Clementi Shopping Mall Put Up For Sale

Source : The Straits Times, Jan 11, 2008

A SHOPPING mall directly opposite the Clementi MRT Station has been put on the market by property firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

JLL is inviting expressions of interest for CityVibe, a retail and entertainment building known for a McDonald's fast-food outlet on the first floor and a cinema that used to be upstairs. The cinema has since been replaced by a Party World KTV branch.

The whole building will undergo reconstruction after the Chinese New Year.

But the owner - Mr Victor Boh of Grandview, linked to Wint Thai Trading - is seeking buyers for the three-storey mall, even as it is being upgraded.

The reconstruction was 'planned some time back but approval was granted only last year', explained Mr Derek Wong, the senior manager of investments at JLL.

Mr Boh decided to go ahead with the upgrading, expected to be completed in November, but was 'serious about selling if it can fetch a good price', added Mr Wong.

Although JLL would not disclose an indicative price, experts said the property could fetch more than $130 million, or over $3,000 per sq ft of gross floor area.

This would give a rental yield of at least 5 per cent, based on JLL's projection of $8.4 million in gross annual rental income.

The mall, which has about 70 years left on its lease, has a site area of 15,597 sq ft and a net lettable area of about 26,581 sq ft. It is to be rebuilt into a three-storey complex with a rooftop terrace.

'It is a very good location in the sense that it is directly opposite the MRT station, and everyone that comes down from the station will walk past this building,' said Mr Wong.

The property is located next to the future Clementi central hub and Clementi bus interchange.