http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...64740,00.html?
Published March 19, 2011
KepLand to develop 630-unit condo near Sengkang MRT
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
KEPPEL Land is planning to develop a condo of about 630 units near Sengkang MRT station. It expects this project to be ready for launch by the end of the year.
The condo will have units ranging from 450 square feet to 2,200 sq ft in one to four-bedroom configurations, as well as penthouses, the listed property group said yesterday.
The project, to be completed in early 2015, will be developed on a 99-year leasehold plot that the group was awarded yesterday by the government. KepLand was the highest bidder for the site which was sold at a tender that closed on March 15. Its winning bid was $286.79 million or $501.76 per square foot per plot ratio. Some analysts have estimated the project's breakeven cost at about $850 psf.
Three LRT stations away, next to Layar Station, City Developments recently released H2O Residences. The average price is about $920 psf.
KepLand said that it expected keen interest from upgraders in Sengkang as well as nearby HDB estates in places such as Punggol, Serangoon and Hougang for its condo project. 'We are confident that the new development, with its strong attributes and value propositions, will see positive demand from genuine home purchasers,' Augustine Tan, president (Singapore Residential) of KepLand, said.
The site is at the corner of Sengkang Square and Compassvale Road, a stone's throw away from Sengkang MRT/LRT Station, bus interchange and Compass Point mall. It is also near schools such as Nan Chiau Primary and Nan Chiau High.
KepLand's bid was just 4.5 per cent higher than the next highest bid from a tie-up involving City Developments, Hong Leong Group and TID Residential. The tender drew nine bids in all.
In its statement yesterday, KepLand noted that its clinching the Sengkang plot comes after the launch in November of the group's condo near Jurong Lake and Lakeside MRT Station - The Lakefront Residences. KepLand said that it had sold about 90 per cent of the 590 units launched so far in the 629-unit project.
It previewed the project in November at about $1,020 psf on average - a new record for the location.