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Published November 11, 2010

Ex-Singapura Theatre site sold for $44.9m

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


SHAW Brothers Limited has decided to sell the former Singapura Theatre site at No 55 Changi Road to a consortium for $44.9 million. The consortium is said to include Roxy-Pacific Holdings and Macly Capital.

The price they are paying for the freehold property works out to $768 per square foot of potential gross floor area. No development charge (DC) is payable for the site, which is zoned for commercial use with a 3.0 plot ratio under Master Plan 2008.

Knight Frank brokered the sale through a private treaty deal and the announcement of the deal yesterday is just a day before the tender exercise for the property was due to close today. As a result, that tender has now been withdrawn.

The consortium that purchased the property is expected to redevelop the site, which has a land area of 19,497 sq ft.

It can be redeveloped into a new project with a maximum gross floor area of about 58,490 sq ft based on the 3.0 plot ratio. Currently on site is a three-storey commercial building.

In the 1970s, Singapura Theatre was an entertainment magnet in the area, drawing fans of Hindi and Malay films.

The theatre was shut in 1985 in the aftermath of competition from the video industry.

The building was then used as, among other other things, a furniture exhibition centre, temporary shopping centre, a foodcourt, and entertainment centre.

The property is about 650 metres from the Paya Lebar MRT station and about 500 metres from Eunos MRT station.

The area around Paya Lebar MRT station has been earmarked for transformation into a commercial hub as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority's decentralisation strategy.