A Ground-Floor F&B Unit At People’s Park Complex Is On The Market For $8M

A ground-floor restaurant unit at People’s Park Complex in Chinatown has been launched for sale at a guide price of $8 million. The 1,615 sq ft unit is next to one of the building’s entrances, connecting it to People’s Park Food Centre.

The guide price translates to approximately $4,955 psf on the unit’s strata area.  It is currently leased to a restaurant operator, meaning the successful buyer would receive immediate rental income from the date of acquisition.

The sale of this restaurant unit is marketed by ETC, the sole marketing agent, and the unit will be sold in an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise.

A landmark commercial address in the heart of Chinatown

People’s Park Complex is an iconic mixed-use development along Eu Tong Sen Street in Chinatown, recognised for its distinctive brutalist architecture and heritage significance. The development sits in District 1 within the Core Central Region (CCR) and comprises a six-storey podium housing retail and office units which was completed in 1970, and a 25-storey residential block which was completed in 1973. 

The building is served by a direct MRT exit from Chinatown MRT station on the North-East Line and Downtown Line. Outram Park MRT station, an interchange connecting the North-East Line, East-West Line, and Thomson-East Coast Line, is only one MRT stop away.

Chinatown remains one of Singapore’s more visited heritage precincts, with footfall from both tourists and locals. People’s Park Food Centre also draws repeat local visitors on a daily basis, which means the unit is not solely dependent on seasonal tourist footfall.

According to ETC, the restaurant unit for sale is one of the few ground-floor units at People’s Park Complex with a strata area of more than 1,076 sq ft. Its wide frontage and regular layout give occupiers flexibility to configure the space for full-service restaurant use, a format that smaller ground-floor units in the same development cannot easily support.

“With its prime ground-floor positioning, strong shopper traffic and existing tenancy, this asset offers a compelling proposition for both investors seeking immediate rental income and owner-occupiers looking to secure a foothold in a highly recognisable Chinatown location,” says Swee Shou Fern, Head of Investment Advisory at ETC.

How the price compares against recent strata transactions

The last ground-floor strata unit that transacted at People’s Park Complex fetched $5,032 psf when it was sold in August 2025, according to data from ETC. The current guide of $4,955 psf represents a modest discount of approximately 1.5% in comparison.

However, a closer look at URA transaction data reveals that there have been no transactions at People’s Park Complex for units above 1,000 sq ft since April 2021.

The three most recent deals recorded in 2026 were a 441 sq ft unit that changed hands for $3,308 psf, a 484 sq ft unit which was sold for $1,445 psf, and a 205 sq ft unit that fetched $3,857 psf.

According to caveats, the $5,032 psf transaction cited by ETC involved a unit of approximately 323 sq ft, a fraction of the size of the unit currently for sale.

In short, there are no recent transactions at People’s Park Complex comparable to a 1,615 sq ft ground-floor restaurant unit. The available data points all sit in the sub-700 sq ft range, where psf rates reflect smaller lot premiums and a different buyer profile altogether.

Thus, the guide price of $4,955 psf is difficult to anchor against established market norms at the development itself. The most relevant external reference points come from other comparable mixed-use commercial listings, and this is a mixed bag.

For example, at Peninsula Plaza on North Bridge Road in District 7, two strata retail units that span a total area of 3,552 sq ft were put up for sale in December 2025 for a combined $12.33 million ($3,471 psf). 

That asking price involves a larger combined floor area in a 999-year leasehold development with similarly enclosed, commercial strata qualities. On a psf basis, it comes in below the People’s Park Complex unit’s guide price.

Moving closer to the central business district (CBD), eight ground-floor F&B strata retail units at PLUS on Cecil Street were recently brought to market with guide prices of $3.4 million to $6.9 million for units ranging from 388 to 807 sq ft. The psf rates of these guide prices are substantially higher than the People’s Park Complex unit’s asking, ranging from $8,550 to $8,763 psf, but the PLUS units are smaller and sit within a new premium office building in the Raffles Place cluster.

The size effect is significant: smaller ground-floor strata retail units in prime central addresses routinely command higher psf rates in part because the lower quantum draws a wider buyer pool.

The guide of $4,955 psf for the subject restaurant unit at People’s Park Complex sits above the Peninsula Plaza guide and well below what smaller ground-floor F&B units in newer CBD buildings are asking, which is broadly consistent with its location, age profile, and size. 

Who might buy the strata restaurant unit?

As a commercial property, the unit is not subject to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) or Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD). Both local and foreign buyers, including corporate entities, are eligible to purchase.

The existing tenancy makes this a straightforward proposition for investors seeking immediate income without the risk that vacant commercial units carry. For owner-occupiers, the combination of ground-floor positioning, food centre access, and a well-known Chinatown address provides a platform for an F&B operator looking to own rather than rent, subject to the current tenant’s lease expiry.

Due diligence is advised before the purchase, as the specifics of the existing tenancy were not publicly disclosed.

With a guide price of $8 million, the capital commitment is significant and the buyer pool is likely to comprise investors, family offices, or established F&B operators with adequate resources. Whether bids at or above the guide price are achievable will depend on interest from that pool and the significance they place on Chinatown and its heritage. 

The EOI exercise for the sale of this unit closes on May 20.