Wilmer Place at 50 Armenian Street in Singapore’s museum district (Image: Google)
LHN Group’s Coliwoo co-living unit has formed a S$48 million ($35.6 million) joint venture with the boss of local builder Oxley and his son to acquire a building in central Singapore’s museum district.
The four-storey building known as Wilmer Place at 50 Armenian Street, which currently comprises offices with shops on the ground floor, will enable LHN to expand its offerings of co-living properties and further increase the brand value of Coliwoo, the company said Tuesday in a stock filing. LHN gave no further details about plans for the asset.
The deal was one of two project announcements by LHN Group on Tuesday, with the company also posting notice to the stock exchange that it had been awarded a tender for re-use of a former fire station near the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Bukit Batok Nature Park, which it intends to transform into a recreational community space that will also include a Coliwoo co-living property.
“Being awarded the tender at 260 Upper Bukit Timah Road is an excellent opportunity for us to materialise our vision of building a sustainable close-knit community,” LHN Group executive chairman and group managing director Kelvin Lim said in a statement. “With our extensive experience in space optimisation, building restoration and co-living space operations, we are confident that our plans for the premises will not only revitalise the premises itself but also benefit the wider neighbourhood.”
Growing Portfolio
In the deal for the Armenian Street property, the joint venture was granted an option to purchase Wilmer Place for S$26.5 million on 13 March and has a period of eight weeks from that date to exercise its option, LHN said.
LHN executive chair and group managing director Kelvin Lim
The 50:50 JV is held by Coliwoo and a company co-owned by Oxley chairman and CEO Ching Chiat Kwong and Oxley general manager Shawn Ching, with each side contributing up to S$24 million. In their half, the elder Ching owns 90 percent and the son retains 10 percent.
The seller of the property in Singapore’s District 6 was undisclosed and described as a third party independent from LHN and the joint venture partners.
Wilmer Place is on a 99-year leasehold from 1 May 1947 and has a net lettable area of 18,395 square feet (1,709 square metres), which translates to S$1,441 ($1,068) per square foot of NLA at the purchase option price. The asset sits opposite the Peranakan Museum, roughly six minutes by foot from City Hall MRT station.
The Upper Bukit Timah Road project, which is planned as a community centre along Singapore’s Rail Corridor recreational corridor — a 24 kilometre (15 mile) green passage along a former railway in the Bukit Timah area — will combine facilities including a gym, pet spaces, gardens and pools, with food and beverage outlets.
The transformation, which is expected to be completed in the first half of next year, will also create a Coliwoo co-living space, allowing residents to enjoy the park and community facilities, LHN said in its statement.
Top of the Table
The latest announcements come after LHN took out options last year to buy a pair of four-storey retail-residential buildings at 286 and 288 River Valley Road for S$23.25 million and a property at 99 Rangoon Road for S$14.5 million.
The group, which is dual-listed in Singapore and Hong Kong, launched three new Coliwoo properties during its fiscal 2023: Coliwoo Orchard at 2 Mount Elizabeth Link; Coliwoo Lavender Collection, comprising a row of shophouses along Lavender Street; and Coliwoo 298 River Valley.
In a report released last June, JLL ranked Coliwoo as the largest player in Singapore’s co-living sector, ahead of The Assembly Place and Bespoke Habitat. The three brands account for close to 50 percent of the total co-living supply in the Lion City, according to the consultancy.
The report named River Valley Road as among the most popular locations for co-living properties in Singapore, due to its proximity to the central business district. With housing prices in Singapore among the least affordable globally and interest rates rising, more professionals are turning to co-living as a temporary alternative to home ownership, JLL said.
LHN estimated that it would be managing 2,500 keys across its serviced residence and hotel properties by the end of last year.
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