City Plaza, which is located near Paya Lebar MRT station, has 531 units, including 66 residential units, and is known for its wholesale shops, which mainly sell apparel. Some unit owners say rentals at the 18-storey freehold building have been dropping. PHOTO: DON WONG FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
Collective sales fever is spilling into the commercial sector as many City Plaza unit owners prepare for their first annual general meeting in years on Saturday, to discuss a sale with a possible price tag of as high as $1 billion.
The 18-storey freehold building near Paya Lebar MRT station was completed in 1972 and is known for its wholesale shops, which mainly sell apparel.
The building has 531 units, including 66 residential units, according to Mr Derrick Chan, a City Plaza unit owner who called for the meeting.
Mr Chan told The Straits Times yesterday that he did so as "it is the right time now".
He said: "There is en bloc fever now and Paya Lebar is developing into a business centre. The building is over 40 years old. If we do not go en bloc now, the cost of maintenance will be extremely high."
Mr Chan, a businessman who owns six units at City Plaza totalling 5,400 sq ft, said most of his units were tenanted, but he did not think that the "trend of wholesale clothing is in our favour".
"Retail sales are suffering, and wholesale retail is being taken over by (Chinese online site) Taobao. It is not economical to have a shop space and rental is very low."
Mr Chan added that unit owners are eyeing a sale price of between $800 million and $1 billion. More than 100 people are expected at the meeting. He hopes a collective sales committee can then be formed.
More than half of the unit owners he has spoken to have expressed interest in a collective sale, he said.
Full story at http://www.straitstimes.com/business/city-plaza-unit-owners-looking-to-sell-en-bloc