CommercialCOMMERCIALConservation999-year leaseholdDistrict 1 · Singapore River

Boat Quay Conservation Area

Reviewed by Nathan TangUpdated 8 November 2026Data through Nov 2021

Quick Summary

Boat Quay Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 1 · Singapore River, on land zoned COMMERCIAL under the URA Master Plan. It is 999-year leasehold. 1 transaction is on record since 1995, most recently in Nov 2021. ACRA records 3 live company registrations at this address.

The facts are here — now get the verdict on Boat Quay Conservation Area.

Ask PropKaki

What are the key facts about Boat Quay Conservation Area?

Key takeawayBoat Quay Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 1 · Singapore River, zoned COMMERCIAL, held 999-year leasehold.

Asset class: Commercial
Land-use zone: COMMERCIAL
Gross plot ratio: Subject to Evaluation
Tenure: 999-year leasehold
District / Area: District 1 · Singapore River
Address: 49 Circular Road
Land area: —
Completed: Not on record
Storeys: 1 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
Submarket: City Fringe
Transactions on record: 1 (records start 1995)
Live listings: None
ACRA registrations: 3

About Boat Quay Conservation Area

Boat Quay Conservation Area is a commercial conservation area in Singapore River (District 01). It is located along Circular Road, Singapore 049404.

Under the URA Master Plan it sits on land zoned commercial. The site falls within a conservation area, so external alterations are subject to URA conservation guidelines. It lies inside the Central Area.

The site is 999-year leasehold, with about 799 years remaining on the lease.

1 transaction has been recorded here, at a median of S$12,914 psf. The most recent was in November 2021.

4 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA.

The nearest MRT is Raffles Place MRT, 294 m away (about a 5-minute walk). The closest bus stop (OCBC Ctr) is 179 m away (about a 3-minute walk).

What is Boat Quay Conservation Area zoned as?

Key takeawayBoat Quay Conservation Area sits on land zoned COMMERCIAL, with conservation status, inside the Central Area.

Land-use zone: COMMERCIAL
Gross plot ratio: Subject to Evaluation
Conservation area: Boat Quay
Conserved building: Yes
Urban design area: Udga
Central Area: Yes

URA has not published a fixed plot ratio for this site — the Master Plan records "EVA" (Subject to Evaluation), meaning intensity is decided case by case on application. Do not quote a plot ratio, and do not compute buildable GFA from it.

Run the full zoning report for this building →

What has Boat Quay Conservation Area sold for?

Key takeaway1 transaction is on record since 1995, most recently in Nov 2021 — too few to support a median, so the deals themselves are listed instead.

Date	Use	Price	Area	PSF
Nov 2021	Shop House	S$16.18M	1,253 sqft	$12,914

URA/JTC records from 1995 — that is where the record starts, not when the building was built. Strata and land deals can mix in one building's history; compare like with like. sqm ↔ sq ft converter

What does space at Boat Quay Conservation Area rent for?

Key takeawayNo street- or building-level rent is published here. Across District 1 retail, retail space rented at a median of $10.02 psf a month in 2026Q3, with the middle half of leases between $8.23 and $15.92. That is not this building's own rent, and never a quote for a particular unit.

Retail space — District 1 retail

Region band · 2026Q3

25th pct

$8.23

$88.64 psm

Median

$10.02

$107.81 psm

75th pct

$15.92

$171.42 psm

S$ per sq ft per month

A REGION BAND — URA's grid for the whole district or location, not this street or building. Say "across <district/location>, …", never that this building rents for it. The middle of URA's retail grid for District 1 across every floor and size band — a ground-floor shop and an upper-floor unit sit at very different points in it.

Source: URA REALIS retail rental analysis (district × floor × size grid).

Market context around Boat Quay Conservation Area

Key takeawayBrokers' retail figures for this part of Singapore — a broker's market figure, not this building's rent.

