ST : Toh Tuck Apartment site up for sale

Apr 8, 2010

Toh Tuck Apartment site up for sale

By Joyce Teo

A FREEHOLD residential redevelopment site in the Bukit Timah area, with an expected price tag of $35.5 million, has been put up for sale.

The 26-year-old Toh Tuck Apartment, formerly known as Toh Tuck Garden, currently sits on the 40,449 sq ft site, which has a plot ratio of 1.4, allowing it to be rebuilt to five storeys.

Marketer HSR said the seller's expected price of $35.5 million works out to $650 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), inclusive of an estimated development charge of $5 million.

The site is owned by Aik Hwa Trading, formerly a small-time developer but now in the building materials business.

Because the plot is owned by one party, the sale is likely to go through quicker than a typical collective sale lacking 100 per cent owner approval.

Mr Jeffrey Goh, head of investment sales for HSR, said that given the additional 10 per cent gross floor area for balconies, the site could be redeveloped into 75 apartments with sizes ranging from 590 sq ft to 1,660 sq ft.

He estimated that a new development on the site could command a price of at least $1,200 psf. Already, developers have indicated interest and asked for more information, he said.

Property experts report that developers are hungry for land, but at present find some asking prices in the private collective sale market too high.

Toh Tuck Apartment is near developments such as Kismis View, The Beverly and Green Lodge.

Green Lodge was put up for collective sale late last year, but its tender closed earlier this year without attracting any firm bids.

Owners there were asking for $135 million, or $683 psf ppr, including a development charge. Their collective sale agreement has since lapsed.

The tender for Toh Tuck Apartment closes on April 23.