http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/arch...-bloc-20130321

Published March 21, 2013

Middle Rd commercial building going en bloc

JLL sets $45-50m indicative price for Bright Chambers

By nathaniel chew


[SINGAPORE] Bright Chambers, a commercial building located at 108 Middle Road, has been put up for collective sale by tender by real estate agent Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

The nine-storey commercial development comprises eight units with a total strata area of 34,972 sq ft and land area of 5,263 sq ft. The site has a plot ratio of 7.94, and is zoned for commercial use.

The 99-year leasehold site has a remaining term of 60 years. Jones Lang LaSalle gave the building an indicative price of $45-50 million. Karamjit Singh, regional director of investments at Jones Lang LaSalle, highlighted the site's good location.

"The building is easily accessible via Middle Road, Victoria Street and Manila Street, and the Bugis MRT station is less than 200 metres away. The accessibility of the building will be further enhanced with the upcoming MRT Downtown Line," he said.

The building, at the junction of Middle Road and Victoria Street, also enjoys "prominent road frontages", he added.

"It would be ideal as corporate headquarters and for owners looking for naming rights of the building," he said. Alternatively, the building could be used as a retail or entertainment centre, he reckoned.

"A retail or entertainment development for the subject building would complement and add value to the designated entertainment district in the Bras Basah-Bugis area," he said.

He added: "Bright Chambers would be ideal for 'vertical retail' development, a concept that is fairly common and well received in countries like Japan and Korea."

Vertical retail is a retail style in which a retailer's store spans several floors of the same building.

Citing the recent sales of commercial strata units, such as Bugis Cube, Alexandra Central, and Oxley Tower, Mr Singh expressed optimism on demand for such sites.

"In the midst of a slew of measures imposed on the housing market, we have seen investors turning to commercial properties," he said. The tender for the Bright Chambers building closes on April 18 at 3pm.