Changi Rd, Balestier Properties Up For Tender

Source : The Business Times, June 17, 2009

A SITE with corner frontage along Changi and Still roads with approval for development into a commercial and residential project, as well as a refurbished shophouse in Balestier with a six-storey rear extension block have been put up for tender with a total price tag of over $40 million.

At Balestier: The shophouse will be sold with vacant possession while the six-storey extension is leased to a hostel operator till year-end at $20,000 a month

The sale of the two freehold properties has been instructed by Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton, the receiver and manager of Consult Asia Pte Ltd, which owns the two assets.

They are being offered separately through two tenders that close next month. DTZ is handling both tenders.

The Changi Road property, with a land area of 28,545 sq ft, has been granted written permission for a proposed five-storey commercial building integrated with an adjoining five-storey residential project of 26 apartments. The development will also have two basement levels.

The receiver and manager is optimistic of achieving above $30 million for this property, which is near Eunos MRT Station.

Based on $30 million, the unit land price works out to $505 per square foot of potential gross floor area (GFA). There is no development charge on the site.

'A new investor could come in and get the project - both the apartments and strata commercial units - launch-ready for sale within a few months, assuming they stick to the existing approved plan,' says DTZ's senior director for investment advisory services Shaun Poh. The price expectation for the Balestier Road property is above $10 million. The two-storey shophouse will be sold with vacant possession while the extension at the back is leased to a hostel operator till the end of the year at a monthly rental of $20,000.

The property has a site area of 3,639 sq ft and an approved total GFA of 10,883 sq ft.

Under Master Plan 2008, the property is zoned for commercial and residential use with a 3.0 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential GFA to site area).

The tender for 331/333 Balestier Road closes on July 23, while that for the Changi Road site closes on July 22.