Coliwoo Prepares Ipo New Co Living Projects Eyes Untapped Markets
Canberra Plaza, conveniently located near Canberra MRT station, is a bustling retail hub that residents in the northern part of Singapore flock to. This integrated development offers a wide variety of essential retail and dining options, making it a convenient one-stop destination for shoppers. Its modern and open-air design provides a refreshing shopping experience for visitors. Whether it’s a local bakery, a bubble tea stall, a hardware store, or a lifestyle service, Canberra Plaza has something for everyone. The large supermarket and hawker-style food stalls also make it easy for residents to get their groceries or grab a quick bite. The diverse selection of restaurants serving up delicious traditional and fusion dishes is another highlight of this neighbourhood mall. Families and young couples will appreciate the contemporary and spacious layout of this vibrant community hub. What’s more, the presence of Sembawang Road EC Canberra in the vicinity adds even more convenience and allure to this bustling retail node. With Sembawang Road EC Canberra in close proximity, Canberra Plaza is truly a must-visit destination for shopping and dining.
In the last weeks of August, Coliwoo, a local co-living operator, unveiled its newest project at the former Bukit Timah Fire Station. The historic landmark has been transformed into a mixed-use development that includes 62 serviced apartments, 10 commercial units, and community event spaces. The project is set to open at the beginning of October.
The residential units, ranging from en suite studios to two and three-bedroom apartments, are already 60% occupied, with monthly rents starting from $3,500. As serviced apartments, the minimum stay is six nights, with weekly rates ranging from $900 to $1,320.
Revitalized heritage site
Several F&B brands, including Melbourne’s speciality coffee chain ST Ali and local bakery Haute Cakes Studio, will anchor the retail mix. The development will also feature activity-based operators such as Xplorers.Life, which plans to offer kid-friendly workshops and creative activities, and Sundowner at Fire Station, which will host farm-to-table experiences such as honey harvesting, beer crafting, and pizza-making.
Local swim school Aquaducks will offer early-childhood water safety and play-based swimming classes, while Collar BT Club, an AVS-licensed pet boutique, will provide grooming, daycare, and pet-boarding services.
The site, located at 260 Upper Bukit Timah Road, was home to the former Bukit Timah Fire Station from 1956 to 2005. The building was decommissioned in 2005 and declared a conservation site in 2019. After a consortium that won the tender in 2021 withdrew due to pandemic-related challenges, the site was relaunched in August 2023 for tender on a five-year lease, with an option to renew for another four years.
LHN Facilities Management, a subsidiary of LHN Group, secured the site in April 2024 for a monthly rent of $68,889 (about $826,668 a year). The company has invested $7.5 million to refurbish the property, which sits on a 92,334 sq ft site. By reconfiguring the interiors, LHN increased the original 45 rooms across seven blocks to 62 serviced apartments, ranging in size from 100 to 190 sq ft.
Plans for future growth
Following the opening of the property at the old Bukit Timah Fire Station, Coliwoo has announced plans to launch three more properties in the next 12 months.
The property at 159 Jalan Loyang Besar in Pasir Ris will be Coliwoo’s first co-living and chalet development, located on a 380,869 sq ft site. The development is slated to open next year. Coliwoo won the price-quality tender with a monthly bid of $225,000 ($2.7 million a year) in June of this year.
The eco-lifestyle resort at Jalan Loyang Besar will feature co-living studios, a handful of chalets, a food court, karaoke and games rooms, an ice bath, and water-sports facilities. Target markets for the resort include students at the upcoming Singapore Institute of Technology campus in Punggol, professionals at the new business park district, and airline crews transiting through nearby Changi Airport.
The Coliwoo Bukit Timah Fire Station. There are seven 3-storey blocks with commercial units on the ground floor, and co-living apartments on the top floors.
The Coliwoo Bugis, located at 141 Middle Road, is scheduled to open in 1Q2026. The 212-room project will transform the former GSM Building, which LHN purchased for $80 million in February 2023. Approvals are already in place to convert the second to sixth floors to serviced apartments, and the ground floor space of 6,978 sq ft will be used for a restaurant.
The former Wilmer Place, located at 50 Armenian Street, was acquired by Coliwoo Holdings in a joint venture with Oxley Holdings’ Ching Chiat Kwong and Shawn Ching, his son. The development will feature 120 Peranakan-inspired studios.
The last tenants vacated the premises this month, and refurbishments are scheduled for completion in 1H2027. The property is expected to appeal to students from Singapore Management University, the School of the Arts, and LaSalle College of the Arts.
Founder and LHN executive chairman Kelvin Lim has set a goal to grow Coliwoo’s portfolio by 800 to 1,000 rooms annually, reaching 10,000 rooms by 2030.
Expansion will target areas with strong but underserved demand from students and expatriates, such as neighborhoods around Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore University of Social Sciences, and Singapore Institute of Management, says Lim. “We are in an expansion mode and keen to grow our market presence beyond the city center and city-fringe neighborhoods,” he adds.
The Coliwoo Bukit Timah Fire Station. The site includes a new swimming pool.
Asset-light strategy and upcoming IPO
Since its launch in 2019, Coliwoo has built a portfolio of 25 properties with close to 3,000 units in Singapore as of the end of June 2025. Coliwoo’s parent company, LHN Group, plans to spin off the co-living arm through an initial public offering on the Singapore Exchange.
Lim emphasizes that Coliwoo will remain asset-light after the IPO. Approximately 70% of its rooms are on master leases, and the remaining 30% are in owned properties, mostly smaller assets with fewer than 100 rooms.
The company has begun recycling capital from these smaller holdings into larger projects, such as the $25.8 million sale of 115 Geylang Road and ongoing negotiations to divest its properties at 471 Balestier Road and 404 Pasir Panjang Road.
With strong demand for co-living among students and professionals and a clear strategy to scale efficiently, Lim says that Coliwoo’s planned IPO and steady pipeline will position it as a key player in Singapore’s rapidly growing co-living sector.
While focused on stabilizing new properties and preparing for the IPO, Coliwoo is also eyeing regional growth. The company is in talks for master contracts with asset owners in Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, although Lim says the timeline for overseas expansion remains flexible.