The Serene Centre will soon house 86 serviced apartments on the third and fourth floors
The family of Singapore instant coffee king David Teo has completed their S$105-million ($78.1 million) purchase of a mixed-use property in the city’s upscale Bukit Timah area and is preparing to transform the asset into a combined co-living and retail complex, according to an announcement by Cushman & Wakefield on Friday.
With the acquisition of the Serene Centre shopping and apartment complex at the junction of Bukit Timah Road and Farrer Road now complete, the Teos’ Apricot Capital family office is now working with an unnamed equity partner to convert the 10 apartments on the building’s upper levels into 86 serviced rooms and updating the mall which occupies the lower two floors.
The identity of Apricot’s partner has not yet been revealed, with the two parties said to have taken on the project as a 50:50 joint venture. The partner’s participation had not yet been revealed when news of the acquisition was uncovered in October.
Singapore-based co-living specialist The Assembly Place will serve as the property’s asset manager, extending its partnership with the Teo family and Apricot.
Aiming for 2025
The partners will commence a “multi-million dollar renovation” of the Serene Centre in April and aim to complete work in the first quarter of 2025, according to a separate statement from The Assembly Place. The rental residential operator said the project will feature communal facilities such as shared kitchens, utility rooms and lounge areas, and will be positioned to cater to professionals attracted by Bukit Timah’s amenities.
David Teo and family are diversifying into real estate after a successful S$1.4 billion cash out from 3-in-1 coffee business. (Source: Apricot)
“Co-living tenants will be drawn into the vibrant retail spaces and retailers, likewise, will benefit from the increased footfall from the co-living community,” said Eugene Lim, founder and chief executive officer of The Assembly Place. “This move (new project) is in line with our longer-term growth strategy as we continue to expand on our co-living concepts.”
The Apricot Capital JV acquired the 1980-vintage building from Chee Tat Holdings, a private firm controlled by the family of Ng Eng Tee, executive chairman of KLSE-listed developer United Malayan Land, for 12.5 percent less than the S$120 million asking price when the asset first hit the market in September 2022.
Spanning 47,475 square feet (4,410 square metres) in gross floor area, Serene Centre occupies a freehold plot at 10 Jalan Serene within District 10, and is within a short walk of popular tourist attractions like the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
The property is also close to the exclusive Cluny Park and Nassim Road Good Class Bungalow (GCB) clusters, and not far from the French embassy and educational centres like Nanyang Primary School and the Hwa Chong Institution.
“Serene Centre has always been the center of attraction for the youths from the prestigious schools nearby and residents in the affluent Bukit Timah estate,” said Shaun Poh, executive director of capital markets at C&W who brokered the deal. “We are excited for the property to embark on its new chapter and look forward to more exciting tenant mix and lodging options to serve the community in the area.”
Renting on the Rise
The Assembly Place announced its appointment to operate Serene Centre just four months after unveiling a 426-bed facility in District 15 which it had invested in together with Apricot Capital.
Counting this latest deal, the two companies have now co-operated on at least four residential projects, including the co-living provider’s Campus by Assembly Place flagship location launched in October.
The Assembly Place also operates Apricot-invested co-living facilities at 257 Outram Road in the Tiong Bahru area and at 138-140 Jalan Besar in the Rochor area, both of which opened in 2022.
The partners are boosting their investment in co-living as Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) encourages the development of more long-term rental projects to meet the growing demand for private housing for lease.
In December, the URA opened bidding for Singapore’s first two land plots with zoning specifically for long-stay serviced apartments, after rents for private apartments in the city-state climbed by 60 percent for the past three years.
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