HDB received the highest bid of $148.89-million for a public residential site at the corner of Yishun Avenue 11 and Yishun Central through its Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).
The $148.89 million top bid, which reflected a unit price of $180 psf ppr and being sold on a 103-year leasehold, came from a joint venture between Santarli Construction and Guthrie GTS.
According to Michael Leong, managing director of Guthrie Properties, this was the first time that Santarli – a contractor in the HDB market – and Guthrie – a property developer – has bid for a DBSS housing site.
The residential ploy is slated to develop approximately 700 units.
The highest bidder is required to set aside 10,764 sq ft from the 828,028 sq ft of maximum allowable gross floor area, which will be used for a childcare centre and commercial facilities.
“The bulk of the units in our proposed scheme will be three- and four-room HDB flats, although there will also be some two- and five-room flats. We may also do some studio units,” said Mr. Leong. “The majority of units will be priced below $500,000.”
An industry watcher said that with a land bid of $180 psf ppr, the two companies’ breakeven cost could be approximately $420 psf.
The top bid of Santarli and Guthrie was 4.6 percent higher than the $142.3-million ($171.85 psf ppr) second-highest bid from a joint venture involving Hoi Hup JV Development, Sunway Developments and Hoi Hup Realty.