From Ministry HQ To Office Space

Source : TODAY, Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Site at Phoenix Park being put up for public tender to ease space crunch

FANCY having your office desk in the room where Internal Security Department or British Secret Service officers may have once carried out interrogations?

To help ease the office space crunch, the Ministry of Home Affairs' former Phoenix Park headquarters in Tanglin Road is being put up for public tender.

"The master tenant will have much literal space and flexibility to do up the property," said Mr Winston Cheah, a senior manager at Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which is managing the tender.

The site's well-worn buildings are not only rich in national history and heritage, but come with a large land area.

Yesterday, 10 potential bidders turned up to view the 59,630 sq m site, which has been vacant since May 2006.

While there are some conservation guidelines such as height restrictions, the 31 separate low-rise buildings are proving attractive.

One potential bidder, Mr Danny Wong, marketing manager of Hean Nerng Holdings, said: "The potential is good here, because there are a lot of blocks. Companies will be better off leasing one whole block to themselves, rather than leasing in a commercial development where they've got to share different floors."

Mr Wong added: "Over here, they can have their own space, own entrance, so it's ideal for companies which want to have a very good corporate image front."

Combined, the buildings cover a gross floor area of 13,300 sq m. SLA has proposed an indicative rent of $165,0020 per month for the master tenant, who could sublet space or use it all themselves. This would be on a three-year tenure that is renewable till 2017.

Mr Donald Han, managing director of Cushman and Wakefield, said: "The advantage of this site is the sprawling land. To attract office users, you need ample car-park facilities."

The tender closes on June 4.