Six-star hotel The Patina’s opening date delayed by more than a year due to dispute among owners

If you ever walk by the rather quiet Capitol Piazza for some reason, you may have noticed the building beside it that never seems to be bustling with any activity. Even though the mall started opening its doors in May 2015, the six-star hotel next door, which was slated to welcome visitors by end-2015, is still locked and unoccupied.

The Patina, Capitol Singapore, was supposed to be a luxury hotel attracting business tourists and big spenders with its 157 rooms, chocolate atelier and Peruvian restaurant spread across the Capitol Building and Stamford House. But a dispute among its owners — “challenges at ownership level”, according to The Sunday Times — has pushed back its opening date indefinitely. If you click on its website, you’ll find it functional and full of promise, except you can’t really book a stay there (yet).

Part of the integrated development Capitol Singapore, a project that cost $1.1 billion, The Patina shares the space in the City Hall area with shopping centre Capitol Piazza and Capitol Theatre (both of which are in operation), as well as residential units. But it seems that buyers of Eden Residences Capitol will not be impacted by the owners’ row.

Last April, Perennial Real Estate Holdings (one of the development’s owners) filed applications for three of its associated companies — which own Capitol Singapore — to be wound up. However, the High Court dismissed the applications this month, leaving one month for an appeal. Apparently, the shareholders and management have been “in deadlock” over some of the project’s fundamental issues. Perennial holds 50 percent of each of the three associated companies, while the other half is owned by Chesham Properties.