http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...-at-paya-lebar
Lendlease to launch first condo project in S'pore at Paya Lebar
Friday, March 10, 2017
by Claudia Chong
[email protected]
AUSTRALIA-LISTED property developer Lendlease is set to launch its first residential development in Singapore at the upcoming mixed-use Paya Lebar Quarter on March 25, 2017.
Park Place Residences at PLQ, which sits on 98,520 sq ft of land, will comprise 429 units that will be released in phases.
Lendlease on Thursday said that one-bedroom units at the 99-year leasehold will have a unit size of 480 to 580 sq ft, at a starting price of S$780,000.
The price of two-bedroom units, sized at 650 to 900 sq ft, will start from S$1 million. Three-bedroom units, ranging from 1,080 to 1,350 sq ft, will start from S$1.6 million.
The 117 one-bedroom units, 234 two-bedroom units and 78 three-bedroom units will be spread across three towers and flanked by a retail mall and three office buildings.
The retail and office spaces are expected to be complete by the second half of 2018. Lendlease estimates that the office units will serve about 10,000 staff.
Park Place Residences is a two-minute walk from Paya Lebar MRT station, which serves both the Circle Line and the East-West line. Both Changi Airport and the Central Business District lie six stops away.
Major expressways close by include Pan-Island Expressway (PIE), Kallang-Paya Lebar Expressway (KPE) and East Coast Parkway (ECP).
The condo is also surrounded by a number of schools, such as Tanjong Katong Primary School and Chung Cheng High School (Main). Nearby retail malls include OneKM and Paya Lebar Square.
Residents will have access to car-sharing services at the PLQ retail mall carpark.
The project is expected to receive its Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) by Dec 31, 2020. Showflats will be opened to the public from tomorrow.
Lendlease revealed that it intends to sell 40 per cent of units in the first phase. It plans to retain the remaining units and release them in tandem with announcements about the mixed-use development.
Richard Paine, managing director of Paya Lebar Quarter, said Park Place Residences is not subject to additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD) rules as it is located within a commercial zone.
Since 2011, developers here have to develop any residential site they buy and sell all units in the new project within five years to qualify for ABSD remission.
Otherwise, a 10 per cent on land cost with interest becomes payable. A higher 15 per cent ABSD applies to sites bought from Jan 12, 2013, onwards.
JLL director of research Ong Teck Hui said the pricing of the condo units reflects the advantages that the project enjoys.
"The strongest attribute of Paya Lebar Quarter is that it promises to be a prestigious landmark development in the Paya Lebar/Sims area, bringing vibrancy to a locality in need of rejuvenation," he said, adding that it holds a strong competitive advantage over other projects in the vicinity.
R'ST Research director Ong Kah Seng called Lendlease's decision to release units in phases a "clever move".
According to Mr Ong, the property market is at an interesting juncture - while a solid recovery of demand and private residential prices is unlikely, prices have fallen to generally attractive levels for buyers who have waited extremely long to acquire residential property.
"There is therefore room for slight price increases for projects with exceptional attributes as we move along into the rest of this year," he said.
"Park Place Residences will definitely be considered as a well-conceptualised mixed development project that has strong selling points, so its pricing for the rest of the year can only increase, though marginally, or if not, remain stable."
Mr Ong expects two-thirds of the units launched in phase one to be sold in a month, and for 60 per cent of total units to be bought by investors.