Balestier Hotel Site Taken Out Of Reserve List

Source : The Business Times, October 2, 2007

URA to review plot's land use; Rangoon site goes to S'pore Healthpartners

A HOTEL site at Balestier Road/Ah Hood Road is to be withdrawn from the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) Programme for the second half of this year, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday.

The URA intends to review the land use plan of the site together with the other vacant land in the vicinity.

This site was on the reserve list since Oct 26 last year, being slated for hotel development on a 99-year lease.

The URA declined to indicate what plans it was considering for the site, saying that it would release details when they are finalised.

'We are unable to reveal if we have received applications for the site,' a URA spokesman said.

'However, from time to time, the government receive inquiries for the site.'

Under the reserve list, the government will release a site for sale only when an interested party submits an application for a site to be put up for tender with a minimum purchase offer price that is acceptable to the government.

Separately, URA yesterday awarded the tender for the white site at Race Course Road/Rangoon Road to Singapore Healthpartners Pte Ltd (SHP).

The company submitted the highest bid of $265.27 million or $4,635.47 per square metre of gross floor area.

Singapore Healthpartners has a total of 38 shareholders, including prominent doctors Charles Chan, Leslie Lam and Maurice Choo.

A major shareholder is Berjaya Leisure (Cayman) Ltd, which is said to be linked to Berjaya Leisure Capital led by Malaysian businessman Vincent Tan.

Directors of SHP contacted by BT last week declined to comment on the company's plans for the 13,625 sq m site but a medical centre-cum-hotel appears to be in the offing.

The 99-year leasehold white site has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 57,225 sq m and at least 40 per cent of this must be used as a hotel.