CapitaLand and CDL team up again - this time for Sengkang mixed development
CapitaLand and CDL team up again - this time for Sengkang mixed development
They bag 3.7-ha commercial and residential site next to Buangkok MRT for S$777.78m or S$924 psf ppr
Fri, Aug 17, 2018
FOR the first time in about a decade, property heavyweights CapitaLand and City Developments are teaming up for a project in Singapore.
The duo have just clinched a plum 3.7-hectare commercial and residential site next to Buangkok MRT Station under a dual-envelope (price and concept) state tender. The site can yield a maximum gross floor area of 842,124 sq ft.
Their winning bid of S$777.78 million works out to S$923.59 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 99-year leasehold site along Sengkang Central.
The CapitaLand and CDL joint venture will be subject to the previous additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) rules for this site - since the tender closed before July 5, when the latest cooling measures were announced. (The measures had spelt out more punitive ABSD rules starting July 6.)
In a joint release on Thursday evening, CapitaLand and CDL said their joint venture will transform the site - the largest commercial and residential site awarded since 2015 - into an integrated community hub with 700 residential apartments, meeting the needs of residents in Buangkok with amenities such as a hawker centre, community club, childcare centre, retail shops, as well as public rail and bus transport facilities sited in a one-stop location.
The integrated development is targeted for completion in the first half of 2022, they added.
The winning bid was the highest of the four shortlisted tenderers for the dual-envelope tender, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which awarded the site on Thursday.
The other three shortlisted bids came from:
A tie-up between Perennial Singapore and Qingjian Realty, which bid nearly S$682 million or S$809.86 psf ppr;
A Singapore Press Holdings and Kajima Development tie-up, which bid S$636.39 million or S$755.69 psf ppr; and
A Wing Tai Holdings and Keppel Land tie-up, which bid S$608.9 million or S$723.05 psf ppr.
The four bids were shortlisted from among seven bids submitted by six tenderers. (One of the tenderers submitted two concept proposals.)
All bidders were required to submit their concept proposals and tender prices in two separate envelopes. Only the envelopes containing concept proposals were opened when the tender closed on June 21. The URA had released on the same evening the names of the bidders, but not the bid prices.
At the first stage of the tender process, those concept proposals that had substantially satisfied the evaluation criteria were shortlisted by the Concept Evaluation Committee (CEC) to proceed to the second stage of tender evaluation.
At the second stage, only the price envelopes submitted by the tenderers of the four shortlisted concept proposals were opened for consideration. The site was then awarded to the tenderer with the highest bid among the tenderers with shortlisted concept proposals.
The last time CapitaLand and CDL joined forces in Singapore was to develop the Botannia condo project in the West Coast area. The 493-unit project was launched in 2007.
CapitaLand's president and group chief executive Lim Ming Yan said: "CapitaLand looks forward to partnering CDL to shape and transform the site into a landmark development that will be an identity marker and new focal point for the Buangkok neighbourhood.
"Winning this bid attests to CapitaLand's track record in creating quality integrated developments fusing live, work and play elements that serve the needs of the community."
CDL's group chief executive Sherman Kwek said: "There is deep emphasis on design as the site was put up for sale under a dual-envelope concept and price tender.
"Over the years, CDL has built up a strong track record for compelling design concepts, which has enabled us to secure prime sites like The South Beach and Quayside Collection in Sentosa Cove under the two-envelope system.
"We see tremendous potential in this site, which has exceptional attributes. Envisioned as a one-stop community hub, it will be integrated with a new bus interchange and connected to the existing Buangkok MRT Station. Various amenities and recreational facilities such as a hawker centre, childcare centre and civic plaza will be right at residents' doorsteps, giving rise to a vibrant and bustling community.
"Through our partnership with CapitaLand, we hope to create a distinctive and endearing landmark that will serve as the nucleus for the whole Buangkok and greater Sengkang area."
URA said that overall, the winning bidder's concept proposal is "compelling in its design concept and planning of the public realm".
The proposed mixed-use development will have an integrated community and transport hub with a bus interchange on the first storey, a hawker centre on the second, and a community club spanning across three storeys.
The scheme demonstrates a design strategy under which the existing park is extended to the community through a series of public spaces. There will be an accessible garden ramp to give residents and park users direct access from Compassvale Ancilla Park to the second-storey hawker centre.
There will also be a linear park designed with play areas and street furniture with an outdoor activity plaza along the entire front of the development, enhancing a sense of place for its visitors.
A community plaza in the heart of the development will be an attractive, naturally ventilated, but sheltered public space that can accommodate a wide range of activities from organised events to informal gatherings.
URA noted on Thursday that the four shortlisted tenderers submitted strong overall development concepts and architectural designs that responded appropriately to the site context.
