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Metropole Hotel also changes hands; Hilton Towers’ sale confirmed

CONSTRUCTION and property group Chip Eng Seng has clinched its second collective-sale site this month - Westpeak Condominium.

Its purchase price of $206.09 million reflects a unit land price of $348 per square foot (psf) of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of $21.5 million.

Westpeak has a site area of 311,829 sq ft, making it the biggest freehold collective property in terms of land area to be transacted in recent years.

If Chip Eng Seng decides to buy an adjoining state plot of 50,450 sq ft for an estimated $14.3 million, its unit land price will fall to $318 psf per plot ratio, according to Valuers & Property Consultants (S) Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Savills Singapore which brokered the sale of Westpeak.

The site is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio - the ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area - and has a height limit of 24 storeys.

Savills estimates that Chip Eng Seng’s breakeven cost will be below $550 psf and it should be able to market its new condo on the site for about $600-$650 psf.

Chip Eng Seng said yesterday it can redevelop the site into a new project with about 545 units averaging 1,200 sq ft.

It will finance Westpeak’s purchase from internal sources and through bank borrowings.

Earlier this month, Chip Eng Seng bought Venus Mansion at Peck Hay Road in the Cairnhill area for $123 million or $785 psf per plot ratio (ppr).

Analysts reckon that Chip Eng Seng may either announce joint venture partners for the projects or do an equity raising to help fund the acquisition costs of the sites.

A possible partner is a Lehman Brothers fund that recently partnered Chip Eng Seng in its unsuccessful bid for a 99-year leasehold condominium site near Tanah Merah MRT Station, market watchers suggest.

The tender for Westpeak, which closed this week, also attracted bids from Far East Organization and Frasers Centrepoint, sources say.

Other property deals this week include the $18 million sale of Metropole Hotel at Seah Street in the Beach Road area to Surya Jhunjhnuwala, a member of the family that once controlled Hind Hotels, which owned the former Imperial Hotel at Jalan Rumbia.

The Metropole Hotel deal was brokered by Lee Hon Kiun of Landmark Property Advisors.

Mr Jhunjhnuwala plans to refurbish the hotel and convert the second and third floors, which are now used as food and beverage outlets, into additional hotel rooms. Metropole Hotel now has 54 hotel rooms. The property has a 999-year leasehold tenure.

The seller is Metropole Hotel Pte Ltd, controlled by members of a Lee family.

Also, Koh Brothers and Heeton have teamed up to buy Hilton Towers at Leonie Hill for $79.2 million or $880 psf ppr including development charges. They intend to redevelop the site into an 80-unit luxury apartment project.

Colliers International brokered the collective sale of the freehold Hilton Towers.

Source : Business Times - 29 Apr 2006

COLLECTIVE sales of residential estates in Singapore are continuing to set new records, with the largest-ever site being sold en bloc yesterday for $206.1 million.

Westpeak Condominium in West Coast Walk was bought by construction group Chip Eng Seng for about $348 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area.

At 311,829 sq ft, the 20-year-old estate is the largest private freehold residential collective sale site to be sold in recent years, said property consultancy Savills, which marketed the site.

Each Westpeak owner will pocket between $1.29 million and $1.94 million depending on the size of their apartments, a premium over the last sale of a Westpeak apartment, at $900,000 in November 2004.

A new project with 545 units of 1,200 sq ft each is set to go up on the Westpeak site, which has a height restriction of 24 storeys, Chip Eng Seng said in a statement yesterday.

The group, which is expanding its niche property development activities, has been snapping up collective sale sites recently.

Earlier this month, it bought Venus Mansion in the Cairnhill area for $123 million, which works out to $783 psf per plot ratio (ppr).

It also paid $19.5 million for a freehold property at 21 Balmoral Road in August last year and $79 million for Quelin Gardens at St Thomas Walk in 2004.

Meanwhile, in yet another collective sale transaction, Hilton Towers in Leonie Hill has been sold for $79.2 million, or about $880 psf ppr, including a development charge of $3.9 million.

The 33,700 sq ft freehold estate in District 9 was bought by Koh Brothers Development and Heeton Land, which jointly developed Sun Plaza next to Sembawang MRT station, as well as The Montana off River Valley Road.

And another property deal was sealed yesterday when Mapletree Logistics Trust Management, which manages Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT), said it acquired a warehouse-cum-office property at Penjuru Lane for $16.2 million. The deal will add 0.12 cent to the distribution per unit of MLT for the year ended Dec 31 last year.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Apr 2006

Price works out to be about $880 psf of potential gross floor area

DEVELOPERS continue to snap up collective sale sites in prime districts.

Koh Brothers and Heeton are arranging a deal to buy the Hilton Towers site at Leonie Hill, at a price said to be about $79 million.

This works out to about $880 psf of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge (DC) of about $3.9 million.

The 33,700 sq ft freehold site is zoned for residential use and has a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area).

Colliers International brokered the sale of the Hilton Towers site.

Koh Brothers and Heeton jointly developed and own Sun Plaza mall, next to Sembawang MRT Station.

