Deferred Upper Serangoon site back on the public tender trail

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http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...c-tender-trail

Deferred Upper Serangoon site back on the public tender trail

Property consultants see strong demand for the 'choice site'

Tuesday, March 7, 2017

by Lee Meixian
[email protected]
@LeeMeixianBT


A HOUSING & Development Board (HDB) site that was deferred for public tender last December has now been launched for sale.

HDB on Monday put up the mixed commercial and residential site at Upper Serangoon Road for sale under the confirmed list of the government land sales (GLS) programme.

As part of the development of Bidadari estate, the 99-year leasehold site was deferred to allow the site requirements to be finalised for "comprehensive development".

HDB said that this was mainly to straighten out details for the requirements to build a community club and a neighbourhood police centre to be integrated with the development. These are new criteria and therefore needed time to be clarified. There are also criteria to build a commercial bridge and underpass for connectivity purposes.

In addition, the successful tenderer is also "strongly encouraged" to work with the tenants and operators of the shops, restaurants and entertainment outlets to adopt productive formats suggested by Spring Singapore to raise the productivity of its food services and retail outlets. These include having a central kitchen and central dishwashing, and installing meal replacement vending machines, among other initiatives.

When the deferment of the site was announced just two days to the end of the year, some consultants correctly guessed that it could be because the government may require the developer to build certain facilities to serve the residents, but they thought it could have been a childcare centre or public library.

At the time, they noted that it was rare for the authorities to defer the tender of a site so close to its launch date. There have been previous deferments of the launch of GLS sites, though they are few and far between.

Consultants have called this a "choice" site, given its location next to Woodleigh MRT Station and buyers' attraction to Bidadari as a residential locality.

The plot has an area of 25,440.8 square metres, which can yield a maximum gross floor area of 89,043 sq m (or 958,450 square feet). It can yield about 825 housing units. The tender will close at noon on June 13, 2017.

JLL national director Ong Teck Hui noted that Bidadari has the makings of a new prime city-fringe sub-market, "so the subject site is in a highly desired location and being next to Woodleigh MRT Station, it will be a strong draw for home buyers as well as tenants of commercial units".

"The only deterrent to interested parties would be the high absolute land price as the development quantum is close to a million square feet," he added.

The top bid could be S$800-900 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), so the absolute land price could range from S$766-863 million, said Mr Ong. He expects seven to 10 bids.

SLP International executive director Nicholas Mak envisages around eight to 16 bids with the highest offer coming in at S$710-750 psf ppr - translating to an absolute land price of S$680.5 million to S$719 million.

"Presently, this is the only mixed commercial and residential site next to the Woodleigh MRT Station available for sale. The future shopping centre on this site should attract a high number of residents from the Bidadari Estate. It would also enjoy the first-mover advantage as the first shopping centre in the Bidadari Estate," said Mr Mak.

This is probably the first time that the government has required the developer of a GLS site to build a neighbourhood police centre within the development for the government, he added.

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http://www.straitstimes.com/business...ri-up-for-sale

First land parcel for private homes in Bidadari up for sale

Mar 7, 2017

Lee Xin En


The first land parcel for private homes at the new Bidadari estate is up for grabs.

In what is likely a first for a government land sales site, the developer of the mixed commercial and residential site is being asked to build a community centre and a neighbourhood police branch.

The 25,440 sq m plot next to Woodleigh MRT station is expected to yield 825 private homes. Build-To-Order launches have already taken place in Bidadari.

It was originally on the confirmed list of the Government Land Sales programme for the second half of last year, but its sale was postponed to allow the site requirements for comprehensive development to be finalised.

According to details of the tender released yesterday, the development in Upper Serangoon Road will be integrated with a community club, which should be at least 6,000 sq m, and a neighbourhood police centre that must occupy at least 2,190 sq m.

A maximum of 15,000 sq m of the 99-year leasehold plot should also be set aside for shop and restaurant uses. The development must include a commercial bridge to Bidadari Park as well.

The Government added that "on top of the extensive pedestrian and cycling network within Bidadari estate, the Land Transport Authority and HDB will also be exploring the possibility of car sharing and bike sharing schemes to encourage a 'car-lite' living environment".

Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International Property Consultants, said that the idea of an integrated community centre is quite novel. "As Bidadari is not such a big development, the Government may want to intensify land use and increase visitorship of the community centre at the same time," he added.

He noted that the requirement of a neighbourhood police centre is especially unusual, adding that he expected the Government would pay for its share of the construction, as well as have a say in its final design.

Analysts expect the site to be hotly contested given its location next to an MRT station.

Mr Ong Teck Hui, JLL's national director for research and consultancy, predicted between seven and 10 bids, as Bidadari has the "makings of a new prime city fringe sub-market".

He said the only deterrent to developers would be the large quantum and high absolute land price, which could be between $766 million and $863 million. This translates to a top bid of between $800 per sq ft (psf) and $900 psf, he said.

Mr Ong Kah Seng, head of R'ST Research, estimates about 10 bids for the site, with the top one being between $860 psf and $900 psf. Residential units should sell at about $1,500 psf, he said.

"There has been overwhelming response for the Build-To-Order flats released in Bidadari. It is definitely shaping up to be a major, exciting residential-centric enclave, hence buying interest is expected to be strong," he added.

Mr Mak highlighted the strong potential of the shopping area on the site, which will have first-mover advantage as the first mall in the estate.

The tender for the site closes at noon on June 13.