CEL, SingHaiyi units to build 367 apartments, strata office and retail tower on Peace Centre site

The project in Sophia Road received planning approval in late 2023, and will be completed by 2028

Jun 10, 2024

PLANS for the redevelopment of the Peace Centre site are finally moving ahead, some 2½ years after the ageing mall in Sophia Road was sold, along with Peace Mansion next door.

The joint developers, entities linked to CEL and SingHaiyi, received planning approval in the last quarter of 2023, to build 367 residential units; the rebuild also includes plans for new strata-titled offices and retail space on the site near Orchard Road.

Michael Ng, executive director of SingHaiyi Holdings, told The Business Times (BT): “The project is pending approval from the authorities for launch.”

Slated to be completed by 2028, the 7,118 sq m site will house a commercial tower called One Sophia, and two residential blocks in a development named The Collective at One Sophia.

One Sophia will have a 13-storey tower with 11 levels of strata offices, two floors and a basement for retail use, and a car park spanning three basement floors. The total gross floor area (GFA) for commercial use is 33,700.29 sq m, making up 60 per cent of the total GFA for the development.

The remaining 40 per cent of GFA will be residential, with studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom unit types.

Demolition works start in the third quarter, and the plan is to launch the residential and strata office units in the same quarter, Ng told BT.

Peace Centre and Peace Mansion were sold together in a collective sale to CEL Development (then known as Chip Eng Seng), SingHaiyi Crystal and Ultra Infinity in December 2021 for S$650 million.

The deal price worked out to a land rate of S$1,426 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), after including a premium to top up the 99-year lease on the sites. Factoring in a 7 per cent bonus GFA from an incentive scheme brought the land rate to about S$1,388 psf ppr.

Other launches in the area

New residential launches nearby include the freehold Orchard Sophia, which sold 24 units or 31 per cent of its 78 units in its launch month last August, at a median price of S$2,808 psf. To date, the project has sold 35 units, or 45 per cent.



Tricia Song, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and South-east Asia, estimates a new 99-year launch in the area could be priced at S$2,600 psf. The residential component of One Sophia could fetch a 15 to 25 per cent premium in comparison, she said, taking pricing closer to the S$3,000 psf mark.

JLL’s head of residential research Chia Siew Chiun said local buyer demand has helped to support buying and prices in the Core Central Region (CCR), where the District 9 Sophia Road is located. This is despite the hike in Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) dampening demand from investors and foreign buyers.

Demand for strata commercial units in Singapore has also been resilient over the past 12 months, a JLL’s spokesperson said, with continuing interest from high-net-worth individuals and family offices. “This interest has been driven by the attractive price quantum associated with strata properties, compared to en bloc ones.”

SingHaiyi has several other new projects on its plate. The developer is also looking to launch a 440-unit residential project, Sora, in Yuan Ching Road in Jurong.

Sora is being built on the 99-year-leasehold Park View Mansion site, which SingHaiyi acquired in an en bloc deal in July 2022 for S$260 million, or S$1,023 psf ppr.

“(Our) agents have advised an average selling price range of around S$2,100 psf to S$2,300 psf,” SingHaiyi’s Ng said.

A public preview is planned for the end of June, and the project is set to be completed in 2027.

Prices will be “attractive and compelling against the recent launches within the Jurong Lake District (JLD)”, he said.

The 306-unit LakeGarden Residences next to Sora had moved 115 units as at April 2024, after having sold 73 units in its launch month in August 2023 at a median price of S$2,101 psf. “Sales have been gradual, but relatively steady, with prices holding up,” said CBRE’s Song.

With JLD planned as Singapore’s largest business district outside the city centre, Ng is optimistic about Sora’s sales prospects.

Sales are less rosy for TMW Maxwell, which is coming up on the Maxwell House site, acquired for S$276.8 million in a collective sale in May 2021 at S$1,665 psf ppr.

TMW Maxwell comprises a single 20-storey block with 11 commercial units and 324 apartments.

Checks on Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Realis database found six sales registered since the project was launched last August at a median price of S$3,338 psf.

Sales have been weak for residential projects in and around the Central Business District, which typically draw investor buyers, now kept at bay by the high ABSD barrier. TMW Maxwell’s price point “may also be comparatively high for a 99-year leasehold project”, said CBRE’s Song.

Asked for his views on the slowing sales, Ng told BT: “The recent launches for CCR residential properties have, to some extent, been impacted by the ABSD regulations, which turned away a portion of local investors and foreign buyers.”

As the Maxwell House site was zoned for commercial use when it was acquired in 2021, the developer does not face the five-year sales deadline that applies to sites acquired for housing use.

“There is already very strong leasing interest in the commercial podium from F&B, retail, lifestyle and co-working operators,” said Ng.

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