Special Feature

Units in rare corner shophouse at 92 Arab Street for rent

By Hashim Bahashwan

/ ERA Realty Network |

October 17, 2022 1:00 PM SGT

92 Arab Street is a rare corner shop on Arab Street. It is just around the corner from the famed Masjid Sultan (or Sultan Mosque) at 3 Muscat Street. Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore

Two units within a rare corner shophouse at 92 Arab Street are up for lease. Both units are marketed exclusively by Hashim Bahashwan, senior marketing director at ERA Realty.

The ground floor of the three-storey building is newly renovated and separated into two units. The one that’s up for rent, #01-01, measures around 1,000 sq ft. The unit is approved for permanent food and beverage (F&B) use. It was formerly rented by a textile store before the lease expired.

“Anil [Thadani], the landlord, had the foresight in 2021 that the next big thing in this area would be cafes and restaurants. Looking around the area now, he’s obviously right,” says Bahashwan.

Another unit on the third floor of the shophouse is also available for rent. The unit, #03-01, comes with a mezzanine floor and measures a total of 1,200 sq ft. It is also newly renovated, with its previous tenant recently vacating the space.

The other tenants within the shophouse are a small café named Tarik in #01-02, and a hairdresser, “Take” Singapore Japanese hair salon, that occupies the second floor.

The shophouse has two existing tenants including a cafe (above) in unit #01-02. Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore.

The unit on the third floor enjoys the same separate door and stairway on the side to the upper floors of the shophouse, a feature that’s only available at some corner shophouses.

“The upper floors can be individually run, with no concern on who’s downstairs,” shares Bahashwan, who adds that this is yet another feature that’s rarely seen in the shophouses in the area.

According to Bahashwan, the shophouse was built, along with others in the Kampong Glam district, between 1840 and 1900. This shophouse itself was built in the 1850s and comes with a 999-year lease. Located in a conservation area, the shophouse has largely been kept in its original state.

“We are hoping to attract good and notable food and beverage (F&B) brands, where customers can soak in the culture of the historic district itself and enjoy the newly-refreshed space, similar to that of Arabica at 56 Arab Street,” says Bahashwan.

“The third floor, which has been licensed for full commercial use, is great for a corporate office. Again, we are looking for a tenant with a good profile and a good and decent business, who can use the space effectively, like the previous tenant, which was a law firm,” he adds.

A good location…

The shophouse itself is hard to miss. Painted in an eye-catching shade of green, the shophouse stands out from the rest of its neighbours easily.

Hashim Bahashwan (right) with Anil Thadani (centre), the owner of the shophouse and Zai, Bahashwan's associate. Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore

The neighbouring shophouses have also since repainted their façade to bright hues such as orange, which looks good for pictures, says Thadani, the owner of the shophouse.

Located just a few minutes' walk from the junction of North Bridge Road and Arab Street and just around the corner from the famed Masjid Sultan (or Sultan Mosque) at 3 Muscat Street, there is plenty of pedestrian traffic within the vicinity of the shophouse, says Bahashwan.

Thadani reveals that he has plans to transform the expansive side wall into a work of art for passers-by to enjoy. That wall space boasts a total area of 3,000 sq ft.

“We have decided to donate that wall for the public to enjoy, and we are currently meeting several artists who, we hope, can best capture the essence of the area through their art or graffiti. Graffiti is not allowed in Arab Street due to its heritage status, and we will have to seek one-off approval from the National Heritage Board (NHB) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). We will also have to discuss with the committee of the Masjid Sultan due to our proximity near the mosque,” Thadani shares.

“We are still in discussions with the NHB and URA to see how we can create a storyline that best fits in with the area. For now, all we can say is, we have plans to do up a nice mural to depict Kampong Glam in the old days,” he adds, declining to reveal the name of the artist he has shortlisted so far.

What he will reveal, is that the artist is slated to begin working on the mural on Feb 1, 2023. The work will take at least a month or a month-and-a-half to be completed.

… an understanding landlord

Potential tenants who are keen on the units for lease can rest easy upon knowing that Thadani is an understanding landlord.

“We like to help our tenants where we can,” says Thadani. “When we were renovating the shophouse in 2021, our tenant on the second floor, naturally, went through a bit of inconvenience due to the loud noises from the construction. While he can still operate his business thanks to the separate side entrance, the area wasn’t clean as well. As we were also looking to upgrade the utility accounts for each and every unit within the shophouse, we ended up giving him a two-week waiver on his rent and asked him to take the same two weeks off due to the inconvenience caused.”

