Coliwoo Buying Changi Hotel From ESR-REIT for $78.4M to Convert Into Co-Living

Singapore’s largest co-living operator is set to add 251 rooms to its portfolio through a deal to purchase a hotel near Changi airport for S$101 million ($78.4 million), according to an announcement late Friday.

Coliwoo, which listed on the SGX in November via a S$101 million IPO, has signed a put-and-call option with the manager of ESR-REIT for the purchase of the former Park Avenue Changi hotel, with the buyer pointing to the property’s potential to provide long-term rental housing near large corporate offices and close to the city-state’s international airport. 

“This proposed acquisition represents a compelling opportunity to expand our co-living portfolio in a location that offers genuine strategic advantages,” Kelvin Lim, executive chairman and chief executive of Coliwoo said in a statement. “The Changi Business Park site sits at the intersection of multiple demand drivers – from the established business community to the airport ecosystem and major infrastructure development. 

Coliwoo is expanding its portfolio of just under 3,000 rooms of rental housing after home prices in Southeast Asia’s wealthiest country rose for an eighth consecutive year in 2025, attracting more investors into Singapore’s living sector.

Non-Operational Property

The proposed deal would give Coliwoo the leasehold property at 2 Changi Business Park Avenue 1 at a rate of $402,390 per key, with the property located next to the Dorsett Changi City Singapore serviced apartments, which had sold for S$543,130 per key when still known as the Capri by Fraser in 2024.

The property, which according to some 0nline accounts ceased operations in December 2022, also includes ground floor retail space, with the rooms having previously been equipped with kitchen and laundry facilities suitable for long-stay accommodation. The property also benefits from easy access to the Expo MRT station on the Downtown line.

Under the terms of the agreement, ESR-REIT is leasing the property to Coliwoo until 31 February 2038, one day before the end of the lease of ESR BizPark @ Changi, the development where the hotel is located, with Singapore’s JTC Corporation. Coliwoo will have an option to renew the lease for a fresh 30 year term, provided that the initial lease of ESR BizPark @ Changi is extended and Coliwoo pays its share of any premium payable to JTC Corporation.

The put-and-call option agreement has a long-stop date of 31 March 2026. Media reports in March of last year had indicated that Weave Living was in due diligence to acquire the Park Avenue Changi for S$120 million, although no official announcements were made regarding the transaction at the time and no deal ultimately materialised. 

ESR-REIT Keeps Selling

ESR-REIT is selling the hotel as it continues a campaign to pare from its portfolio assets seen as non-core after ESR, which controls the REIT’s manager, was bought out by an investor consortium last year. 

“The hotel component is a non-core asset within our portfolio, and its divestment enables us to further sharpen our strategic focus while meaningfully enhancing the overall quality, resilience and earnings visibility of our portfolio,” Adrian Chui, chief executive officer of ESR-REIT said in a statement. 

He added that, “Importantly, the proceeds will provide us with greater financial flexibility, allowing capital to be more effectively redeployed into potentially accretive acquisitions, asset enhancement initiatives and redevelopments within our core sectors such as logistics and high-specifications industrial assets, which are deeply embedded in our DNA and continue to benefit from structurally supported demand and attractive long-term growth prospects.”

ESR de-listed from the Hong Kong stock exchange in July of last year and the company sold its remaining 30 percent stake in Japanese fund manager Kenedix SMFL Mirai Partners in October for an undisclosed sum. 

In December, ESR REIT agreed to sell a Singapore industrial portfolio to Brookfield Asset Management for S$338 million and during that same month ESR agreed to sell the manager of SGX-listed Suntec REIT to mysterious Chinese financier Gordon Tang’s Acrophyte Asset Management for S$190 million. 

Coliwoo Growth Continues

Coliwoo is buying the Changi hotel just over a half year after it won a state tender to manage a 350-key resort in Pasir Ris, which is located just under seven kilometres (4.3 miles) to the north. 

In November the co-living operator formed a joint venture with the family behind local builder Oxley Holdings to acquire an ageing office block in Singapore’s Little India area for S$40 million, indicating that it intends to convert the commercial block for co-living use. 

The company also recently sold its Coliwoo Hotel Pasir Panjang to a non-related party for S$43.9 million under a sale and lease-back arrangement.