The first site for sale at Jurong Lake District, one of Singapore’s latest commercial hubs, will be launched for tender in two weeks.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said that a developer has committed to bid at least $350 million for the 1.9-hectare land parcel.
This is the first site to be released as part of the government’s plan to develop Jurong Gateway into a major regional commercial centre.
The plot, which will occupy a total land area of around 360 hectares, is part of the Jurong Lake District.
Property analysts expect the parcel to potentially attract bids ranging between S$440 million and S$520 million – higher than the bid offer of S$350 million that triggered the tender.
According to the analysts, the mixed-used site, situated at Jurong Gateway Road, could likely yield up to 400 residential units.
They added that the site, which is next to Jurong East MRT Station, is unique.
“It’s a new part of town that the urban planners are trying to push for, the redevelopment of a new sub-regional centre. In terms of pricing, it works out to about S$303 psf ppr. And going by what we understand of the market trend in and around this suburban areas, this price is quite competitive,” said Dr. Chua Yang Liang, Research & Consultancy head of Jones Lang LaSalle.
Several market watchers said that the breakeven price for developing the site will range between S$600 psf and S$1,200 psf, depending on the use of the land.
Around 107,000 sq m of potential gross floor space can be built on the land parcel, 30 percent of which is intended for office use, while the remaining space can be used for hotel, residential and commercial purposes.
Mr. Chua said: “This is a new area, not undeveloped but an emerging part of town. The interest maybe limited to largely local players and maybe regional developers. We doubt foreign players will have a large appetite for such a development yet.”
Market watchers believe that this project will likely draw interest from bigger local players like Keppel Land and CapitaLand.