Bahashwan, who has been an agent for 23 years, is widely known in the shophouse circuit, especially on Arab Street. Photo: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore

Finding the right tenant is clearly key for Thadani.

At 56 Arab Street, another one of his shophouses, the landlord offered his tenant, who was running a capsule hotel, Met A Space Pod @ Arab Street during the Covid-19 period. At the time, the hospitality industry took a beating due to the closure of international borders and domestic restrictions. Backpacker hotels – which Met A Space Pod @ Arab Street was considered – were one of the last to enjoy the relaxed restrictions for the hospitality industry in Singapore.

“Our tenant was actually on the verge of breaking his lease as he could not afford to pay the agreed rent. He had actually brought in another tenant to take over the lease. That tenant was waiting for me downstairs while the original tenant was in discussions with me,” Thadani says. “In that five minutes, I told him to pay me whatever he could afford to pay during Covid-19, and when things normalise, to revert back to normal.”

“At the time, we thought the Covid-19 pandemic would last six months, but it extended to one-and-a-half years,” he adds. “We struggled at the time, but we’re finally back to normal. He’s very grateful for that, and we’re back to the contracted rent.”

“While other landlords would have accepted his offer to quit, I thought that the space would’ve been a white elephant and we didn’t want to be pressured into finding someone quickly,” Thadani continues. “Here, we don’t look at tenants who can offer us higher rent. We never believe in that. We always believe in talking to the tenant and try to strike a compromise with him, even if someone else wants to give us higher rent.”

An experienced agent who you can trust

Bahashwan, who has been an agent for 23 years, is widely known in the shophouse circuit, especially on Arab Street.

During our interview, Bahashwan was clearly a popular figure among the owners and tenants alike, as they came out to say hi. The agent has made satisfactory deals for the people in the area.

In his over two decades of experience, there are two cherished memories Bahashwan still keeps close to his heart.

The first, was when he was listed as one of the Top 50 agents at the quarterly ERA Top 50 event on December 2021. The second, was when he successfully closed a six-unit shophouse in Kampong Glam in one single transaction in 2012.

In his line of work, it is clear that Bahashwan is highly regarded by his clients.

“The level of trust that my clients have in me has made them come back to me to handle most of their properties,” he shares. “Once, a property developer had also sent me a blank cheque to close a 12-unit shophouse.”

He adds: “That level of trust is something I treasure and that is why new clients do not have to worry about my sincerity in handling transactions on their behalf.”

With Thadani, Bahashwan already enjoys a partnership of around 20 years.

“Our trust is mutual. I can trust Hashim to market and sell a property, while he can trust me to have his back,” says Thadani. “Mutual trust is when a landlord can call upon an agent and ask him to market a particular property, and if anyone else tries to come in, the landlord blocks it. That is the trust that an agent needs.”

This sentiment is echoed by another one of Bahashwan’s clients. “Hashim is very trustworthy. He is focused on his job and always delivers results,” says Ali, one of the owners along Arab Street. He declined to reveal his last name. “We have known one another for over 18 years now. He sold my shop at 64 Arab Street many years ago with a figure I wanted. Since then, I have engaged him with most of our shop leases. When he presented me with a shop on Bussorah Street, I bought it immediately after he explained that the store will enjoy capital gains. He is someone I’d definitely recommend.”

“We have known Hashim for 20 years since he was the property agent for our first shophouse purchase on Haji Lane in the early 2000s. About a year later, he spotted a second opportunity for us, which led to our next investment on Haji Lane,” shares Mr & Mrs Ong, who declined to reveal their first names.

“Through our many interactions with him, Hashim has been an invaluable help – searching for suitable tenants and handling all the paperwork and other issues. Hashim is a very patient, trustworthy, responsible and responsive individual. We feel he has an astute understanding of his clients and does his best to meet their unique needs. That is why it has been our pleasure to have him as our main property agent for so long,” the couple adds.

On recruiting, Hashim is hoping to have 30 hardworking and qualified agents under his wing. However, he is also open to sharing his experience and training agents who have just stepped into the industry and are interested in dealing with commercial properties.

“I will push my team to get the deals they deserve and guide them with my years of experience in the market. My sales strategy is to prepare, prepare, prepare. Whether it’s the presentation itself, property knowledge or market trends, we need to over-prepare ourselves in order to succeed,” he says.

He adds: “I look forward to serving investors, vendors, as well as tenants in the years to come and I strive to achieve any investment objectives my clients have.”