Boat Quay Conservation Area
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. 3 transactions are on record since 1995, most recently in Oct 2010. 6 units are currently listed for sale or rent. ACRA records 3 live company registrations at this address.
What are the key facts about Boat Quay Conservation Area?
- Asset class
- Commercial
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- Subject to Evaluation
- Tenure
- 999-year leasehold
- District / Area
- District 1 · Singapore River
- Address
- 38 Circular Road
- Land area
- —
- Completed
- Not on record
- Storeys
- Not on record
- Submarket
- City Fringe
- Listed as
- Shop / Shophouse, Office, Food & Beverage
- Transactions on record
- 3 (records start 1995)
- Live listings
- 6
- 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 049394.
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.
3 transactions have been recorded here, at a median of S$1,953 psf. The most recent was in October 2010.
6 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA.
The nearest MRT is Raffles Place MRT, 362 m away (about a 6-minute walk). The closest bus stop (Boat Quay) is 134 m away (about a 2-minute walk).
What is Boat Quay Conservation Area zoned as?
- 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 Do not quote a plot ratio, and do not compute buildable GFA from it.
What has Boat Quay Conservation Area sold for?
| Date | Use | Price | Area | PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2010 | Shop House | S$4.35M | 1,141 sqft | $3,812 |
| Aug 2010 | Shop House | S$2.17M | 1,141 sqft | $1,906 |
| Apr 2002 | Shop House | S$2.23M | 1,141 sqft | $1,953 |
URA/JTC records from 1995 — that is where the record starts, not when the building was built. Strata and land deals can mix in one building's history; compare like with like. sqm ↔ sq ft converter
What does space at Boat Quay Conservation Area rent for?
Retail space — District 1 retail
Region band · 2026Q3S$ 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
- Other City Areas: Rent S$21.21 psf/mth · Vacancy 7.4% (1Q 2026) · Planned / under construction 0.73m sq ft
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.
How fast units move at Boat Quay Conservation Area
Rent: between 6 Aug 2026 and 28 Aug 2026, 0 new listings appeared and 2 came off (sold, let or withdrawn). Days on market: not enough history yet — we began tracking on 6 Aug 2026.
Sale: between 6 Aug 2026 and 28 Aug 2026, 1 new listing appeared and 1 came off (sold, let or withdrawn). Days on market: not enough history yet — we began tracking on 6 Aug 2026.
One count per unit, however many agents list it. Asking prices are not tracked over time, so price cuts are not shown.
What's been approved at Boat Quay Conservation Area?
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.
- 12 Mar 2025RenewedContinued use as beauty salon
Continued use on the 3rd storey of the 4-storey building as beauty salon at 38 circular road (boat quay conservation area) on lot 99556k ts04
- 14 Dec 2023ApprovedChange of use: office → beauty salon
Proposed change of use at the 3rd storey of the 4-storey building from office to beauty salon at 38 circular road
- 31 May 2022RenewedContinued use as beauty salon
Continued use at the 3rd storey of the 4-storey building as beauty salon at 38 circular road
- 29 Jun 2021RenewedContinued use as beauty salon
Continued use at the 3rd storey of the 4-storey building as beauty salon at 38 circular road
- 23 Jun 2020ApprovedChange of use: office → beauty salon
Proposed change of use at the 3rd storey of the 4-storey building from office to beauty salon at 38 circular road
- 20 May 2008ApprovedChange of use: pub → restaurant
Change of use of the 1st -storey from pub to restaurant
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$54.50 per unit).
What do commercial rents run near Boat Quay Conservation Area?
Indicative area yield — District 1 retail
An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 1 retail — NOT this building's yield, and not any unit's. Commercial rents are published as a district percentile grid, so both halves describe the district.
Priced on STRATA sales only: rent is quoted per unit of lettable area, and commercial land PSF runs far above strata — mixing them would shift the ratio sharply.
Net deducts the 10% non-residential property tax ONLY — not vacancy, maintenance, agent fees, financing, or the 9% GST on purchase.
Retail rents — District 1 ($ 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 available at Boat Quay Conservation Area right now?
For sale (3)
- Shophouse Freehold Chinatown/ Tanjong Pagar/ AmoyS$25.00M · 4,400 sqft
- Circular Road Shophouse11 agentsS$28.00M · 4,402 sqft
- 38 Circular RoadS$30.00M · 1,141 sqft
For rent (3)
- Boat Quay Conservation AreaS$7k/mo · 1,300 sqft
- ✨ Luxuriously Renovated, Rare Shophouse Unit with Terrace | Circular Road | Raffles Place, Boat Quay12 agentsS$8k/mo · 1,087 sqft
- Circular RoadS$8k/mo · 1,087 sqft
What is near Boat Quay Conservation Area?
Getting around
- Raffles Place MRT363 m · ~6 min
Amenities nearby
Competing premises nearby
Retail and F&B premises competing for the same footfall — context for an occupier, not a selling point.
Straight-line distances. Source: PropKaki amenities data.
Getting there and parking at Boat Quay Conservation Area
nearest MRT/LRT Raffles Place (EW14/NS26) 299 m, about 133,000 taps a weekday; 9 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 9, about 17,000 taps a weekday; Singapore River: 18,341 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 9,693 residents within 1 km (June 2026); 11 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)299 m · about 133,000 weekday taps
- Clarke Quay (NE5)356 m · about 31,000 weekday taps
- Telok Ayer (DT18)450 m · about 37,000 weekday taps
- Chinatown (NE4 / DT19)489 m · about 97,000 weekday taps
- Maxwell (TE18)789 m · about 23,000 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
9 bus stops within 400 m, with about 17,000 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.
Public car parks within 500 m
- Circular Rd (URA)16 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 34 car lots
- Backlane (Lor Telok - Circular Rd) (URA)46 m
- Lor Telok (URA)70 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 21 car lots
- North Canal Rd (URA)88 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 24 car lots
- Backlane (North Canal Rd - Circular Rd) (URA)114 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?
- Accommodation and food services1
- Wholesale and retail trade1
- Real estate1
- Financial and insurance0
- Professional, scientific and technical services0
- Education0
- Information and communications0
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 38 Circular Road, Singapore 049394, 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 3 recorded transactions, the median price is S$1,953 psf. The latest was in October 2010.
What is the nearest MRT station to Boat Quay Conservation Area?⌄
Raffles Place MRT is the closest, 362 m away (about a 6-minute walk).
How many businesses are registered at Boat Quay Conservation Area?⌄
6 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.
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.
PropKakiHere's the building's zone, its recorded deals and every live unit — and where the asking prices sit against them.