Thiam Siew Avenue comprises of some 25 houses with a mix of semi-ds and bungalows, making up almost 265,000 sqft of land. It is a dual lane road connecting Tanjong Katong Road to Haig Road in prime District 15. The lane is surrounded by high rise condos such as Butterworth 8, Versilia on Haig and Questa @ Dunman among others. In late Nov 2021, this site was sold for $815m ($1,488 psf) to a Hoi Hup & Sunway JV, making this the largest enbloc land sale since the 2018 enbloc fever.
The redeveloped site can contain up to 800 units and is expected to cost around $2,500 psf, setting a new benchmark for the Haig Road / Tanjong Katong vicinity.
Named after property magnate and hotelier Wee Thiam Siew in 1940, this sale marks the end of an era for the low profile family, having held the houses for almost 80 years. They also used to own the surrounding plots including what is now Dunman View and Questa @ Dunman condos, having sold them a couple of decades ago.
Of note, Wee made his fortune as the former Chairman of Ban Leong & Co (which was in the business of cigars, cigarettes and tobacco) and the owner of the 7th Storey Hotel at Rochor and Lion City Hotel / Hollywood Theatre close by at Tanjong Katong. He was educated St Joseph’s Institution and Raffles Institution before working as telegraphist for the then Eastern Extension Telegraph Co at age 16.
Together with his brothers Wee Thiam Kee and Wee Thiam Leong, he helped to grow Ban Leong & Co’s tobacco empire before diversifying into real estate. He built the iconic 7th Storey Hotel at Rochor that was eventually acquired by the government for the Downtown Line construction.
Of the 25 houses, most were built during the early 1940s, as you can identify from their unique colonial inspired architecture that is becoming increasingly rare these days. Alas, these too will be gone in no time. These photos here are meant to encapsulate a soon to be bygone era when the new swanky towers come up.
[April 2022 Update] Enriched by the sale, Wee Thiam Siew’s descendants have gone on to purchase their own individual properties. This includes Wee Hian Nam’s purchase of a 27,909 sq ft Olive Road GCB at $50.2mil, smashing the GCBA’s record price.
Credits to Edgeprop & The Business Times
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