Aurum Land buys all units in Balmoral Gardens for almost S$83m

Woh Hup group expected to combine site with next-door 11 Balmoral Rd it bought last year

Fri, May 18, 2018

Kalpana Rashiwala


AURUM Land, the boutique development arm of Woh Hup group, is understood to have done a bulk purchase of all eight units that make up Balmoral Gardens for nearly S$83 million.

The property is next to 11 Balmoral Road which Aurum acquired last year. Market watchers expect the group to amalgamate the two prime district 10 freehold sites; Aurum could potentially build a 12-storey condo with about 100 units averaging 1,000 sq ft on the combined site of about 67,000 sq ft.

The Business Times understands that the price Aurum paid for the Balmoral Gardens site reflects around S$1,812 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) inclusive of estimated development charges payable to the state.

Currently on the 36,752 sq ft site is a four-storey development comprising eight apartments, ranging from 4,200 sq ft to 4,800 sq ft.

The owners of the eight apartments are understood to have sold their units individually to Aurum Land. The development is more than 30 years old.

Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's Master Plan 2014, both the Balmoral Gardens and 11 Balmoral Road sites are zoned for residential use with a plot ratio (ratio of maximum gross floor area to land area) of 1.6.

Last November, Aurum quietly bagged the next-door 11 Balmoral Road through a collective sale for S$73.8 million, which worked out to S$1,750 psf ppr inclusive of DC. That development has a land area of 30,200 sq ft.

Nearby MRT stations include Newton and Stevens. The two properties are also near The Tanglin Club, The American Club and Raffles Town Club.