Maxwell House up for collective sale with S$295m reserve price

COMMERCIAL building Maxwell House has been launched for collective sale via a public tender, the appointed property consultant Cushman & Wakefield announced on Monday.

Owners holding not less than 80 per cent by strata area and share value have agreed to put the property on the market at a reserve price of S$295 million.

Located at 20 Maxwell Road, the 13-storey property is built on a trapezoidal island plot with views from all four sides of the building.

The site spans an area of about 41,801 square feet (sq ft), zoned for commercial use with a plot ratio of 4.3 under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Master Plan 2019.

Cushman & Wakefield said that URA had, in an advice given in January 2019, stated it will support a mixed-use commercial and residential development with a plot ratio of 5.6 and a gross floor area of about 234,086 sq ft.

Subject to a successful rezoning, this will translate to the gross plot ratio increasing by some 30 per cent.

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Maxwell House was built in 1971, and the site has a 99-year leasehold tenure starting from 1969.

The commercial quantum shall not exceed 20 per cent of the total gross floor area (GFA). Assuming 80 per cent of the total GFA is for residential use while the remaining is for commercial use, the blended land rate works out to around S$1,691 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), after factoring in a 7 per cent bonus balcony plot ratio for the residential component plus the differential premium and an estimated lease upgrading premium for the site, Cushman & Wakefield noted.

It added that the allowable building height has been increased to 75 metres above mean sea level, or about 21 storeys high for the tower block.

Subject to approval from the authorities, the property may alternatively be redeveloped for hotel use with a plot ratio of 5.6, suggested Cushman & Wakefield.

This hotel option will increase the land rate to S$1,998 psf ppr, also inclusive of the differential premium and an estimated lease upgrading premium, the property consultant added.

Situated in an area mostly comprising retail properties, food and beverage outlets and offices, 20 Maxwell Road will be "one of the rare exceptional residential plots" available on the market, Cushman & Wakefield said.

Christina Sim, director of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, said Maxwell House is likely to be "well received" given the dearth of residential development land in this part of the business and heritage district.

It will become one of the best "work-live-play" sites to be made available, as it is surrounded by a plethora of entertainment and retail outlets, according to Ms Sim.

"Added to this is the advantage of being in the central area where it is not constrained by the guideline on the maximum allowable number of units calculated based on an average size of 85 square metres per dwelling unit.

"Potential developers have the creative flexibility of building studio units or dual key units, subject to the approval of the competent authority," she added.

Maxwell House sits at the fringe of the central business district and is also near conservation shophouses in Tanjong Pagar and Chinatown.

On foot, it is a minute away from Maxwell Food Centre, four minutes to Tanjong Pagar MRT station, eight minutes to Chinatown MRT station, nine minutes to Telok Ayer MRT station and 10 minutes from Outram Park MRT station.

The property will also be about a three-minute walk from the upcoming underground Maxwell MRT station, expected to be completed in 2022, along the Thomson East Coast Line.

The tender for 20 Maxwell Road will close on Nov 12 at 3pm.