Income Insurance sold 30 Prinsep Street For S$147 Million
The net rentable area of the 999-year building is approximately S$3,000 per square foot.
Income Insurance has sold its 11-storey commercial building with a 999-year leasehold at 30 Prinsep Street in Singapore for approximately S$147million.
The 48,974 sqft of net lettable property is priced at S$3,000 per foot. It’s located near the Downtown Line MRT station Bencoolen. Bras Basah and Dhoby Ghaut interchange MRT stations are both within a short distance.
The buyer, it is believed, is an entity related to the Lim family from Midview Group. This group has developed industrial and commercial properties such as Midview City on Sin Ming Lane.
WeWork, the flexible workspace operator, occupies levels 7 to 11, and some of level 6, at 30 Prinsep Street. Busy Bees occupies two floors.
CBRE conducted an expression of Interest exercise to sell the property.
The building was renovated in 2013 and features a rooftop terrace with outdoor seating on the sixth and first floors, as well as retail spaces that are approved for use by food and beverage businesses. Parking for 52 vehicles is available.
The existing building’s gross floor area (GFA), which is 67,335 square feet, exceeds the maximum of 63,000 square feet based on a 4.2 plot-ratio for the site’s 15,000 sq. ft. under the Urban Redevelopment Authority Master Plan 2019. The site is zoned commercial.
The property has the potential to be enhanced, but only with approval. The roof terrace of the sixth-floor could be used as a F&B outlet, and the surplus parking spaces can be converted into rented areas to generate rental income. CBRE stated in January that the building could be retrofitted into a medical suite, serviced apartment or hotel.
Buzz around the area
Observers have noted that 30 Prinsep Street sits in an area primed for revitalization.
SingHaiyi led consortium has redeveloped the Peace Centre and Peace Mansion in Sophia Road site into a strata-office, retail, and residential project.
Keppel announced in January that a fund it manages had acquired the office and retail component of Wilkie Edge for S$348m. This was a separate account mandate obtained from PGGM. Keppel plans to implement asset enhancement initiatives, including reconfiguring and redeploying the existing space of the property to increase rental income.
The Ascott’s lodging unit, The Ascott, is upgrading and rebranding Hotel G in the Bencoolen Street/Middle Road region as lyf Bugis Singapore. Few months ago, The Ascott and CapitaLand Wellness Fund purchased Hotel G for S$238 millions.
Income Insurance (formerly known as NTUC Income Insurance) acquired 30 Prinsep Street from Lim Kah Ngam in 2001 for S$42.4million. The building was developed by the construction and property group, which completed it in 1992.
Bright Ruby Resources, the owner of Income Insurance, acquired 30 Prinsep Street in June 2022 after selling 16 Collyer Quay (then known as Income At Raffles) for S$1 Billion.
