Rare shops in Orchard, Marine Parade for sale

Three prime commercial units in Orchard Towers (pictured) and Marine Parade Central are up for sale through expression of interest (EOI), marketing agent CBRE said.

Two strata-titled freehold units located on the ground and basement levels of Orchard Towers, with a total strata area of approximately 8,105 sq ft present a rare opportunity to purchase freehold shops in the prime Orchard area.

The ground floor unit enjoys prominent main street frontage with high visibility and foot traffic, while the basement unit has dual entrance access from direct street level and basement level.

Recent caveats for nearby Lucky Plaza show that ground floor retail shops were transacted in the range of $8,630 psf and $13,714 psf in 2013, while a third floor unit in Orchard Towers was transacted for $6,636 psf in May last year.

The other purchase opportunity is at a block in the main thoroughfare in Marine Parade Central. It spreads across the entire ground and second floors of Block 87 with a strata area of about 25,833 sq ft.

Situated between the Marine Parade Food Centre and Parkway Parade Shopping Centre, it enjoys prominent frontage on all sides of the building and is expected to see high human traffic.

According to recent caveats lodged, ground floor and basement shops at The Flow along East Coast Road that is under construction a stone's throw away, were transacted in the range of $4,008 and $5,789 psf over the past nine months.

Sammi Lim, Associate Director, Investment Properties, CBRE said that it is very rare for ground floor units to be made available for sale in the market.

"Amid the strong interest in commercial properties, especially retail shops, and the scarcity of such ground floor street-facing purchase opportunities in the market, we expect the property to attract strong interest from corporates, F&B operators, retailers, private-equity firms, as well as high net-worth individuals and family offices," she said.

As the Orchard Towers and Marine Parade Central units are under commercial property zoning, both local and foreigners are eligible to purchase with no additional buyers' stamp duty (ABSD) and no sellers' stamp duty (SSD) imposed on the purchase of the property.

The EOI for both properties will close on 30 May.

Photo by CBRE

Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg

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