Cluster near Boon Keng going for S$133.66m

Buyer needs to get SLA approval to buy state land, URA nod for increasing plot ratio

Mon, Jul 16, 2018


A CLUSTER of freehold shophouses, terrace houses and walk-up apartments at the intersection of St George's Road and Serangoon Road is on the market, with a reserve price of S$133.66 million.

At that price, owners of the 29 units spanning a 25,621 sq ft site located near Boon Keng MRT, are expected to receive between S$2.3 million to S$10.6 million each.

But a prospective buyer will also have to pay more than the asking price. The tender, which will start on Monday, comes with two conditions: the developer has to get in-principle approval from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to purchase some 8,611 sq ft of state land for about S$7.6 million within the boundary of the site. The land, which comprise back lanes and roads, has a plot ratio of 1.4.

The developer will also have to get in-principle approval from Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for increasing the plot ratio of the residential plots from 1.4 to 2.8 with development charge payable estimated at S$25.8 million. (see amendment note)

If these two conditions are met, the site will have a gross floor area of of 95,850 sq ft. Including the development charge and cost of state land, it will work out to S$1,743 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The shophouses are zoned residential with commercial on the first storey. With a plot ratio of 3, the developer can build up to five storeys. The sale includes three rows of residential units, mostly terrace houses.

Terence Ng, key executive officer at Jie Sheng Housing Agency, told The Business Times that he was not concerned about the government's recent cooling measures due to the commercial component of the plot.

He said that developers might want to apply to authorities to re-zone the land to commercial and residential use so that it can have more retail units.

The tender will close Aug 17 at 3 pm.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said that the development charge payable was S$33 million. It is in fact S$25.8 million. The article above has been revised to reflect this.