A non-conservation freehold shophouse on Koon Seng Road bought by Aaron Wan
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Aaron Wan, senior group district director of PropNex who has just purchased his second shophouse, the freehold shophouse that is not conservation-free situated at 94B and the 94C Koon Seng Road in District 15. Wan has not disclosed the cost that the house is worth.
The purchase was made less than three months after his initial purchase -which was the freehold shophouse situated at 47 Kitchener Road, off Jalan Besar, on Aug 23rd 2021.
This Koon Seng Road shophouse is comprised of two levels, with 94B as the unit on the ground floor with 94C being the upper floor. It is situated on lot of land measuring 1,574 sq feet and is an overall built-up area of 2,800 square feet.
Although the ground floor was granted the permission to be used as a confectionery shop by the URA but it is completely designed for residential use.
With an area size in the range of 1.4, Wan is able to transform the shophouse to become the 3.5-storey residential landed home and was an “big selling factor” for the owner.
1994B Koon Seng Road is currently the home of a bakery called Yummi Chiffon, which has been operating at the location since the year 2008.
It’s also one block away from the famous row of brightly painted shophouses on that same road. In the vicinity is Common Man Coffee Roasters, Haig Girls school, CHIJ Katong Convent and Tao Nan School.
In the wake of Wan’s purchase Yummi Chiffon, which has multiple outlets in Singapore and Singapore, will close the shophouse before the end of January.
When deciding to buy, Wan says he has been searching for a shophouse close to the home of his wife and him in the East Coast.
“This property stood out because it’s freehold, well-maintained and, the most important thing is that it has a decent size of land, plus it is just 1km away from Tao Nan School. It’s a uncommon one-of-a-kind 100% residential shophouse that has been approved to use the its ground floor as a confectionery. The distance of 1km from Tao Nan School also helps in securing the future rental and capital appreciation value” Says Wan.
When Wan is in place and takes over the building, he’ll turn the office space for his staff of close around 280 employees.
“We have been searching for an appropriate location to set up our office. The shophouse is located close to many eateries, restaurants and hip cafes and bars all along East Coast Road, Joo Chiat Road and Tanjong Katong,” he adds.
The second shophouse you own is not enough to satisfy Wan it seems. The property agent says Wan is considering another conservation shophouse which is 100% designed to commercial use in the near the future.
“We expect to purchase one within the next one or two years. We’re also open to nonconservation shops too, so they are good value for money in the long run and has a an excellent capital appreciation potential,” the director states.
“A non-conservation shophouse implies that it is possible to develop the land in the future as long as there aren’t issues with the roadline design,” he continues. “I would like to buy one within District 1 or 2 or 7, to expand our investment portfolio. The next property will definitely have to be freehold because both my husband and wife don’t have anything leasehold until now.”