Choa Kim Keat's Villa at Marine Parade Sold for $103.8m

[Amber Woods]

Business Times - 08 Jun 2011
Choa Kim Keat's villa sold for S$103.8m
By TEO SI JIA
The beachside villa built by the late Choa Kim Keat at 37 Marine Parade was sold for S$103.8 million yesterday to Orchard Mall, a member of Far East Organization, after it was opened for tender last month.
This translates to S$1,195 psf ppr, higher than the previous transaction record of S$1,118 psf ppr in the vicinity, set by the sale of Amber Towers.
The single-storey conservation house built in 1898 fronts both Marine Parade and East Coast Road and has a combined land area of 47,400 sq ft, the size of half a football field.
The property is zoned for residential development with an allowable gross plot ratio of 2.1 and a maximum height of 24 storeys.
The bungalow has a gross floor area of 3,100 sq ft. However, according to URA guidelines, 'the developer would be allowed to build a bonus GFA equivalent to the conserved bungalow GFA, over and above the GPR 2.1 stated under the Master Plan,' said Karamjit Singh, managing director of Credo Real Estate, the property consultants engaged to market the property.
The estate was put up for sale by Eric Choa, the grandson of the late Mr Choa, the husband of the grand-daughter of 19th century philanthropist Tan Tock Seng.

Copyright © 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...49540,00.html?

Published June 9, 2011

Far East pays $103.8m for Marine Parade Rd site

The site includes a 113-year-old conservation bungalow

By KALPANA RASHIWALA



PROPERTY giant Far East Organization continues to grow its stronghold in the Katong/East Coast Road/ Amber Road vicinity.

This time it has clinched a 47,400 square feet freehold site on Marine Parade Road (near Parkway Parade) that includes a 113- year-old conservation bungalow, for $103.8 million.

The price works out to $1,195 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an $18.8 million development charge (DC).

This unit land price assumes a 2.1 plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area) for the 47,400 sq ft site allocated under Master Plan 2008 plus a bonus gross floor area (GFA) of 3,108 sq ft equivalent to the conserved bungalow's GFA accorded under Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) guidelines.

'This sale sets a new benchmark for the area. The last transaction in the Amber Road vicinity was that of Amber Towers in April this year, which achieved a land rate of $1,118 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr),' said Karamjit Singh, managing director of Credo Real Estate, which brokered the latest sale to Far East.

Assuming Far East taps the bonus balcony GFA, its unit land price would work out to $1,153 psf ppr, inclusive of an estimated $22.4 million DC, said Mr Singh.

Far East should be able to build a total GFA of 109,494 sq ft including bonus GFA for balconies.

The site may potentially accommodate a condominium with about 100 units averaging 1,000 sq ft depending on layout and configuration, he added yesterday.

When the tender for the property was launched last month, Credo had indicated the conservation bungalow may be used as a clubhouse in the project, in the fashion of Draycott 8, Grand Duchess at St Patrick's, and The Sea View, or it could be sold as a strata unit.

The property Far East is buying comprises No 37 Marine Parade - where the conservation bungalow stands - and 42 A/B/C/D/E/ F East Coast Road, a three- storey block of six apartments and servants' quarters.

Market watchers say this will be Far East's sixth property in the vicinity, after its SilverSea, The Cape, and The Shore Residences condo projects, which are being built; Paramount Hotel and Shopping Centre along East Coast Road which it bought in November last year for $214 million; and the Amber Glades site, which it picked up through a collective sale in March this year at $1,066 psf ppr inclusive of a DC of about $4 million.

The freehold 40,917 sq ft Amber Glades site can be potentially redeveloped into a 22-storey condo with about 110 apartments averaging 1,000 sq ft, according to an earlier article.

Far East is expected to spruce up the Paramount property by doing additions and alterations works.

The group is making its latest acquisition at Marine Parade Road from the estate of the late Eric Choa - who was a lawyer and the grandson of Choa Kim Keat - after whom Kim Keat Road in Balestier is named.

Mr Choa is understood to have been a compradore (or go-between) at Straits Trading Company.

The villa was his weekend retreat by the sea, long before much of Marine Parade was reclaimed.

Credo brokered the sale through a tender exercise which closed on Monday. Far East was the highest of five bidders. The other four bidders were listed companies, Credo said.

'The descendants of Mr Choa had mixed feelings about the sale as it has been in the family for generations.

'Nevertheless they took comfort in the fact that URA had ear-marked the bungalow for conservation and that it would be given a new lease of life in the future by the purchaser,' said Mr Singh.

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http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_677823.html

Jun 9, 2011

Historic Marine Parade bungalow sold for $104m

By Esther Teo, Property Reporter


The 'seaside' bungalow occupied by Japanese officers during World War II and an adjoining site were both owned by the family of businessman Choa Kim Keat. -- PHOTO: CREDO REAL ESTATE

A HISTORIC Marine Parade bungalow has been sold for $104 million to developer Far East Organization after a five-way contest, setting a new benchmark land price for the area.

The single-storey conservation house and an adjoining site with a combined land area of 47,400 sq ft - roughly half a football field - fetched a price of $1,195 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio (ppr). The land parcel consists of two parts: one is the bungalow plot itself, fronting Marine Parade Road; the other fronts East Coast Road and has a three-storey block of six flats and servants' quarters.

Marketing agent Credo Real Estate said that the last transaction in the Amber Road vicinity was Amber Towers in April, which achieved a lower land price of $1,118 psf ppr.

The four other tenderers in the closely contested tender were listed companies, it added.

Mr Karamjit Singh, Credo's managing director, said that the market for such sites with unique attributes is strong. 'Aside from its historical background, it is in a convenient location with a shopping centre across the street, (has) easy accessibility and potential sea-views.'

The 113-year-old bungalow was occupied by Japanese officers during World War II and is owned by the family of businessman Choa Kim Keat. It is the only 'seaside' bungalow left on the street and has been earmarked for conservation. The house was built by the sea before reclamation in the area.

Credo said that the site is likely to have a total gross floor area of 109,494 sq ft, including balcony allocation. The entire plot has been zoned residential and can be built up to 24 storeys, allowing about 100 units of 1,000 sq ft each.

Mr Singh said: 'The descendants of Mr Choa had mixed feelings about the sale as it has been in the family for generations. Nevertheless they took comfort in the fact that URA had earmarked the bungalow for conservation and that it would be given a new lease of life in the future by the purchaser.'

The late Choa Kim Keat is best remembered as an influential tin salesman employed by the Straits Trading Company in the 1880s, and for his role in several other businesses. Kim Keat Road in Balestier is named after him.

Aside from the Marine Parade bungalow, he also owned homes in Neil Road and Pasir Panjang.

After the war, his family moved back into the bungalow, which was known then as Sea Breeze Lodge.

Far East also clinched the Paramount Hotel and Shopping Centre collective sale site last year for $214 million and Amber Glades in March for $118 million - or about $1,066 psf ppr.