CBRE, 2Q 2026 (island-wide)

Islandwide: Rent S$28.15 psf/mth

Singapore Figures Q2 2026

Cushman & Wakefield, 2Q 2026

Other City Areas: Rent S$21.21 psf/mth · Vacancy 7.4% (1Q 2026) · Planned / under construction 0.73m sq ft

Singapore Retail MarketBeat Q2 2026

Official series (URA, 2026Q3): Retail vacancy rate (Whole Island) 6.5 (-0.4 pp on the year) · Retail rental index (Central Region) 81.2 (+1.4% on the year).

Brokers draw submarkets and grades differently; each figure is the broker's own, for its own area, cited to its report. Rents are per square foot per month.

What's been approved at Boat Quay Conservation Area?

Key takeawayURA has approved 2 changes of use at Boat Quay Conservation Area since 2000, most recently in 2024. This is the building's planning history, not today's approved use of any unit: confirm a unit's approved use with URA before signing.

F&B and nightlife here

No new bars, pubs, nightclubs or karaoke lounges (a Historic Conservation Area).

Per URA's Use of Buildings in Conservation Areas. A planning guideline for the area, not a decision on any unit; it applies to new eating houses and bars, not to one already approved.

31 Jan 2024Approved
Change of use: gym/fitness centre → office
Proposed change of use at the 3rd storey of the 3-storey building from gym/fitness centre to office at 49 circular road
13 Aug 2019Approved
Change of use to gym/fitness centre
Change of use of the 2nd, 3rd and roof mezzanine storey of the 3-storey conserved shophouse at 49 circular road to gym/fitness centre

Source: URA planning decisions (URA Data Service), matched to this building by address or land lot. A past approval can lapse (a temporary permission) and belongs to the unit it names. The authoritative approved use of a unit comes from URA's Enquiry on Approved Use of Premises (S$54.50 per unit).

What do commercial rents run near Boat Quay Conservation Area?

Key takeawayURA publishes contracted-rent percentile grids quarterly (latest: 2026Q3) — the benchmark evidence an asking rent should be weighed against.

Indicative area yield — District 1 retail

Gross yield (area)

3.4%

3.0% net of property tax

Rent side (median of bands)

$107.81 psm/mo

2026Q3

Price side (strata, 5y)

$3,561 psf

90 sales

An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 1 retail — NOT this building's yield, and not any unit's. Commercial rents are published as a district percentile grid, so both halves describe the district.

Priced on STRATA sales only: rent is quoted per unit of lettable area, and commercial land PSF runs far above strata — mixing them would shift the ratio sharply.

Net deducts the 10% non-residential property tax ONLY — not vacancy, maintenance, agent fees, financing, or the 9% GST on purchase.

Retail rents — District 1 ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)

Floor level · size band	25th pct	Median	75th pct
Level 2 & 3 · 30 & Below	$82.69	$99.35	$120.39
Level 1 · 30 & Below	$172.73	$245.52	$332.57
B1 & Below · 30 & Below	$87.33	$172.91	$321.72
Level 2 & 3 · >30 - 100	$77.43	$95.09	$183.52
Level 1 · >30 - 100	$106.77	$168.33	$217.05
B1 & Below · >30 - 100	$117.40	$198.29	$365.38
Level 1 · >100 - 300	$115.69	$148.57	$187.43
B1 & Below · >100 - 300	$148.73	$233.33	$396.56

Office rents — Central Area ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)

Building class · size band	25th pct	Median	75th pct
Category 2 · 100 & Below	$54.65	$69.39	$88.80
Category 1 · 100 & Below	$103.62	$122.24	$132.43
Category 1 · >100 - 200	$116.28	$126.99	$148.35
Category 2 · >100 - 200	$65.57	$82.87	$97.63
Category 1 · >200 - 500	$114.67	$128.09	$145.77
Category 2 · >200 - 500	$64.83	$82.57	$94.73
Category 1 · >500 - 1000	$106.56	$137.78	$148.23
Category 2 · >500 - 1000	$85.04	$89.34	$109.80

URA REALIS rental-contract percentiles for the district/location — an area benchmark, not this building's own rents. Office and retail are dimensioned differently and are never mixed.

