Merchants Building
Merchants Building is a commercial building in District 1 · Singapore River, on land zoned COMMERCIAL under the URA Master Plan with a gross plot ratio of 4.2. It is freehold. 8 transactions are on record since 1995, most recently in Apr 2016. ACRA records 8 live company registrations at this address.
What are the key facts about Merchants Building?
- Asset class
- Commercial
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- 4.2
- Tenure
- Freehold
- District / Area
- District 1 · Singapore River
- Address
- 76 South Bridge Road
- Land area
- 104 sqm
- Completed
- Not on record
- Storeys
- 6 (© OpenStreetMap contributors)
- Submarket
- City Fringe
- Units with a recorded sale
- At least 4
- Transactions on record
- 8 (records start 1995)
- Live listings
- None
- ACRA registrations
- 8
About Merchants Building
Merchants Building is a commercial building in Singapore River (District 01). It is located along South Bridge Road, Singapore 058706.
Under the URA Master Plan it sits on land zoned commercial with a gross plot ratio of 4.2. 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. It occupies roughly 104 sqm of land with about 439 sqm of gross floor area.
8 transactions have been recorded here, at a median of S$652 psf. The most recent was in April 2016.
11 businesses are currently registered at this address with ACRA.
The nearest MRT is Clarke Quay MRT, 212 m away (about a 3-minute walk). The closest bus stop (Boat Quay) is 44 m away (about a 1-minute walk).
What is Merchants Building zoned as?
- Land-use zone
- COMMERCIAL
- Gross plot ratio
- 4.2
- Conservation area
- Upper Circular Road
- Urban design area
- Udga
- Central Area
- Yes
What has Merchants Building sold for?
| Date | Use | Price | Area | PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 2016 | Office | S$960k | 807 sqft | $1,189 |
| Aug 2009 | Office | S$582k | 807 sqft | $721 |
| Jul 2008 | Retail | S$1.48M | 1,389 sqft | $1,066 |
| Nov 2007 | Office | S$590k | 807 sqft | $731 |
| Jun 2003 | Office | S$355k | 807 sqft | $440 |
| Jun 2002 | Office | S$395k | 807 sqft | $489 |
| Aug 2000 | Office | S$471k | 807 sqft | $583 |
| Jul 1999 | Office | S$460k | 807 sqft | $570 |
URA/JTC records from 1995 — that is where the record starts, not when the building was built. Strata and land deals can mix in one building's history; compare like with like. sqm ↔ sq ft converter
What does space at Merchants Building rent for?
Office space on South Bridge Road
Street level · 2026Q3S$ per sq ft per month · median +2.4% on a year earlier
URA's percentiles of OFFICE rents across every lease stamped with IRAS on this STREET in the quarter — the street's figure, not this building's rent and never a unit's. URA publishes a median only where the street has at least 2 office buildings and 3 contracts that quarter (percentiles need 4); a blank means below that threshold, not zero.
Source: URA rental statistics by street (IRAS-stamped contracts).
Retail space on South Bridge Road
Street level · 2026Q3S$ per sq ft per month · median -27.6% on a year earlier
URA's percentiles of RETAIL rents (shop, F&B, entertainment, health & fitness) across every lease stamped with IRAS on this STREET in the quarter — the street's figure, not this building's rent and never a unit's. Retail rent swings with floor and frontage, so the spread matters as much as the median. A median needs at least 2 buildings and 3 contracts (percentiles need 4); a blank means below that threshold, not zero.
Source: URA rental statistics by street (IRAS-stamped contracts).
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 Merchants Building
- City Fringe (all grades): Rent S$7.83 psf/mth · Vacancy 2.5% · Planned / under construction 1.35m sq ft
Official series (URA, 2026Q3): Office vacancy rate (Whole Island) 10 (-1.2 pp on the year) · Office rental index (Central Region) 203.4 (+1.8% 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 Merchants Building?
