Ashish Manchharam’s Stamford Court revamp to drive the revitalisation of the Civic District

As a child, Ashish Manchharam used to walk past Stamford Road every day on his way to Anglo-Chinese Primary School on Coleman Street before its move to Barker Road in January 1994. The former Anglo-Chinese Primary School on Coleman Street was built in 1959 as part of a cluster of buildings that included a boarding school, a chapel, and a residence for missionaries. “After school, we would usually head to the bookstore at MPH Building to read books and magazines,” says Manchharam. Now, more than 30 years later, his fond memories of the area have come full circle as he takes part in shaping its future. “It’s an area I know well,” he says. Read also: Cove names Ashish Manchharam as advisor, shifts to asset acquisition model Advertisement Advertisement In August, Manchharam, the managing partner and founder of real estate investment firm Elevate Capital, acquired Stamford Court for $132 million in a joint venture with global asset manager PGIM Real Estate. The deal was finalised in October. Located at the prominent intersection of Stamford Road and Hill Street in the Downtown Core, Stamford Court is a four-story commercial building completed in 1996. It features a brown marble facade with glass panels and a distinctive clock tower. Previously, it was owned by UIC Land, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Land Group. “We were drawn by the location,” says Manchharam. “It’s an island site on three corners in a historic area within the civic district, and there’s a clear push towards its gentrification.” Before Stamford Court, the site was occupied by Eu Court, a four-storey Art Deco-style apartment block built in 1920 by prominent businessman Eu Tong Seng. Eu Court stood on the site for over 70 years until its demolition in 1992 to make way for road widening works. As a result, the current Stamford Court partially occupies the site of the former Eu Court. The plot has an “irregular shape, like an axe”, says Manchharam. It has a squarish site fronting Stamford Road, with a narrow rectangular extension along Hill Street.

Ongoing revitalisation

Adjacent to Stamford Court is the former MPH Building, constructed in 1908. It sits on the corner of Armenian Street and Stamford Road and was initially known as the Methodist Publishing House. It was renamed Malaya Publishing House after its operations were commercialised. The property has been conserved, and in the 2000s, it was sold to Vanguard Interiors. Known as Vanguard Building today, the building is currently leased by the Singapore Management University (SMU) as part of its campus. Read also: The Collective at One Sophia sets average price of $2,750 psf and moves 35 units after brief five-day preview Advertisement Advertisement Across the road from Stamford Court is another landmark, Capitol Singapore, an integrated development by Perennial Holdings. It occupies the site of the former Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building, and Stamford House. The development has a four-storey retail mall linked underground to the City Hall MRT Interchange Station. Adjacent to it is Eden Residences Capitol, featuring 39 newly built luxurious apartments. The former Capitol Building and Stamford House were officially reopened as The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore on Oct 1, 2018. Behind Stamford Court lies Armenian Street, which was pedestrianised in 2019. The Peranakan Museum, located on Armenian Street, reopened in February 2023 after nearly four years of renovation. Next to the museum is The Substation, Singapore’s first independent contemporary arts centre, which opened in 1990. Directly opposite is Wilmer Place, another landmark on Armenian Street, sold for $26.4 million in April this year. The property was acquired by Coliwoo Holdings, a unit of LHN Group, with a 50% stake in a joint venture with Oxley Holdings executive chairman and CEO Ching Chiat Kwong (45%) and his son, Shawn Ching (5%). The joint venture partners plan to undertake asset enhancements to the building, which will be managed as a Coliwoo-branded co-living space. Additionally, the Fort Canning Heritage Gallery and enhancements to Fort Canning Park were completed in 2023. The revamp of Stamford Court will further cement the district’s transformation into a vibrant cultural and historical hub. Stamford Court is within walking distance of three MRT stations: Bras Basah on the Circle Line, City Hall Interchange on the East-West and North-South Lines, and Bencoolen on the Downtown Line.

