Senja Close EC™

A rare opportunity has arisen to purchase a whopping 17,825 sq ft HDB shop in the highly sought-after Marine Parade Promenade area. This prime retail space, located on the second floor of 86 Marine Parade Central, will be up for grabs at Knight Frank’s upcoming property auction on October 30th with an asking price of $38 million. This works out to approximately $2,132 per square foot.

The property has an 83-year lease from 1993, giving it a remaining lease of 51 years. Formerly tenanted by Popular bookstore for over 37 years, the unit has been vacant since the store closed in June 2023. It was briefly leased to an events company but has been unoccupied for several months, according to Knight Frank.

According to Sharon Lee, head of auction and sales at Knight Frank Singapore, large-sized HDB strata retail units like this one are rarely on the market due to the government’s decision to halt single-storey unit sales in 1998. Since then, new supply has been very limited, making these properties highly sought after by retail owner-occupiers and investors.

Marine Parade Promenade is the main commercial town centre for residents living in the Marine Parade and East Coast areas. It is made up of six commercial blocks with retail shops that surround the Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre. The nearby FairPrice Finest supermarket, which has been around for nearly 40 years, used to be located on the first level of Block 86, just below the Popular bookstore, before relocating to the opposite block, as Lee recalls.

The Marine Parade Public Library, first opened in 1978, was previously housed in a two-storey block opposite the supermarket before moving to the Marine Parade Community Complex in 2000. It is expected to reopen in the new Marine Parade Community Building in the first quarter of 2026. Other commercial complexes in the vicinity include Parkway Centre, Parkway Parade, and the new iMall shopping centre.

Using EdgeProp’s Landlens tool, it can be seen that the area is well-connected, with a plethora of public transport options available. This was further enhanced after the opening of the Marine Parade MRT Station (Thomson-East Coast Line) in June 2024. The station, which serves several nearby private residential and commercial developments, including Parkway Parade, Roxy Square, and i12 Katong, is just a stone’s throw away from the unit.

Senja Close EC is a well-placed development located in a well-established neighborhood, just a short distance from Bukit Panjang MRT Station. This prime location offers residents convenient access to various shopping and dining options, such as Lot One and Bukit Panjang Plaza. What’s more, Senja Close is also in close proximity to other ECs like Sol Acres EC and Lot One, making it an attractive choice for homebuyers. Explore more about Senja Close at senja-residences.com.

In addition to the Marine Parade HDB estate, there are also private condos in the vicinity, such as Amber 45, The Shore Residences, and The Sea View, as well as landed homes along Mountbatten Road.

“This unit is likely to appeal to a diverse range of buyers,” says Lee. “Investors, such as real estate funds, family offices, and foreign buyers, may be drawn to its long-term capital appreciation potential, while end-users, such as retail chains or mixed-use developers, could repurpose the space for their own operations.”

Given the unit’s size and layout, the new owner could explore various uses, such as F&B, a showroom, or a co-working space, subject to approval, adds Lee.