What is near Boat Quay Conservation Area?

Key takeawayThe nearest MRT/LRT is Raffles Place MRT, about 294 m away — and 2 competing retail premisess operate nearby.

Getting around

Raffles Place MRT294 m · ~5 min

Amenities nearby

The Medical Clinic · 103 mPlace Of Worship · 146 mOCBC Ctr · 179 mHotel · 223 mRaffles Place MRT Exit G · 236 mHong Lim Pk · 284 mEducational Institution · 901 mKreta Ayer Community Club · 902 m

Competing premises nearby

Retail and F&B premises competing for the same footfall — context for an occupier, not a selling point.

Market Street Hawker Centre · 236 mOne Raffles Place · 246 m

Straight-line distances. Source: PropKaki amenities data.

Getting there and parking at Boat Quay Conservation Area

Key takeawayThe nearest station is Raffles Place (EW14 / NS26), 236 m away — one of the busiest stations, with about 133,000 taps in and out on an average weekday. 21 public car parks are within 500 m.

Foot traffic: busier than 61% of retail buildings

nearest MRT/LRT Raffles Place (EW14/NS26) 236 m, about 133,000 taps a weekday; 9 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 6, about 8,894 taps a weekday; Singapore River: 18,341 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 9,466 residents within 1 km (June 2026); 9 other malls within 1 km. Ranked against 12,856 retail buildings by PropKaki's model: a relative score, not a footfall count.

A relative score from PropKaki's model (station and bus taps nearby, workers and residents around, and competing malls), not a count of people.

Stations within 1 km

Raffles Place (EW14 / NS26)236 m · about 133,000 weekday taps
Telok Ayer (DT18)398 m · about 37,000 weekday taps
Clarke Quay (NE5)404 m · about 31,000 weekday taps
Chinatown (NE4 / DT19)496 m · about 97,000 weekday taps
Downtown (DT17)757 m · about 51,000 weekday taps

Taps are fare-card taps in and out at the station's gates on an average weekday (Jul 2026 to Sep 2026) — people passing through, not visitors to Boat Quay Conservation Area. Transfers between lines don't tap, so interchanges read low.

Bus

6 bus stops within 400 m, with 8,894 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.

Public car parks within 500 m

Backlane (Lor Telok - Circular Rd) (URA)56 m
Circular Rd (URA)70 m
S$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 34 car lots
North Canal Rd (URA)119 m
S$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 24 car lots
Lor Telok (URA)132 m
S$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 21 car lots
Backlane (Synagogue St ) (URA)134 m

Nearest URA season parking: Mohd Sultan-River Vall Ey Road Area, 1.2 km away, S$80/month.

Public car parks only, by straight-line distance, with the operator's published rates. Boat Quay Conservation Area's own car park, if it has one, and its charges are not in the open data.

Who's registered at Boat Quay Conservation Area?

Key takeaway3 live companies (and LLPs and branches; sole proprietors are not counted) list Boat Quay Conservation Area as their registered address. These are registered businesses, not who occupies the space.

Accommodation and food services
2
Administrative and support services
1
Wholesale and retail trade
0
Financial and insurance
0
Transportation and storage
0

Registered businesses, not who occupies the space: companies, LLPs and branches whose REGISTERED address is this building (ACRA), by industry. Sole proprietors are not counted; no business is named. ACRA, as of 2026-09-16.

Frequently asked questions about Boat Quay Conservation Area

Where is Boat Quay Conservation Area?⌄

Boat Quay Conservation Area is at 49 Circular Road, Singapore 049404, in the Singapore River planning area.

What is Boat Quay Conservation Area zoned as?⌄

Boat Quay Conservation Area sits on land zoned commercial under the URA Master Plan.

What is the tenure of Boat Quay Conservation Area?⌄

Boat Quay Conservation Area is 999-year leasehold. About 799 years remain on the lease.