Adaptive reuse, repositioning

The existing property features retail space on the ground floor and offices on the upper floors, with an average floor plate of 18,000 sq ft. The building has a total net lettable area of 62,900 sq ft, which, based on the acquisition price of $132 million, translates to about $2,099 psf. However, if calculated based on gross floor area, the price is just over $1,600 psf, estimates Manchharam. Read also: Elevate Capital and PGIM Real Estate complete $132 mil acquisition of Stamford Court Advertisement Advertisement The property has a 99-year lease from 1994, with 69 remaining years. Manchharam deems the tenure “sufficiently long,” although the joint venture is open to topping up the lease if the opportunity arises. The JV partners also plan to refresh Stamford Court’s façade and reposition the property as a new mixed-use development with co-working, living, and lifestyle components. The ground floor will predominantly consist of retail and F&B space, including a “dining destination.” Manchharam says other amenities will also cater to the area’s community. While 60% of the upper floors will remain as office space, up to 40% will be converted into serviced apartments. For the office space, Manchharam intends to partner with a co-working operator to manage the space. As for the serviced apartments, he is considering whether to create a white-label brand or collaborate with an established operator. The repositioning and asset enhancement works are expected to take about 18 months. While the final budget has yet to be determined, Manchharam reckons the partners will likely spend “close to $20 million” on refurbishing the property, which is targeted to reopen in the first half of 2026. Manchharam intends to focus on the adaptive reuse of Stamford Court as part of his overarching strategy for Elevate’s future assets. “We are targeting well-located commercial properties which can be refurbished, repositioned and made relevant for current demand and needs,” he says. He adds that the firm will also be focused on enhancing yields through the repositioning of properties.

‘Lifestyle-driven real estate’

Manchharam founded Elevate in April this year, and Stamford Court marks the firm’s maiden acquisition. “I call it lifestyle-driven real estate,” he says. “We’ve observed how demand for real estate is evolving globally with the live-work-play concept, and we aim to cater to the shift in demand.” While Elevate will take equity stakes in assets, it will primarily operate as an asset manager. “We recognise that many institutional investors and family offices looking for exposure to Singapore real estate are finding it challenging to close deals,” says Manchharam. “We see Elevate’s role as enablers, where we invest and execute real estate deals on behalf of like-minded capital partners.” Grade-A office space will remain relevant to large occupiers. However, with hybrid and flexible work becoming the norm, Manchharam notes that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increasingly seek flexible or pre-fitted office spaces. The living sector is also evolving, with co-living gaining popularity among professionals and students. The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has responded by offering more state properties to be adapted for co-living and has received strong interest from operators. In August 2023, SLA awarded Eco-Energy, a construction and development company, and its co-living partner Cove, the tender for the two-storey building at 79 to 95 Hindoo Road. The building can house 18 apartments. The tender received 16 bids. The former Bukit Timah Fire Station, dating back to the 1950s, was put up for tender by SLA and received nine bids in October 2023. In April 2024, LHN Group was awarded the site and announced plans to convert it into a Coliwoo-branded co-living space. Another SLA site, located on Henderson Road and intended for senior co-living accommodations, closed its tender in August 2024 with six bids. In November, the site was awarded to a joint venture between dormitory and accommodation provider TS Group and co-living operator The Assembly Place.

Advisor to Cove, returning to start-up

On Dec 12, Cove announced the appointment of Manchharam as a board director. He will assist the company in acquiring flexible living assets in collaboration with third-party investors, including real estate funds, institutional investors, and family offices. Founded in 2018, Cove currently manages 6,000 rooms across Indonesia and Singapore. Manchharam participated in Cove’s latest funding round, which raised US$4.5 million ($6 million). He invested alongside French private equity firm Eurazeo and Singapore-based Keppel, both early investors in Cove. Before he founded Elevate, Manchharam established 8M Real Estate in 2014. Over the past decade, he had completed more than 30 shophouse investments and amassed $1.4 billion in assets under management. Many of these properties have been converted into living and hospitality spaces. These include serviced apartments such as, Base Residences on Hongkong Street, flexible living apartments at KeSa House on Keong Saik Road, along with hospitality assets at Ann Siang House on Ann Siang Hill and Wanderlust in Little India. In November 2020, Oakwood (now a serviced apartment brand under The Ascott) launched a partnership with 8M to manage three properties — namely KeSa House, Ann Siang House and Wanderlust — under a new brand, The Unlimited Collection. The latest hospitality asset by 8M is the boutique hotel 21 Carpenter, another heritage property that opened in December 2023. It is operated by Berlin-based Design Hotels, which specialises in managing boutique luxury hotels. In October 2023, Manchharam sold his remaining shares in 8M to his partner, Crane Capital, the Asian investment partner of the Washington State Investment Board, for an undisclosed sum. “I just felt that 10 years at 8M was a good run,” says Manchharam. “It was the right time to explore other asset types beyond shophouses.” After exiting his stake in 8M, he took a six-month break before returning to the real estate sector by starting up Elevate. “What I enjoy is building a business,” says Manchharam. “8M Real Estate started with a few employees and one shophouse asset. And now with Elevate, we’re back to a couple of people and one asset.” Ask Buddy Price trend for commercial property sales Past Commercial sale transactions Listings for commercial property Compare price trend of Commercial vs Industrial properties Compare price trend of Commercial vs Industrial properties Price trend for commercial property sales Past Commercial sale transactions Listings for commercial property Compare price trend of Commercial vs Industrial properties Compare price trend of Commercial vs Industrial properties