KH Kea Building at North Bridge Road on Sale for $80 million

You probably know this building, but not its name: this is the one next to Bras Basah Complex, with the two storey McDonald’s. Yup, it’s up for sale:

The “McDonald’s near the library building”

Everyone we asked referred to the KH Kea building as “the McDonald’s next to Bras Basah Complex”, or “the McDonald’s near the library” (it’s close to the National Library). Regardless, we’re betting you know the building:

KH Kea is a commercial building located at 333 North Bridge Road (Singapore 188721). The nine-storey building (which can be redeveloped to 16-storeys) has a plot ratio of 5.2, with a site area of 4,684 square feet. 299 square meters may be built on top of the current 2698.7 square metres with no development charge.

The 999-year lease  started in 1827, so many of our grandparents were still on the boat to Singapore when it began.

The property is being marketed by Edmund Tie & Company, at an indicative price of $80 million. As it’s a commercial property, there is no Additional Buyers Stamp Duty (ABSD) – but the usual GST applies. The sale is open to foreign buyers as well.

Office-space investors, take note

This area is a bit of a goldmine. It’s about five minutes from the Bras Basah MRT station, and there are three other MRT stations (City Hall, Raffles Place, and Esplanade) within a 500 meter radius. It’s also within walking distance to Raffles City, CHIJMES, and the massive retail stretch that’s Bugis.

Road-wise, the area is a hub that quickly connects to Nicoll Highway, East Coast Parkway, Pan Island Expressway, and the Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway. As you’ve probably guessed however, traffic in this area is heavy at almost all times.

Whoever gets this spot will see some competition from Guccoland’s Midtown, a $2.4 billion mega-project along Beach Road, and the new Shaw Tower (the current Shaw Tower, which has more or less just been a home to Singapore’s best Turkish restaurant for the past decade, will be torn down in 2023).

But we think there will be strong demand nonetheless – not everyone will need an office as grand as Midtown, and the K.H. Kea building is slightly more central than Shaw Tower. Keep an eye out for what comes next.

The Ophir-Rochor Corridor

All this recent redevelopment is part of the Ophir-Rochor Corridor – this is meant to rejuvenate the Beach Road area, and provide more in the way of courtyards and green spaces (if you look at Beach Road now, it’s all glass and concrete). We expect that most of the changes will be visible from 2023.

We’re also likely to see more collective sales of older office assets here, over the next few years. It’ll get exciting.

Do you think there’s a big shake-up happening on the office scene? Voice your opinions on our Facebook page. You can also visit 99.co to find the best priced office properties for sale or rent.