Artist’s impressionThe Site Before The Collective at One Sophia
For about half a century, the corner of Sophia Road, Selegie Road and Middle Road was home to Peace Centre and Peace Mansion, a strata complex of shops and businesses familiar to generations of Singaporeans. The developer’s brochure notes that The Collective at One Sophia stands on that site.
Like many buildings of its era in the city centre, the complex carried an old lease and a design that no longer matched the precinct around it, which URA has long planned as the city’s arts, heritage and learning quarter.
The Collective Sale Behind The Collective at One Sophia
Peace Centre and Peace Mansion went to a collective-sale tender in September 2021. The joint venture that now develops One Sophia saw its offer accepted in early December 2021, and announcements to the Singapore Exchange record the completion of the purchase on 17 February 2023.
The joint venture’s shareholders, per those announcements, are CEL Development of the Chip Eng Seng group, Sing-Haiyi Crystal, linked to SingHaiyi Group, and Ultra Infinity. The developer page sets out each partner.
The location was part of the appeal from the start: a corner plot on three roads, between Dhoby Ghaut, Little India and the arts schools of Bras Basah, with Mount Emily rising behind it. That combination of access and a quieter residential edge along Sophia Road is what the new layout makes use of.
A Fresh Lease for The Collective at One Sophia
The old lease of the site dated from 1970. For the redevelopment, a new 99-year lease began on 6 December 2023, so the residences start their tenure fresh rather than part-way through an old one.
The site covers 7,118 square metres, the lot is Lot 220P of Town Subdivision 19, and the new development comprises the two residential blocks of The Collective at One Sophia above and beside a podium of shops and a separate office address at 1 Sophia Road.
The joint venture’s plan for the site was announced to the Singapore Exchange at the time of the purchase, and the residential company, Sophia Residential Pte. Ltd., now sells the homes under Housing Developer’s Licence C1468, with the rest of One Sophia held by its sister company, Sophia Commercial Pte. Ltd.
What Changes With The Collective at One Sophia
The redevelopment turns a dated complex into a modern integrated development with homes above, designed by ADDP Architects with studioMilou. The developer places it at the forefront of the rejuvenation of the Civic District, describing the area as the birthplace of the country’s architectural and cultural heritage.
For residents, the result is a new home on a well-known corner, with the familiar neighbourhood of arts schools, museums, Little India and Orchard Road all around.
The Neighbourhood Around The Collective at One Sophia Then and Now
The streets around the site have changed as much as the site itself. Bencoolen Street and Middle Road now carry the campuses of NAFA and LASALLE, the School of the Arts and the Singapore Management University are close by, and the National Design Centre occupies a restored former convent school. Below ground, the Downtown Line opened in stages between 2013 and 2017, with Bencoolen station arriving in October 2017.
That transformation is the setting the new residences inherit. Where Peace Centre once served a city of small businesses and students, The Collective at One Sophia now offers homes in a precinct of arts schools, museums and five MRT stations, with Orchard Road and Little India on either side. The location page lists the distances.
Why Collective Sales Shape the City, as at The Collective at One Sophia
Collective sales allow the owners of an older strata development to sell together to a developer when the required majority agrees, and they have been one of the main ways older city buildings have been renewed. At Peace Centre and Peace Mansion, the owners’ decision in 2021 made the land available for One Sophia, and with it a new lease.
For buyers of a new home, the significance is twofold. The fresh 99-year lease from 6 December 2023 means the tenure starts from the beginning, and the new building is designed for current standards and for a precinct that has changed around it. The developer’s particulars and the announcements to the Singapore Exchange record each step, and the developer page explains who the partners are.
The name carries the history forward in its own way: One Sophia takes its name from the road the site has always faced, and the residences, The Collective at One Sophia, keep that address at 1A and 1B Sophia Road.
Seeing The Collective at One Sophia Today
The project details page gathers the published particulars, and the latest updates record each milestone since the collective sale.
Showflat viewings are arranged by appointment through the Sales Concierge.
This article is general information as at the date shown and is not financial, legal or tax advice. Statutory figures are from IRAS and MAS; particulars of The Collective at One Sophia are from the developer’s brochure and announcements, and launch dates from the developer and published reports.
Talk to The Collective at One Sophia Sales Concierge
The Sales Concierge sends the price list on request, the balance units and the e-brochure for The Collective at One Sophia. Showflat viewings are arranged by appointment through the Sales Concierge.