- 18 Jul 2025RenewedContinued use as senior citizens' activity centre
Continued use of the 3rd storey office as senior citizens' activity centre - merchants building
- 18 Mar 2024ApprovedChange of use: office → commercial school
Proposed change of use of 5th storey premises from office to commercial school
- 22 Jun 2023ApprovedChange of use to senior citizens' activity centre
Proposed change of use of the 3rd storey office to senior citizens' activity centre - merchants building
- 30 Jan 2023RefusedChange of use to residential flats – merchants building
Proposed change of use of the 3rd to 6th storey office and roof level to residential flats – merchants building
- 16 Nov 2017ApprovedChange of use to shop
Proposed change of use of the 1st and 2nd storey to shop on lot 00206w ts07 at 76 south bridge road - merchants building (singapore river planning area)
- 8 Jan 2002ApprovedFloor 2Change of use: office → association
Proposed change of use of unit #02-XX from office to association
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$54.50 per unit).
How does South Bridge Road price?
Too few strata sales on this street to support a median — the count is shown without one.
Street figures cover strata deals only — land and strata PSF are not comparable.
What do commercial rents run near Merchants Building?
Indicative area yield — District 1 retail
An INDICATIVE AREA yield for District 1 retail — NOT this building's yield, and not any unit's. Commercial rents are published as a district percentile grid, so both halves describe the district.
Priced on STRATA sales only: rent is quoted per unit of lettable area, and commercial land PSF runs far above strata — mixing them would shift the ratio sharply.
Net deducts the 10% non-residential property tax ONLY — not vacancy, maintenance, agent fees, financing, or the 9% GST on purchase.
Retail rents — District 1 ($ 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 near Merchants Building?
Getting around
- Clarke Quay MRT212 m · ~3 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 Merchants Building
nearest MRT/LRT Clarke Quay (NE5) 197 m, about 31,000 taps a weekday; 7 more stations within 1 km; bus stops within 400 m: 10, about 19,000 taps a weekday; Singapore River: 18,341 resident workers (Census 2020, by workplace); about 12,000 residents within 1 km (June 2026). Ranked against 485 office 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), not a count of people.
Stations within 1 km
- Clarke Quay (NE5)197 m · about 31,000 weekday taps
- Chinatown (NE4 / DT19)399 m · about 97,000 weekday taps
- Raffles Place (EW14 / NS26)459 m · about 133,000 weekday taps
- Telok Ayer (DT18)476 m · about 37,000 weekday taps
- Fort Canning (DT20)727 m · about 14,000 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 Merchants Building. Transfers between lines don't tap, so interchanges read low.
Bus
10 bus stops within 400 m, with about 19,000 boardings and alightings on an average weekday.
Public car parks within 500 m
- Backlane (North Canal Rd - Circular Rd) (URA)60 m
- Hong Kong St (URA)78 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 32 car lots
- Hong Lim Park Off St (URA)84 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 23 car lots
- Backlane (Hongkong St - Carpenter St) (URA)89 m
- Lor Telok (URA)94 mS$1.20 per half-hour at midday on a weekday · 21 car lots
Nearest URA season parking: Mohd Sultan-River Vall Ey Road Area, 999 m away, S$80/month.
Public car parks only, by straight-line distance, with the operator's published rates. Merchants Building's own car park, if it has one, and its charges are not in the open data.
Who's registered at Merchants Building?
- Health and social services4
- Other services2
- Wholesale and retail trade1
- Education1
- Professional, scientific and technical services0
- Manufacturing0
- Accommodation and food services0
- Information and communications0
- Financial and insurance0
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.
What is Merchants Building's BCA building profile?
- BCA building type
- Office
- Green Mark
- NA (NA)
- Energy use intensity
- 222 kWh/m²·yr
Frequently asked questions about Merchants Building
Where is Merchants Building?⌄
Merchants Building is at 76 South Bridge Road, Singapore 058706, in the Singapore River planning area.
What is Merchants Building zoned as?⌄
Merchants Building sits on land zoned commercial under the URA Master Plan, with a gross plot ratio of 4.2.
What is the tenure of Merchants Building?⌄
Merchants Building is freehold.
Is Merchants Building a conserved property?⌄
Yes. Merchants Building falls within a URA conservation area, so external works are subject to conservation guidelines.
What have units at Merchants Building sold for?⌄
Across 8 recorded transactions, the median price is S$652 psf. The latest was in April 2016.
What is the nearest MRT station to Merchants Building?⌄
Clarke Quay MRT is the closest, 212 m away (about a 3-minute walk).
How many businesses are registered at Merchants Building?⌄
11 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 Merchants Building.
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.