Ravi Chandran
The strata office floor at GB Building being auctioned is a bank sale
Edmund Tie has put up for sale a 5,209 sq ft office space on the 12th floor of GB Building. The sale of the strata office floor is by way of an auction with an opening price of $10 million.
The opening price for the strata office floor translates to approximately $1,919 per square feet (psf).
The strata office floor has four amalgamated offices offering views of the city and “has a rectangular layout, with a general office space, meeting rooms, pantry and separate men and ladies toilets,” said Ms Joy Tan, head of auction at Edmund Tie. The four amalgamated units are currently being occupied by an architectural firm and it will be sold with tenancy and on an as-is-where-is basis, added Ms Tan.
The strata office floor being auctioned will be of particular interest for larger businesses who prefer to occupy an entire floor in a good location, said Edmund Tie.
GB Building is situated at Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD) and in the heart of the Tanjong Pagar submarket. It has approximately 95 metres prominent road frontage along Cecil Street and McCallum Street. The building also enjoys seamless connectivity with fully sheltered access to Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.
Due to its quality specifications and strategic location, GB Building consistently enjoys a high occupancy rate and the office floors are always tightly held by a very small number of owners.
Mr Paul Ho, chief officer at iCompareLoan, said: “Against a backdrop of tight strata office supply in the CBD, this offering will be a good opportunity for the right purchaser.”
The Tanjong Pagar precinct has undergone exciting rejuvenation anchored by new mixed-uses developments, Grade A offices, luxury residential developments and hotels, such as Tanjong Pagar Centre, Frasers Tower and the upcoming former CPF Building and Afro Asia Building.
With the redevelopment of AXA Tower by a joint venture comprising Alibaba Group and a Perennial consortium, other new lifestyle and F&B offerings complement the commercial and residential elements, which this area is traditionally known for, transforming Tanjong Pagar into a vibrant live-work-play community in Singapore’s CBD.
Based on recent strata office transactions in the vicinity, such as Samsung Hub, SBF Centre, Crown at Robinson, which are transacted in the range of $3,000 psf, the price point for the GB Building strata office floor is a compelling and attractive one, proving to be a chance opportunity for purchaser.
In addition to the ongoing rejuvenation, the government’s development plans for Tanjong Pagar as the gateway to the next waterfront city will have a growth effect on both capital and rental values of existing developments. Furthermore, the opportunity to find a premium grade strata office floor at $10 million price tag in the prime CBD is extremely rare and hard to come by.
Tanjong Pagar is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s urban planning zone.
According to CBRE Research, office rents recovery is expected in the second half of 2021, resulting in an overall positive rental growth for the whole of 2021.
The office rents recovery will come on the back of Ministry of Trade and Industry’s projection that the Singapore economy will grow by 4% to 6% in 2021. Nonetheless, office demand is expected to remain relatively subdued in 1H 2021, as firms will still remain cautious in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Should economic activity and business sentiment recover after the administration of the vaccine by Q3 2021, the office market is well poised to benefit from the gains in employment.
Five new projects are estimated to complete in 2021, which will add another 1.23 million square feet to the entire office stock. Out of these five, there is only one Grade A office development – CapitaSpring, which will add another 0.65 million square feet of office stock to the Grade A (Core CBD) market.
