the Illuminator. Built in the 1840s, it was originally named the Armenian Church Street.

The street used to be a four-lane road and was pedestrianised in 2019. Wilmer Place fronts a pedestrian boulevard and opposite the Peranakan Museum and The Substation, a contemporary arts centre. It's also close to Fort Canning Park and the Singapore Management University campus.

This story was updated on May 9 to include statements by Kelvin Lim of LHN Group and Dr Brian Heng of Wilmer and Sons Pte Ltd