+65 8901 7972
中文 EN
Singapore Commercial Property
返回博客
Reviews 发布于

Faber House Review

Faber House Review
Commercial Office Review — Orchard Road, District 09

Faber House

A landmark Orchard Road office address at 230 Orchard Road, now entering its final chapter ahead of a confirmed hotel redevelopment

SGCPI Research Desk Updated 21 August 2026 230 Orchard Road, Singapore 238854 ≈FREEHOLD — SINGLE-OWNER ASSET

Street-level view of Faber House, 230 Orchard Road. Imagery: Google Street View (user-contributed imagery), accessed August 2026.

Project Overview

Building NameFaber House
Address230 Orchard Road, Singapore 238854
DistrictDistrict 09 (Orchard / River Valley)
Tenure≈Freehold, held whole by UOL Group
Zoning / UseCommercial — Office, Orchard Road frontage
Built Form12-storey office tower, refurbished 2006
Land Area / GFA1,311 sqm land / ≈6,641 sqm GFA
Completion Year≈1974 (original), refurbished 2006
Nearest MRTSomerset (≈2 min walk), Orchard, Dhoby Ghaut
Key Road AccessOrchard Road, Paterson/Grange Road, CTE via Clemenceau Ave
Transacted PSF RangeN.A. — not strata-titled for individual sale
Sale Price RangeN.A. — whole-building ownership only
Asking Rent Range≈S$9.50 – S$12.50 psf/mth (historical, pre wind-down)
Occupier BasePrivate banking, regional corporate offices; leases now winding down

Location & Connectivity

Faber House sits directly on Orchard Road, in the thick of Singapore’s most recognised retail and hospitality corridor. Few office addresses in the country can claim frontage this central: the building faces the same stretch that carries flagship malls, hotel groups and, increasingly, a fresh wave of hospitality investment as the district repositions itself for tourists as much as shoppers.

Connectivity is a genuine strength. Somerset MRT station is roughly a two-minute walk away, with Orchard and Dhoby Ghaut interchange stations both within easy reach, giving occupiers access to the North-South, Thomson-East Coast, North East and Circle lines without a second transfer. Drivers reach the Central Business District or Marina Bay in under ten minutes via Orchard Road and the Central Expressway, and the building’s own 49-lot car park is a genuine convenience rarely found in boutique Orchard Road office stock.

The immediate surroundings read like a checklist of Orchard Road landmarks — 313@Somerset, The Heeren, The Centrepoint and Midpoint Orchard all sit within a short stroll, alongside Cold Storage for everyday groceries and a dense cluster of F&B options. It is, in short, an address with essentially no commuting or lifestyle compromise for tenants or visitors.

Location of Faber House. Map data: Google Maps, accessed August 2026.

Building & Facilities

Faber House is a 12-storey office tower with a typical floor plate of around 465 sqm, giving a net lettable area across the building of roughly 3,956 sqm. It is a compact, single-purpose office block rather than an integrated development — there is no retail podium or mixed-use component, which keeps the building’s footprint modest relative to newer Orchard Road towers.

The building underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2006, which updated common areas, lifts and building services well beyond its original 1970s-era fit-out. Historical occupiers have included a private banking division and a regional corporate office, reflecting the kind of tenant that values the address over floor-plate size.

The most important fact for any due-diligence process, however, is not about the current fabric of the building at all: Faber House has been confirmed for redevelopment. Property and lifestyle press have reported that the site will be reworked into a NoMad-branded hotel under Hilton, designed by WOHA Architects, targeted to open by around 2027 with a striking multi-storey waterfall and cliff-like, planted facade. This is not speculative en-bloc chatter — it is an owner-confirmed change of use, and it should be the starting point for anyone evaluating this building today rather than a footnote.

Unit Types & Floor Plan Notes

Faber House was never strata-subdivided, so there are no individual “units” to buy in the way a strata office or shophouse would offer. What existed historically was a menu of leasable floor configurations, summarised below for context — useful mainly to understand how the building was occupied prior to its scheduled wind-down.

Whole Floor

≈465 sqm

A full typical floor, historically favoured by anchor tenants such as private banking desks wanting a self-contained, brandable space.

Half Floor

≈230 sqm

Suited to mid-sized regional offices or professional-services practices needing a compact but self-contained suite near a lift lobby.

Quadrant Suite

≈115 sqm

The smallest practical leasing unit historically offered — appropriate for a small representative office or satellite desk.

Ground-Level Frontage

Lobby-facing

A limited amount of street-level presence facing Orchard Road, historically used for reception and signage rather than retail trade.

