CommercialCOMMERCIALConservationFreeholdDistrict 8 · Rochor

Desker Road Conservation Area

Reviewed by Nathan TangUpdated 8 November 2026Data through Jan 2020
Quick Summary

Desker Road Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 8 · Rochor, on land zoned COMMERCIAL under the URA Master Plan. It is freehold. 1 transaction is on record since 1995, most recently in Jan 2020. ACRA records 0 live company registrations at this address.

1

What are the key facts about Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeawayDesker Road Conservation Area is a commercial building in District 8 · Rochor, zoned COMMERCIAL, held freehold.
Asset class
Commercial
Land-use zone
COMMERCIAL
Gross plot ratio
Subject to Evaluation
Tenure
Freehold
District / Area
District 8 · Rochor
Address
107 Rowell Road
Land area
—
Completed
Not on record
Storeys
2 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
Submarket
City Fringe
Transactions on record
1 (records start 1995)
Live listings
None
ACRA registrations
0
2

About Desker Road Conservation Area

Desker Road Conservation Area is a commercial conservation area in Rochor (District 08). It is located along Rowell Road, Singapore 208031.

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 freehold.

1 transaction has been recorded here, at a median of S$3,300 psf. The most recent was in January 2020.

The nearest MRT is Jalan Besar MRT, 322 m away (about a 5-minute walk). The closest bus stop (Opp Veerasamy Rd) is 156 m away (about a 2-minute walk).

3

What is Desker Road Conservation Area zoned as?

Key takeawayDesker Road 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
Little India
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 Do not quote a plot ratio, and do not compute buildable GFA from it.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 →

4

What has Desker Road Conservation Area sold for?

Key takeaway1 transaction is on record since 1995, most recently in Jan 2020 — too few to support a median, so the deals themselves are listed instead.
DateUsePriceAreaPSF
Jan 2020Shop HouseS$7.30M2,212 sqft$3,300

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

5

What does space at Desker Road Conservation Area rent for?

Key takeawayNo street- or building-level rent is published here. Across District 8 retail, retail space rented at a median of $8.25 psf a month in 2026Q3, with the middle half of leases between $6.30 and $9.03. That is not this building's own rent, and never a quote for a particular unit.

Retail space — District 8 retail

Region band · 2026Q3
25th pct
$6.30
$67.76 psm
Median
$8.25
$88.77 psm
75th pct
$9.03
$97.19 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 8 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).

6

Market context around Desker Road 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.

7

What's been approved at Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeawayURA has approved 3 changes of use at Desker Road Conservation Area since 2000, most recently in 2019. 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.

  1. 30 Jan 2026Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continued use of the 1st storey unit of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant

  2. 27 Oct 2022Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continued use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant

  3. 20 Oct 2021Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continue use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  4. 12 Nov 2020Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continue use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  5. 5 Dec 2019Approved
    Change of use: restaurant → office

    Proposed change of use of the 2nd storey of the 2-storey conserved shophouse from restaurant to office at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  6. 23 Sept 2019Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continue use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  7. 26 Nov 2018Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continue use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  8. 7 Nov 2017Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continue use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  9. 10 Oct 2016Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continued use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  10. 25 Sept 2015Renewed
    Continued use as restaurant

    Continued use of the 1st and 2nd storey of existing 2-storey conserved shophouse as restaurant at 107 and 109 rowell road on lot 98570c ts16 (little india conservation area)

  11. 21 Nov 2013Renewed
    Additions & alterations

    Continued use of the 1st and 2nd storey of the 2-storey buildings as restaurant (little india conservation area)

  12. 26 Apr 2013Approved
    Additions & alterations

    Proposed rectification works to 2 units of existing 2-storey conserved shophouses at 107 & 109 rowell road and change of use for 1st and 2nd storey of unit 107 from residential to restaurant and 2nd storey of unit 109 from residential to restaurant on lot 98570c ts 16 at 107/109 , rowell road (little india conservation area)

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).

