Ascott Residence Trust (Ascott Reit) will join City Developments (CDL) and CapitaLand to redevelop the Liang Court site in Singapore’s Clarke Quay area into an integrated development, the companies announced in a joint news release on Thursday.
The site currently comprises Liang Court mall, Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay hotel and the Somerset Liang Court Singapore serviced residence.
The Liang Court site proposed integrated development, which will have a gross floor area (GFA) of 100,263m², will comprise two residential towers offering some 700 residential units, a commercial component, a hotel, and a 192-unit Somerset serviced residence, subject to approval from the authorities, according to the statement.
The proposed integrated development is targeted to open in phases from 2024.
The residential and commercial components will be owned by the 50:50 CDL-CapitaLand JV entities, while the serviced residence will be owned by Ascott Reit, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand.
Upon completion, CDL and CapitaLand’s 50:50 joint venture entities will own the residential and commercial components, while Ascott Reit will own the Somerset serviced residence. CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) will own the hotel under a forward purchase agreement with CDL.
The new hotel will be operated under the Moxy brand by Marriott International when it is completed around 2025, the result of a deal involving CDLHT selling its entire stake in Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay to the 50:50 CDL-CapitaLand joint venture entities and CDL, according to a report by The Straits Times.
Meanwhile, Ascott Reit, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of CapitaLand, said that it has signed a put-and-call option agreement with CDL to sell 15,170m² of the site’s GFA for Somerset Liang Court Singapore for S$163.3 million (US$119.8 million).
With net proceeds from the sale, Ascott Reit will redevelop the retained GFA of 13,034m² into a new Somerset serviced residence with a hotel licence. The land’s lease tenure will be refreshed from 57 years to 99 years. Upon completion, the estimated project development expenditure of the new property is approximately S$300 million.
The consortium also said that it plans to rejuvenate the river promenade flanking the integrated development, which is “in line with the government’s plans to enhance the vibrancy of the precinct”.
The move is expected to to generate social activities around property, increase footfall and improve pedestrian accessibility along the Singapore River, it added.
Bob Tan, Ascott Residence Trust Management’s chairman, said: “With revitalisation plans in place for the Singapore River and Clarke Quay precinct and the proposed construction of a new integrated development, it is an opportune time to recycle our capital into redeveloping our ageing property into a new Somerset serviced residence and refresh the land’s lease to 99 years.
“We will strengthen our presence in a prime location in Singapore’s popular lifestyle hub. We will continue to seek yield-accretive acquisitions, as well as development and conversion projects to maximise returns for unit-holders.”
