ST : Top bid of $148m for site near Changi Prison

Apr 28, 2010

Top bid of $148m for site near Changi Prison

By Esther Teo

A RESIDENTIAL site a stone's throw from Changi Prison has received a top bid of $148.3 million as developers look to replenish depleting land banks after months of sizzling home sales.

Tripartite Developers - part of Hong Leong Holdings - made the offer for the 3.1ha site at the corner of Upper Changi Road North and Flora Drive. There were five other bidders. Tripartite tendered $321 per sq ft (psf) on potential gross floor area (GFA) for the site, which had a maximum permissible GFA of 42,951 sq m. The land parcel can potentially yield 390 units.

The second highest bid was by Nam Hee Contractor and OPH Marymount, which came in at $143.2 million. The lowest was lodged by BBR-Tagore, whose holding company is Singapore Piling and Civil Engineering. It offered $91 million, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday.

Ho Bee Developments, Frasers Centrepoint and Sim Lian Land also bid.

The 99-year leasehold site, which is on the Government's reserve list, was launched for public tender on March 29 after a developer committed to bid at least $82 million. The tender closed yesterday.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said the top bid was fairly decent. 'The breakeven price is between $640 and $670 psf and nearby developments have been selling within that range,' he said.

A decision on the award of the tender will be made at a later date, URA said.

If Tripartite wins the tender, it will cement Hong Leong's presence in the area, which is already home to several large condominiums developed by the group, such as The Gale and Ferraria Park.

Meanwhile, the HDB said it will make available a site at the junction of Pasir Ris Drive 3 and Pasir Ris Drive 4 for application under the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. Reserve list sites are offered on top of those on the confirmed list and are triggered for tender if at least one developer lodges an initial bid that meets a minimum threshold.

The 99-year leasehold site has a land area of 20,000 sq m and a gross plot ratio of 2.1. Its proposed development is for condominium housing and it has the potential to yield 380 units, the HDB said.

The Government has released all eight sites on the confirmed list of the first half of the GLS programme this year for sale.

Four sites have been sold while the tender for the other four will close in the next two months. Together they have a combined potential yield of 2,925 units.

Eighteen sites yielding 7,625 units were placed on the reserve list, bringing total potential supply quantum to 10,550 from the first half of the GLS programme - the highest since it started in 2001.