Jurong Reptile Park put on the block again

Fourth floor of Heartland Mall also up for auction next week

Business Times
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

JURONG Reptile Park is back on the auction block, this time as a liquidator’s sale. Also in the line-up for DTZ Debenham Tie Leung’s auction on March 29 is the fourth floor of Heartland Mall near Kovan MRT Station.

The strongest contender for Heartland Mall’s fourth level would be a Lend Lease managed fund-Guthrie tie-up.
DTZ said the indicative price for Jurong Reptile Park - which is on a 206,304 sq ft site with a remaining lease of about nine years - is about $2 million to $2.2 million. The attraction, formerly known as Jurong Crocodile Paradise, is a two-storey property.

Jurong Bird Park, which is understood to have been interested in the property when it went under the hammer five years ago, could be interested again, say market watchers.

After all, the two parks are just a stone’s throw away from each other, and even share a car park, allowing Jurong Bird Park to tap synergies from the two properties.

The site is zoned for ‘Sports & Recreation’ use, according to DTZ. The property is being put up for sale by liquidator Stone Forest Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd. It was formerly owned by ‘Geylang King’ Eric Tan, before mortgagee United Overseas Bank took over the asset. UOB tried in vain to sell the property during a 2002 auction.

The park was once famous for its crocodiles, but today the only reptiles there are some iguanas and snakes. Existing tenants - which include a KTV lounge, eateries and a beer garden - pay a total rental of almost $27,000 a month, not much more than the monthly ground rent of about $20,000 payable to JTC Corp.

‘Clearly, potential bidders will be looking at a major revamp, to make their investment profitable,’ says DTZ auctioneer and director Shaun Poh.

Over in Hougang, the strongest contender for Heartland Mall’s fourth level, market watchers reckon, would be the tie-up between a Lend Lease managed fund and Guthrie that owns the lower three floors of the mall, which stands on a site with a remaining lease of 76 years.

The fourth level space is being sold by owner Wang Lei Investment, understood to be linked to the company that owns karaoke chain Kbox.

The space comprises six units adding up to 21,131 sq ft of lettable area. Five of the units are currently leased to private schools. The sixth is vacant.

Wang Lei bought the six units for $6.8 million from mortgagee Maybank last year. It is understood to have upped rents of the tenants and extended their leases to August 2012. The monthly rental collection for the five leased units is about $67,200. The properties are being sold with existing tenancies.

The $9.5-9.8 million asking price reflects a property yield of about 7.4-7.6 per cent.

DTZ’s auction will begin at 2.30 pm next Thursday at Amara Hotel.

Meanwhile, the former factory building of Asia Pulp & Paper at 118, Pioneer Road was withdrawn from a Knight Frank auction yesterday after the company settled outstanding property tax owed to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.