A rare gem of a Penang heritage shophouse is up for sale for a cool RM7 mil!

NUMEROUS run-down pre-war shophouses in George Town, Penang, have been given a new lease of life after being refurbished and reintroduced as trendy restaurants, cafes, guesthouses, hotels and others.

If you’d like to be part of this heritage property boom in the Unesco World Heritage Site of George Town, there is one such opportunity on Kimberley Street.

A 2-storey pre-war shophouse which is being refurbished, is on the market.

A web search of ‘Kimberley Street’ shows the first few links to be about Kimberley Street’s street food — one of Penang’s most famous tourist attractions. Grub aside, Kimberley Street is home to pre-war shophouse properties.

Finding one ready for occupation without the owner having to do major refurbishment is rare. After all, these are properties that are almost a century old.

The property up for sale has a price tag of RM7 million. The current owner is a 47-year-old local businessman who wants to remain anonymous. He has started some refurbishment work on the property and has spent effort and cost in restoring some of its more rundown parts.

According to the owner, the house has unique features. It has three courtyards, as opposed to the usual single one.

The house is 20ft wide and 200ft long, which is longer than usual, allowing it to accommodate the three courtyards, and even a private car park. It also has an unusually high 16 ft ceiling. The total land area of the property is 3,860 sq ft, with a built-up space of 6,500 sq ft.

“Out of the more than 4,000 shophouses in George Town, I would say only eight are pre-war shophouse properties with these kind of characteristics,” he tells The Edge Property.

According to him, the asking price of RM7 million would be for the house “as it is”.





Premium quality materials are being used in the refurbishment. Among the work being done include the replacement of its floorboards with Balau wood flooring, roof tiles, plumbing as well as electrical wiring.

“I have also changed the orientation of the rooms on the first floor to include three en suite rooms and an additional room, which can be used as the maid’s quarters,” says the owner. All four bedrooms are located upstairs.

“I would also like to highlight that most of the [original] architectural features of the house are still there, for example, its façade and main door.

“The most costly restoration was for the decorative ceramic tiles on the facade which were pieced together by artisans from Xiamen, China,” he says.

Having purchased the property in 2011, the current owner is the fifth. Its first occupants were one Khoo family, who lived in the house from 1902 to 1918.

“I purchased the home in 2011 for RM2 million. When I first came to view the house five years ago, I knew instantly that I had to have it, and my offer price of RM2 million was a 25% premium on its market value at that time, as I knew that the value for a place like this would certainly appreciate in years to come,” he said.

On the decision to part with the property, the businessman said he wanted to move on to restoration projects.

“I am looking for the kind of buyer who would appreciate properties like this, someone who is a collector and who is willing to invest in it.

“This place would be ideal as a vacation home as it is walking distance to all the tourist attractions such as Komtar, the Kimberley Street hawker fare, and other cultural attractions like the Khoo Kongsi, Kwan Im Teng Temple, Little India and Armenian Street,” he says.

Check out some shops in George Town if you are interested in buying one.

This story first appeared in The Edge Property pullout on Oct 2, 2015, which comes with The Edge Financial Daily every Friday. Download The Edge Property here for free.