Ten Mile Junction Site Draws A Top Bid Of $61m

Source : The Straits Times, Apr 4, 2008

Tender For Residential Plot

THE top bid for a unique 99-year leasehold site in Choa Chu Kang has come in at $61 million, which experts say is within expectations.

The residential site at the junction of Choa Chu Kang Road and Woodlands Road attracted only two bids, with Peak Green, a unit of Peak Properties, which is controlled by the United Overseas Bank’s Wee family, leading the way.

Its bid of $61 million values the site at $162 per sq ft (psf) per gross floor area. Sim Lian Land’s offer was well back at $45.68 million.

The site has an existing three-storey commercial development - the Ten Mile Junction mall - and was the first residential site above a Light Rapid Transit station offered for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It has a gross floor area of 254,394 sq ft for residential use, for either flats or service apartments. The mall has a fixed gross floor area of 121,191 sq ft.

The URA said the tender will be awarded once the bids are evaluated.

Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said the price was within expectations given the location and nearby amenities.

CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho said that if the site is awarded to Peak Green, the breakeven price will be around $400 psf. This will translate into a possible selling price of about $500 psf for apartments on the site.