Net Lettable Area: ≈3,956 sqm across the building
Typical Floor Plate: ≈465 sqm
Car Park: 49 lots
Ceiling / Services: Refurbished 2006; standard office-grade fit-out
Ownership Structure: Single-owner (UOL Group) — no MCST, no strata titles

Investment Case

It needs to be said plainly: Faber House is not, today, an investable listing for a retail buyer. There is no unit to purchase, no strata title to hold, and no resale market to exit into. Its relevance to an investment conversation lies instead in what it represents — a confirmed, owner-led redevelopment of a prime Orchard Road office site into hospitality use, which is itself a useful signal of where capital in this stretch of the street is heading.

What Works

  • Genuinely prime, unmistakable Orchard Road frontage
  • ≈2-minute walk to Somerset MRT, with Orchard and Dhoby Ghaut nearby
  • Confirmed redevelopment into an internationally branded hotel signals strong underlying land value
  • Track record of credible occupiers, including a private banking arm
  • On-site 49-lot car park is uncommon for a boutique Orchard Road office building

What to Weigh Carefully

  • Not strata-titled — there is no unit an individual investor can actually buy
  • Office leasing here is on borrowed time ahead of the hotel conversion
  • At roughly half a century old, the office shell trails newer Grade A stock nearby
  • Modest ≈465 sqm floor plates limit appeal to larger occupiers
  • No resale or exit path exists for anyone hoping to invest directly in the building