Is Boat Quay Conservation Area a conserved property?⌄

Yes. Boat Quay Conservation Area falls within a URA conservation area, so external works are subject to conservation guidelines.

What have units at Boat Quay Conservation Area sold for?⌄

Across 1 recorded transaction, the median price is S$12,914 psf. The latest was in November 2021.

What is the nearest MRT station to Boat Quay Conservation Area?⌄

Raffles Place MRT is the closest, 294 m away (about a 5-minute walk).

How many businesses are registered at Boat Quay Conservation Area?⌄

4 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA. That is a measure of registered addresses, not of how many businesses physically occupy the building.

For agents · in the PropKaki app

The facts are here — now get the verdict on Boat Quay Conservation Area.

Ask what a unit here would fetch, what the zone allows, or how it compares.

Ask PropKaki Try on WhatsApp

PropKaki

Tell me about Boat Quay Conservation Area — recent transactions, zoning and what's listed there.

Here's the building's zone, its recorded deals and every live unit — and where the asking prices sit against them.

Ask anything about Singapore property…

Read the figures right

Year of completion is not on record for this building. Building age cannot be stated.

Submarket: PropKaki's own map from URA's planning subzones (CBD core, City Hall / Bugis, Orchard, city fringe, regional centres, suburban). Brokers draw these lines differently.

Changes of use: URA planning approvals recorded at this building since 2000 (any unit; renewals of a temporary permission not counted). History only — Past approvals are not today's approved use; check with URA's approved-use enquiry before signing. Never say a use is allowed, permitted or approved for a unit, and never say a use would be approved.

F&B / nightlife: per URA's Use of Buildings in Conservation Areas. A planning guideline, not a decision on any unit.

Station taps: average weekday fare-card taps in and out at the nearest MRT/LRT station (LTA DataMall). People passing the station's gates, not people visiting this building.

Foot-traffic score: PropKaki's relative score from nearby MRT and bus taps, workers and residents around (and, for retail, competing malls), ranked against buildings of the same kind. A percentile, not a count of people.

Company REGISTRATIONS at this address (ACRA), not a tenancy schedule. Registration does not mean the company physically occupies space here, and a low count does not mean the building is empty. Do not describe this as occupancy or vacancy.

Unbuilt GFA cannot be computed here — it needs BCA built-GFA, which covers about 5% of commercial buildings and no industrial ones. Zoning and plot ratio are on record; headroom is not.

Storeys: from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), volunteer-mapped, not an official record. Shown only because no official or listed floor count is held for this building.

Reviewed by Nathan Tang

Nathan Tang has over 10 years of property experience across condominiums, HDB flats and commercial property, specialising in property research and finance.

Figures draw on URA and JTC records, URA Master Plan zoning, ACRA registrations and live commercial-portal listings; building facts from PropKaki's submarket map, URA planning decisions, URA's rules for conservation areas, URA car park data (URA Data Service), LTA DataMall passenger volumes, PropKaki's foot-traffic model, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) — see our methodology. Last updated 8 November 2026. For general information, not financial advice.

Getting there and parking: LTA DataMall passenger volumes and car parks, URA Data Service car park rates, HDB and JTC car park information (data.gov.sg) and HDB's published parking charges, Census of Population 2020 and the Singapore Department of Statistics' June 2026 resident population (Singapore Open Data Licence). The foot-traffic score is PropKaki's own relative model, not a count.

Market context: figures cited from CBRE Research (Singapore Figures) and Cushman & Wakefield (Singapore MarketBeat), each with its quarter and report; flexible-workspace centres from the operators' public location lists; collective sales from marketing agents' announcements and news reports, each linked.

Rents: URA rental statistics for office and retail space by street (IRAS-stamped contracts), JTC J-SPACE rentals by building and by street, JTC price tenders, and URA REALIS rental grids. SLA tender results and JTC posted land rents are held for state and JTC land.