Developers, who were eager to acquire lands, were offered yesterday with two impressive residential sites. One of them is the 99-year leasehold plot that is located at Upper Thomson Road. This site is just opposite the Island Golf Course of Singapore Island Country Club, which shows off the views of one of the oldest reservoirs in the country, the Lower Peirce Reservoir.
The 224,303 sq. ft. plot, which was set off for release from the reserve list of the government, can be developed and turned into a 20-storey condo with around 400 units.
The minimum price of the land parcel is worth $174 per sq. ft. or $82 million of a potential gross of the floor area; though, property consultants expect that top bids for the said plots may come in a much higher price that ranges from $300 up to $425 per sq. ft. per plot ratio (psf ppr). These consultants reckon that a new condo on that site could get an average price of almost $800 to 1,000 psf.
The second offered site is a 28,167 sq. ft. freehold plot, which is placed on the market by a combined sale of The Meyer Place located in District 15. It is said that the reserve price for the site is $65 million, which is accounted to almost $1,150 psf ppr. It also includes an estimated development charge of $3 million. It is zoned as a residential site and contains a plot ratio of 2.1 under the 2008 Master Plan.
The Meyer Place, which was completed in 1990, comprises 28 apartments. The 24 units are in the 13-storey block, while the remaining 4 units are in a conservation house, which was once resided by the late Tan Lark Sye, a rubber tycoon who founded the Nanyang University.
According to the description of Donald Han, the managing director of Cushman & Wakefield – the firm that markets The Meyer Place – the property is a bite-sized offering that is situated in a prized location.
Mister Han also adds, “Sites costing less than $100 million provide a comfortable entry level for developers and there are already a few foreign developers evaluating the property”.
The Meyer Place’s tender will be closed on 28 October of this year.
Meanwhile, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) stated yesterday its launching of the tender for the site in Upper Thomson Road. It said that the launching will start for about a couple of weeks, and the tender period will cover about a month.
The certain site to be launched will be the fifth among the sites that can be turned into private housing since the setting off of the reserve list of the government in July.
Ong Choon Fah, the executive director (consulting) of DTZ, says, “Developers see there’s demand out there that can be satisfied. Of course, location becomes very important”.
Chua Chor Hoon, the Southeast Asia research head of the property consultancy group, expects top bids for the plot will be priced at $300 up to 350 psf ppr, with a possible average selling price of $850 to 900 psf for the said project.
“It’s a pretty attractive site, with lots of greenery, and it’s near Ai Tong School”, she continued.