Who This Suits

Faber House suits three narrow groups rather than a broad investor base. First, short-term or interim office tenants who want an Orchard Road address at a discount to new-build Grade A rents while the site winds down — with the clear caveat that any lease should be treated as temporary. Second, hospitality-sector observers and design followers tracking the WOHA-designed NoMad Hotel Singapore conversion, for whom the building is worth watching rather than occupying. Third, institutional or REIT-level investors interested in Orchard Road land economics generally — though Faber House itself is no longer “in play,” since UOL Group has already committed the site to Hilton’s NoMad brand. It is not a fit for retail investors seeking a strata unit to buy, hold or flip.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Faber House currently zoned and used for?
Faber House sits on land zoned for commercial use under Singapore’s Master Plan, and the existing 12-storey tower has operated as office space since the 1970s, last refurbished in 2006. Its Orchard Road frontage places it within the Orchard commercial corridor, alongside retail podiums, hotels and mixed-use towers. Importantly, the zoning and use picture here is now in transition: the site has been confirmed for redevelopment into hotel use, meaning any prospective occupier evaluating it purely as office space should treat the current zoning as a snapshot rather than a long-term guarantee. Businesses considering a lease should confirm directly with the landlord how much runway remains before construction works begin on the hotel conversion.
Can foreigners lease or occupy space at Faber House?
Yes — Singapore’s foreign ownership restrictions under the Residential Property Act apply to residential land, not commercial or office property. Foreign companies and individuals can lease office space, and in principle acquire commercial buildings, without government approval. That said, Faber House itself is not on the market: it is held in whole by UOL Group and is not offered for strata or fractional sale to any buyer, foreign or local. The practical question for a foreign business is therefore about leasing terms and lease duration in light of the confirmed redevelopment, rather than about any ownership restriction, which does not apply to this asset class.
Does Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) apply here?
No. ABSD in Singapore is a residential-property tool, applied on top of Buyer’s Stamp Duty when purchasing homes, and it does not extend to commercial or office property such as Faber House. This is a meaningful structural advantage that commercial real estate holds over residential purchases generally, since buyers — local or foreign, individual or corporate — are not subject to the tiered ABSD rates that apply to condominiums or landed housing. It is a moot point for Faber House specifically, since the building is not being offered for sale to any buyer, but it remains a useful general fact for anyone comparing commercial versus residential acquisitions in Singapore.
Would Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) apply on a sale?
Seller’s Stamp Duty in Singapore today applies only to residential property sold within a specified holding period; the SSD regime that once applied to industrial property was removed in March 2017, and general commercial or office property such as Faber House was never subject to SSD at all. In practice, this means an owner is free to sell or restructure ownership of a commercial building without SSD exposure, regardless of how quickly after acquisition the sale occurs. For Faber House, this is again a background fact rather than an active consideration, since the building is not currently being marketed for sale to third parties.
What Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) would apply to a non-residential building like this?
Buyer’s Stamp Duty applies to all Singapore property transfers, including commercial and industrial assets. Under the current non-residential schedule, BSD is charged on a tiered basis — roughly 1% on the first S$180,000 of value, 2% on the next S$180,000, 3% on the next S$640,000, and 4% on the remainder. For an asset the size of Faber House, a whole-building transaction would sit well into the top tier. This would only become relevant if UOL Group were to sell the site outright to a third party rather than proceeding with its own confirmed hotel redevelopment, which is the current plan.
Is GST charged on a commercial property purchase?
Yes, and this is one of the clearest differences from residential property: commercial real estate transactions in Singapore, including office buildings, are generally subject to GST at the prevailing rate when the seller is GST-registered, whereas residential property sales are GST-exempt. A buyer acquiring a building like Faber House outright would typically need to budget for GST on the transaction value, on top of Buyer’s Stamp Duty, unless the deal is structured as a going-concern transfer that qualifies for GST relief. This is a standard due-diligence item for any commercial acquisition, best confirmed with a tax adviser at the point of transaction.
How would financing work given the building’s age and redevelopment status?
Because Faber House is not strata-titled, there is no individual mortgage product available the way there would be for a strata office unit. A whole-building acquisition would instead be financed through corporate or institutional facilities, typically at loan-to-value ratios in the 60–70% range, subject to bank valuation. Crucially, that valuation would need to reflect the confirmed change of use to hotel purposes rather than the building’s remaining life as an office asset — lenders would price the deal around the redevelopment plan, not around the ageing 1970s-era office shell. This materially changes how financing would be structured compared with a stabilised income-producing office building.
What kind of rental yield did Faber House historically offer?
Prior to its confirmed redevelopment, ageing but well-located Orchard Road office stock of this type historically traded at fairly modest gross yields, broadly in the region of 3% to 3.5% for landlords, reflecting high land value relative to achievable office rents in a retail-dominated corridor. That yield picture is now essentially historical rather than forward-looking: with the hotel conversion confirmed, any remaining office tenancies are being run down rather than renewed at market terms, and the building’s income profile will shift entirely once construction on the NoMad Hotel Singapore project begins, expected around 2027.
How old is the building, and does that matter?
Faber House dates to roughly the 1970s, making it close to half a century old, with a significant refurbishment carried out in 2006 to modernise lifts, services and common areas. Building age matters less here than it would for a stabilised asset, precisely because the building’s future is not about extending its useful office life — it is about redevelopment. In a typical due-diligence context, a 50-year-old office tower would prompt questions about mechanical and electrical upgrades, façade condition and compliance costs; at Faber House, those questions are effectively superseded by the confirmed decision to redevelop the site entirely.
What are the odds of en-bloc sale or redevelopment?
Unusually for this section of a property review, this is not a probability question. Faber House’s redevelopment is confirmed, not speculative: property and lifestyle media have reported that owner UOL Group is converting the site into a NoMad-branded hotel operated under Hilton, designed by WOHA Architects, with a distinctive multi-storey waterfall and planted facade, targeted to open by around 2027. There is no collective-sale process here in the traditional strata en-bloc sense, since the building was never strata-titled — this is a single owner exercising a redevelopment decision on land it already fully controls.
What parking and loading facilities does the building offer?
Faber House offers 49 car park lots on site, which is a genuine convenience for an Orchard Road office building of this size — many boutique towers along the strip offer little to no dedicated parking, relying instead on nearby public car parks. Loading and unloading is handled via standard service access typical of buildings fronting a major retail thoroughfare, adequate for office-related deliveries but not designed for heavy commercial or industrial traffic. These facilities are relevant mainly to current or short-term tenants, since the car park and loading arrangement would be reconfigured entirely as part of the hotel redevelopment.
Is there a Management Corporation or maintenance fee?
No. Because Faber House was never subdivided into strata lots, there is no Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) and no apportioned monthly maintenance fee of the kind a strata office buyer would budget for elsewhere. The building is owned and maintained directly by UOL Group as a single asset, with upkeep, common-area services and building management handled in-house rather than through a strata council. This is a structural feature of whole-building ownership generally, not something specific to this property’s redevelopment status, though it does mean there is no publicly available maintenance-fee benchmark to quote for comparison purposes.
How liquid is Faber House as an asset — could someone resell it?
Liquidity here is effectively nil for any buyer smaller than an institution. There is no strata resale market because the building was never subdivided, and the confirmed hotel redevelopment forecloses the possibility of a future office resale altogether — once construction on the NoMad Hotel Singapore conversion proceeds, the asset ceases to exist in its current office form entirely. The only realistic “exit” scenario would involve UOL Group itself selling the site or the completed hotel asset at the institutional level, a transaction retail investors would have no practical route to participate in.
What kinds of businesses were best suited to Faber House?
Historically, Faber House suited businesses that valued address and location over floor size — a private banking division and a regional corporate office were among its notable occupiers, drawn by the Orchard Road prestige and proximity to Somerset MRT rather than by large contiguous floor plates, which topped out around 465 sqm per floor. Professional-services firms and representative offices seeking a compact, well-connected base also fit the profile. Given the confirmed wind-down ahead of redevelopment, suitability today is effectively limited to businesses comfortable with a short-term or interim tenancy rather than a long-term office home.

This article is prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Figures marked with “≈” are estimates based on publicly available information and should be independently verified. Faber House is not currently offered for strata or fractional sale; readers should confirm current leasing, ownership and redevelopment status directly with the building owner before making any business decision.

© 2026 SG Commercial Property Insights. All rights reserved.

返回博客
WhatsApp