8

What do commercial rents run near Desker Road 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 8 retail

Gross yield (area)
3.6%
3.3% net of property tax
Rent side (median of bands)
$88.77 psm/mo
2026Q3
Price side (strata, 5y)
$2,744 psf
59 sales

An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 8 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 8 ($ psm/month, 2026Q3)

Floor level · size band25th pctMedian75th pct
Level 2 & 3 · 30 & Below$67.76$96.11$143.21
Level 1 · 30 & Below$76.14$92.59$171.04
B1 & Below · 30 & Below$90.68$93.21$137.37
Level 2 & 3 · >30 - 100$46.15$61.63$86.96
Level 1 · >30 - 100$73.94$90.91$97.19
B1 & Below · >30 - 100$82.17$88.77$163.62
Level 1 · >100 - 300$59.57$69.55$95.87
Level 2 & 3 · >100 - 300$43.92$47.03$64.17

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

Building class · size band25th pctMedian75th 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.

9

What is near Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeawayThe nearest MRT/LRT is Jalan Besar MRT, about 322 m away — and 3 competing retail premisess operate nearby.

Getting around

Amenities nearby

Rowell Clinic & Surgery · 54 mOpp Veerasamy Rd · 156 mRowell Rd Os · 158 mPlace Of Worship · 220 mHotel · 243 mJalan Besar MRT Exit B · 293 mEducational Institution · 344 mFarrer Park Hospital · 596 mJalan Besar Community Club · 624 m

Competing premises nearby

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

Berseh Food Centre · 102 mPardeshi Pte. Ltd. · 155 mCity Square Mall · 391 m

Straight-line distances. Source: PropKaki amenities data.

10

Getting there and parking at Desker Road Conservation Area

Key takeawayThe nearest station is Jalan Besar (DT22), 293 m away — a moderately busy station, with about 21,000 taps in and out on an average weekday. 68 public car parks are within 500 m; the cheapest URA season parking nearby is S$100 a month.
Foot traffic: busier than 66% of retail buildings

nearest MRT/LRT Jalan Besar (DT22) 293 m, about 21,000 taps a weekday; 6 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 5, about 18,000 taps a weekday; Rochor: 31,654 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 34,000 residents within 1 km (June 2026); 4 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

  • Jalan Besar (DT22)293 m · about 21,000 weekday taps
  • Farrer Park (NE8)429 m · about 57,000 weekday taps
  • Rochor (DT13)536 m · about 22,000 weekday taps
  • Little India (NE7 / DT12)654 m · about 55,000 weekday taps
  • Lavender (EW11)721 m · about 39,000 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 Desker Road Conservation Area. Transfers between lines don't tap, so interchanges read low.

Bus

5 bus stops within 400 m, with about 18,000 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.

Public car parks within 500 m

  • Backlane (Rowell Rd) (URA)65 m
  • Backlane (Jln Berseh) (URA)114 m
  • Blk 638 Veerasamy Road (HDB)121 m
    S$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · gantry 2 m · 136 car lots
  • Desker Rd (URA)126 m
    S$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · season S$100/month · 87 car lots
  • Blk 639/640 Rowell Court (HDB)142 m
    S$0.60 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · gantry 4.5 m · 50 car lots

HDB season (car): Tier 1 $110/month (a resident's or registered HDB shop/industrial tenant's first car); Tier 2 (other cars, non-residents) $120 Rest of Island, $170 Designated Area, $190 Restricted Zone (sheltered: multi-storey, basement, deck). Industrial-park multi-storey car parks: $110 / $120. Which zone this car park is in is not published as data.

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

11

Who's registered at Desker Road Conservation Area?

Key takeaway0 live companies (and LLPs and branches; sole proprietors are not counted) list Desker Road Conservation Area as their registered address. These are registered businesses, not who occupies the space.
  • Information and communications
    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.

12

Frequently asked questions about Desker Road Conservation Area

Where is Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄

Desker Road Conservation Area is at 107 Rowell Road, Singapore 208031, in the Rochor planning area.

What is Desker Road Conservation Area zoned as?⌄

Desker Road Conservation Area sits on land zoned commercial under the URA Master Plan.

What is the tenure of Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄

Desker Road Conservation Area is freehold.

Is Desker Road Conservation Area a conserved property?⌄

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

What have units at Desker Road Conservation Area sold for?⌄

Across 1 recorded transaction, the median price is S$3,300 psf. The latest was in January 2020.

What is the nearest MRT station to Desker Road Conservation Area?⌄

Jalan Besar MRT is the closest, 322 m away (about a 5-minute walk).

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