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50% stake in United Engineers' Anson Road redevelopment project up for sale at $325 mil

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

February 11, 2025 8:09 PM SGT

79 Anson Road has received provisional permission to be redeveloped into a new mixed-use development with offices and serviced apartments (Picture: The Edge Singapore)

A 50% stake in a proposed redevelopment project located at 79 Anson Road in the CBD is up for sale. According to joint marketing agents CBRE and JLL, the stake has a guide price of $325 million.

The site, occupied by an existing 23-storey freehold office building, is owned by United Engineers (UE), a unit of Yanlord Land Group. UE purchased the tower, also known as UE BizHub Tower, in 2012 for $410 million.

The site, located near the corner of Anson Road and Palmer Road, has a land area measuring approximately 28,163 sq ft. It is zoned for commercial use with an allowable gross plot ratio of 8.4 and a building height control of up to 35 storeys. The existing tower on the site has a gross floor area (GFA) of 289,185 sq ft.

Map showing 79 Anson Road (Source: EdgeProp LandLens)

According to CBRE and JLL, the site has been granted provisional permission by the authorities to be redeveloped into a new 28-storey mixed-use development with a GFA of 361,465 sq ft, which represents a 25% GFA uplift. The future development will feature 10 storeys of Grade A office space and 12 storeys housing 255 units of serviced apartments.

While the site at 79 Anson Road is on freehold land, UE is proposing to carve out a leasehold tenure of 99 years for the new development. This means that after 99 years, ownership of the land will revert back to UE.

The 50% stake in the redevelopment project is being offered for sale with the land tenure of 99 years from the date of completion of the sale and purchase of the property, say CBRE and JLL.

Michael Tay, head of capital markets for Singapore at CBRE, says the development is an attractive opportunity given the "limited" land supply for office and hotel sites in the CBD.

He believes that the offering of the site with a 99-year land tenure should appeal to a wide array of buyers, adding that "the market is accustomed to the acquisition of sites of such tenure under the Government Land Sales programme”.

The guide price of $325 million for a 50% stake in the asset translates to a land rate of about $1,800 psf per plot ratio, say the joint marketing agents.

Ting Lim, head of capital markets for JLL Singapore, says that the opportunity provides the incoming investor access to a premium mixed-use development in partnership with UE and serviced apartment operator Park Avenue.

The EOI for the stake will close on April 9 at 3pm.

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