German fund manager Union Investment Real Estate AG is selling the House of Tan Yeok Nee (pictured) to private commercial-school operator ERC Holdings for more than S$60 million.
According to a media report, Savills brokered the sale of the property through a private equity.
Located at the junction of Penang Road and Clemenceau Avenue, the historic landmark was named after a wealthy Teochew businessman who built the property in the 1880s. It has a strata area of approximately 58,000 sq ft and is leased to The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which expressed interest to lease the property for a few more years.
Restored in the year 2000, the gazetted national monument is the last remaining traditional Chinese courtyard house in the country. The former owner sold the property along with the adjacent Cockpit Hotel and open-air carpark in 1996 to a Wing Tai-led consortium for approximately S$380 million.
While the consortium restored the house, it redeveloped the Cockpit Hotel and carpark into Visioncrest Residence and Visioncrest Commercial. Meanwhile, the conservation earned the project a special mention at the Paris-based FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Awards 2002 under the Specialised Category.
ERC is currently in talks to acquire the property and is looking for additional campus space to cater to the strong demand for its courses. It also owns more than 40,000 sq ft, or around 92 percent of total strata area at the six-storey North Bridge Commercial Complex located opposite of Bugis Junction.
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