Peace Centre, Peace Mansion sold for S$650 million after fifth en bloc sale attempt

SINGAPORE: Shopping mall Peace Centre and adjoining apartment complex Peace Mansion have been sold after a fifth attempt at a collective sale, said sole marketing agent JLL on Friday (Dec 3).

The mixed development property on Sophia Road was sold for S$650 million to a joint venture comprising CEL Development, Sing-Haiyi Crystal and Ultra Infinity. S$650 million was the reserve price set for the collective sale.

More than 80 per cent of owners agreed to the sale of the property, which was built around 1977. It consists of 232 commercial units, 86 apartments and a 162-lot car park. This works out to a total of 319 strata units in a 10-storey front podium block and a rear 32-storey tower.

The 76,617 sq ft site is zoned for commercial use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) 2019 Master Plan, and has a verified gross plot ratio of 7.89.

In-principle approval to renew the site’s lease for a fresh 99-year term was obtained from the Singapore Land Authority in March 2019. It may be redeveloped up to a height of 55m Singapore height datum, with part of the site potentially up to 67m.

“Based on a grant of outline planning permission from the URA in 2019, a developer may redevelop the site up to the existing gross floor area of approximately 604,578 sq ft for a mixed commercial and residential project with 60 per cent commercial gross floor area and 40 per cent residential gross floor area,” JLL said in a news release.

Mr Mohamed Rafig Maideen, the current chairman for the collective sale, said that “the owners are more realistic this round”, and that the sale agreement was concluded after “intense negotiations on the terms of the contract”.

“We have been persistent over the years and never gave up,” he said. “We have finally come to this stage and successfully found a buyer on our fifth attempt.”

With the site’s central location and "excellent accessibility" to six MRT stations, “the purchaser will be able to develop a well-connected mixed-use development”, said JLL executive director Tan Hong Boon.

“At the sale price of S$650 million, based on a new development comprising 60 per cent commercial and 40 per cent residential quantum, the … unit land rate after including an estimated lease top-up premium is approximately S$1,426 per sq ft per plot ratio, or S$1,388 per sq ft per plot ratio after factoring in an additional 7 per cent bonus gross floor area for the residential component.”