SINGAPORE'S Omni Marco Polo Hotel's fate has been sealed.
Ray Tse, managing director of Wheelock Properties, said the 603-room landmark hotel in Tanglin Road would be redeveloped as a residential block.
The redevelopment will be carried out by Hong Kong-based New Asia Realty and Trust, part of the Wheelock group, which inherited the hotel in June as part of a assets reshuffle.
New Asia Realty is believed to have recently won planning approval for a 340-unit condominium on the 166,941-square foot site.
Rumours of possible redevelopment have been rife since New Asia Realty, then called Hongkong Realty and Trust, swapped five properties on The Peak in Hong Kong for Wharf Holdings' 74.5 per cent stake in the Singapore-based Marco Polo Group.
New Asia Realty also had to pay $1.48 billion in cash to balance the asset swap.
While Wharf is essentially an investment and holding company, New Asia Realty is better known as an out-and-out property developer.