New Reporter
12-06-23, 12:43
Ong Beng Seng’s HPL puts in development proposal for Forum mall, former Hilton, HPL House sites
Jun 09, 2023
IS a major redevelopment finally in the works for a stretch of prime Orchard Road real estate owned by Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties Limited (HPL)?
A development proposal has been submitted to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) involving land parcels that currently house HPL’s Forum The Shopping Mall, the voco Orchard Singapore hotel, and HPL House. The land that the voco Orchard Singapore stands on, currently zoned for hotel use, is up for rezoning to commercial use, according to a Friday (Jun 9) update by the planning agency.
HPL’s three properties sit on a total of an estimated 14,027.1 square metres or roughly 150,000 square feet of freehold land, on a prime corner of Orchard Road and Cuscaden Road.
https://i.imgur.com/dh9UMgu.jpg
While the Forum mall and HPL House are already sited on land zoned for commercial use, the voco Orchard Singapore site currently has only hotel use permitted.
Rezoning would free up options for redevelopment, so that any future use on the plot need not be limited to hotel use. A commercial use zoning, however, may still include a hotel component.
While it is very early days yet and the proposed change of use is only the first step in a long planning process, market watchers suggest that HPL may integrate hotel and retail components into a massive luxury commercial project in the area.
Desmond Sim, chief executive officer of Edmund Tie, said it was possible the proposed rezoning of HPL’s land parcels could fall under the Strategic Development Incentive Scheme and contribute towards Orchard Road’s rejuvenation.
He said: “We already see how across the road, Palais Renaissance completed its asset enhancement works last year. Pan Pacific Orchard has also just opened.”
The URA’s Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) Scheme was rolled out in 2019, intended to encourage the redevelopment of older buildings in strategic areas into new developments that will transform the locale. Eligible building owners and developers may submit proposals seeking higher plot ratios as well as flexibility on land use and building height.
The SDI scheme is valid for five years and will be reviewed next year.
Speculation has swirled for two decades that HPL could undertake a mega development involving its prime Orchard Road assets. HPL also owns the land on which the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is located, behind the voco Orchard. The two hotels are connected via a walkway across Cuscaden Road.
Back in 2005, the URA launched a scheme to spur the redevelopment of Orchard Road properties and revitalise Singapore’s prime shopping belt, by allowing developers to apply for a higher gross floor area. The scheme ended in 2015.
The possibility of redevelopment for HPL’s assets surfaced again in 2020, when it emerged that HPL would part ways with Hilton after the management contract for its Orchard Road hotel ended in 2021.
But the property reopened in January 2022 as the 423-room voco Orchard, operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group.
Since then, HPL’s Ong has joined hands with entities of Temasek unit CLA Real Estate Holdings, and Temasek-owned Mapletree Investments to take over Singapore Press Holdings in 2022. CLA owns privately-held CapitaLand and is the biggest shareholder of CapitaLand Investment.
The Business Times’ Hock Lock Siew column in April 2022 suggested that “HPL, working with the right partners, could create a new mega landmark development that excites users and generates healthy financial returns. Upon completion, the development or parts of it can be injected into a real estate investment trust such as SPH Reit, which owns Paragon in Orchard Road, or a private fund.”
Based on the current allowable plot ratios of the sites at 4.2 for HPL House, 4.9 for the Forum site, and 4.9 for the voco plot, Huttons senior research director Lee Sze Teck estimates a future development combining the three sites would yield over 700,000 sq ft of gross floor area. This would “put it on par with some of the largest malls in Orchard Road”.
Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of property portal Mogul.sg, said the proposed rezoning may not mean that the Forum or the voco will be demolished.
He said: “But the developer will have to think about how the space can be rebranded, and what kinds of shoppers they would like to draw.”
The new project could resemble Mandarin Gallery, with a shopping mall on the lower floors and a hotel on the upper floors, Mak said.
BT has contacted HPL for more information.
On Friday, URA also announced that a land parcel at 21 Cuscaden Road is being proposed for rezoning from commercial to hotel use.
The site is home to Ming Arcade, which was sold for S$172 million in December 2022 to the Royal Group of Companies, a Singapore-based, single-family office founded by its chairman Asok Kumar Hiranandani.
Its portfolio includes SO Sofitel Singapore, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, and Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa Singapore.
The proposed rezoning of Ming Arcade for hotel use would likely see it being revamped into a luxury hotel in the light of how Four Seasons Hotel Singapore and the St Regis Singapore are nearby, Sim added.
Mak said Ming Arcade, located next to Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, would have to distinguish itself and could do this by rebranding itself as a high-end boutique hotel like Artyzen Singapore, expected to open along Cuscaden Road later this year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/ong-beng-sengs-hpl-puts-development-proposal-forum-mall-former-hilton-hpl-house-sites
Jun 09, 2023
IS a major redevelopment finally in the works for a stretch of prime Orchard Road real estate owned by Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties Limited (HPL)?
