Two land sites at Orchard, Tanjong Pagar up for sale

Source:  Straits Times, Thursday, 19 May 2011

TWO centrally located land sites were offered for sale to developers yesterday - one for commercial and retail use, the other for inner-city homes. Elizabeth Tower - a condo near Mount Elizabeth Hospital in the Orchard area - is a collective sale tender with an asking price of $630 million. More than 80 per cent of owners have consented to the sale tender as required by law, marketing agent Credo Real Estate said yesterday. The total gross floor area upon redevelopment of the 80-unit development is 277,682 sq ft, which includes an extra 10 per cent balcony gross floor area. Under the Master Plan 2008, 36-storey developments are permitted on the site. Credo said the new development could boast 132 apartments with an average size of 2,000 sq ft, depending on the layout and configuration. The $630 million asking price works out to $2,397 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), said Credo's managing director, Mr Karamjit Singh. If the buyer purchases the additional 10 per cent space permitted for balconies, the cost works out to $2,323 psf ppr, he added. At that price, a developer may expect to break even at about $3,000 psf to $3,100 psf, he said. The last successful large collective sale in the area was Westwood Apartments, which sold for $435 million or $2,525 psf ppr in 2007. The second property put up for sale yesterday was 70 Shenton Way, in the Tanjong Pagar district, at an indicative price of $270 million or $1,500 psf ppr. The site currently boasts a commercial development, Marina House, comprising a four-storey podium and a 17-storey office tower with a gross floor area of about 210,729 sq ft. Marketing agent DTZ said yesterday that the site has obtained provisional permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority for the construction of a 32-storey mixed commercial and retail development. In-principle approval from the Singapore Land Authority has also been obtained for a top-up of the lease to 99 years. The lease has 61 years left. The tender for Elizabeth Tower closes on June22, while that for 70 Shenton Way will close a day later, on June 23. HARSHA JETHNANI Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.