A development proposal has been submitted to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) involving land parcels that currently house HPL’s Forum The Shopping Mall, the voco Orchard Singapore hotel, and HPL House. The land that the voco Orchard Singapore stands on, currently zoned for hotel use, is up for rezoning to commercial use, according to a Friday (Jun 9) update by the planning agency.
HPL’s three properties sit on a total of an estimated 14,027.1 square metres or roughly 150,000 square feet of freehold land, on a prime corner of Orchard Road and Cuscaden Road.
https://i.imgur.com/dh9UMgu.jpg
While the Forum mall and HPL House are already sited on land zoned for commercial use, the voco Orchard Singapore site currently has only hotel use permitted.
Rezoning would free up options for redevelopment, so that any future use on the plot need not be limited to hotel use. A commercial use zoning, however, may still include a hotel component.
While it is very early days yet and the proposed change of use is only the first step in a long planning process, market watchers suggest that HPL may integrate hotel and retail components into a massive luxury commercial project in the area.
Desmond Sim, chief executive officer of Edmund Tie, said it was possible the proposed rezoning of HPL’s land parcels could fall under the Strategic Development Incentive Scheme and contribute towards Orchard Road’s rejuvenation.
He said: “We already see how across the road, Palais Renaissance completed its asset enhancement works last year. Pan Pacific Orchard has also just opened.”
The URA’s Strategic Development Incentive (SDI) Scheme was rolled out in 2019, intended to encourage the redevelopment of older buildings in strategic areas into new developments that will transform the locale. Eligible building owners and developers may submit proposals seeking higher plot ratios as well as flexibility on land use and building height.
The SDI scheme is valid for five years and will be reviewed next year.
Speculation has swirled for two decades that HPL could undertake a mega development involving its prime Orchard Road assets. HPL also owns the land on which the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is located, behind the voco Orchard. The two hotels are connected via a walkway across Cuscaden Road.
Back in 2005, the URA launched a scheme to spur the redevelopment of Orchard Road properties and revitalise Singapore’s prime shopping belt, by allowing developers to apply for a higher gross floor area. The scheme ended in 2015.
The possibility of redevelopment for HPL’s assets surfaced again in 2020, when it emerged that HPL would part ways with Hilton after the management contract for its Orchard Road hotel ended in 2021.
But the property reopened in January 2022 as the 423-room voco Orchard, operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group.
Since then, HPL’s Ong has joined hands with entities of Temasek unit CLA Real Estate Holdings, and Temasek-owned Mapletree Investments to take over Singapore Press Holdings in 2022. CLA owns privately-held CapitaLand and is the biggest shareholder of CapitaLand Investment.
The Business Times’ Hock Lock Siew column in April 2022 suggested that “HPL, working with the right partners, could create a new mega landmark development that excites users and generates healthy financial returns. Upon completion, the development or parts of it can be injected into a real estate investment trust such as SPH Reit, which owns Paragon in Orchard Road, or a private fund.”
Based on the current allowable plot ratios of the sites at 4.2 for HPL House, 4.9 for the Forum site, and 4.9 for the voco plot, Huttons senior research director Lee Sze Teck estimates a future development combining the three sites would yield over 700,000 sq ft of gross floor area. This would “put it on par with some of the largest malls in Orchard Road”.
Nicholas Mak, chief research officer of property portal Mogul.sg, said the proposed rezoning may not mean that the Forum or the voco will be demolished.
He said: “But the developer will have to think about how the space can be rebranded, and what kinds of shoppers they would like to draw.”
The new project could resemble Mandarin Gallery, with a shopping mall on the lower floors and a hotel on the upper floors, Mak said.
BT has contacted HPL for more information.
On Friday, URA also announced that a land parcel at 21 Cuscaden Road is being proposed for rezoning from commercial to hotel use.
The site is home to Ming Arcade, which was sold for S$172 million in December 2022 to the Royal Group of Companies, a Singapore-based, single-family office founded by its chairman Asok Kumar Hiranandani.
Its portfolio includes SO Sofitel Singapore, Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, and Raffles Sentosa Resort & Spa Singapore.
The proposed rezoning of Ming Arcade for hotel use would likely see it being revamped into a luxury hotel in the light of how Four Seasons Hotel Singapore and the St Regis Singapore are nearby, Sim added.
Mak said Ming Arcade, located next to Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, would have to distinguish itself and could do this by rebranding itself as a high-end boutique hotel like Artyzen Singapore, expected to open along Cuscaden Road later this year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/ong-beng-sengs-hpl-puts-development-proposal-forum-mall-former-hilton-hpl-house-sites