Heeton is known for developing and operating wet markets and neighbourhood malls in the HDB heartlands, but it has also developed high-end residential projects like DLV and The Element @ Stevens - both in the Stevens Road area.

Koh Brothers’ core businesses include construction and property.

Hilton Towers’ sale price is likely to be used as a benchmark for another collective sale - Furama Tower at the nearby Leonie Hill Road - also being marketed by Colliers.

The indicative price for the 33,821 sq ft freehold Furama Tower site is $82 million, or $936 psf per plot ratio inclusive of a DC of about $6.6 million.

Meanwhile, over in the Serangoon area, United Premas and HSR have launched the collective sale of Mutual Court at Mar Thoma Road with a price expectation of about $23.3 million, which works out to about $275 psf per plot ratio including a DC of about $100,000.

The 30,331 sq ft, 999-year leasehold site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio and a 36 storey maximum height.

Based on the $23.3 million price tag, the owners of the 34 apartments at Mutual Court stand to reap a collective sale premium of more than 50 per cent.

Source : Business Times - 28 Apr 2006

Price works out to $1,184 psf of potential gross floor area

HOTEL Properties Ltd (HPL) has clinched Beverly Mai on Tomlinson Road through a $238 million collective sale - $1,184 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated development charge of $16.8 million.

Market watchers estimate HPL’s breakeven cost for a new condo on the 76,888 sq ft freehold site could be about $1,600 psf. HPL can develop the site into a new 36-storey condominium with about 107 units averaging 2,000 sq ft.

HPL officials were not available for commment yesterday. However, David Lawrence, CEO of Wheelock Properties (Singapore) which recently bought a 21 per cent stake in HPL, yesterday told BT: ‘HPL has had big success in the area. Beverly Mai is next to Four Seasons Park condo and close to their Four Seasons Hotel. I’m sure they’ll find ways to make money from this project. HPL has a reputation as a stylish developer and they have a good following. They will do very well.’ HPL developed the Four Seasons Park condo and Four Seasons hotel in the 1990s.

Mr Lawrence said there were no plans for Wheelock to team up with HPL in redeveloping Beverly Mai, which he described as ‘a very good freehold site’.

CB Richard Ellis brokered the sale. The tender for the site drew five bids when it closed on Tuesday - with HPL being the highest bidder. The other four bidders were said to be City Developments, Far East Organization, SC Global Developments and Wing Tai. The deal is subject to approval from the Strata Titles Board as unanimous approval from the owners has yet to be obtained.

The Beverly Mai site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area).

The owners of Beverly Mai’s 50 apartments will receive slightly over $4.4 million per apartment while the two penthouse owners will walk away with double that amount - about $8.81 million per unit. These sums represent collective sale premiums of 76 per cent to 146 per cent - depending on which benchmark is used - in terms of what the apartments would have fetched on an individual basis. In March 2004, before Beverly Mai’s collective sale was initiated, an apartment in the development changed hands for $1.8 million while in August last year, after the owners began signing for the en bloc sale, another apartment was sold for $2.5 million. Market watchers reckon the latter deal probably factored in some of the potential collective sale premium.

Analysts observed that the acquisition of Beverly Mai marks HPL’s first major property acquisition in nine years. In July 1997, HPL led a consortium that bought The Forum, a retail and office property along Orchard Road, for $359 million.

Analysts said the last time the group bought a major development site was probably in September 1993 when it teamed up with MCL Land to buy the Scotts Road bungalow of Khoo Teck Puat, which has since been developed into the Scotts 28 condo.

Source : Business Times - 27 Apr 2006

Top bid for Beverly Mai is saidto have been $1,184 psf ppr

DEVELOPERS are continuing to bid for prime residential sites.

BT understands that Far East Organization has clinched the freehold Skyline Angullia for $100 million, or $1,073 per square foot of potential gross floor area.

A stone’s throw away at Tomlinson Road, a tender that closed yesterday for the collective sale of Beverly Mai is understood to have attracted several bidders, among which are Hotel Properties, City Developments, Far East, SC Global and Wing Tai, sources suggest.

The top bid for the freehold Beverly Mai is understood to have come in at around $238 million, or $1,184 psf per plot ratio inclusive of development charges.

All the parties who reportedly bid for Beverly Mai have stakes in the area.

Hotel Properties, said to be a frontrunner for the site according to some sources, owns a huge chunk of properties there that add up to almost 220,000 sq ft.

Spanning Orchard Road, Cuscaden Road and Orchard Boulevard, the properties comprise the Hilton and Four Seasons hotels, the Forum and HPL House.

Far East, headed by property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, bought Angullia Mansion earlier this year.

SC Global bought Paterson Tower last month and developed The Boulevard Residence or BLVD at Cuscaden Walk.

City Developments is getting ready to launch its upmarket condo, St Regis Residences, in the Cuscaden/Tomlinson roads area.

The $1,073 psf ppr price that Far East is paying for the Skyline Angullia site is inclusive of a development charge (DC) of about $7.6 million.

This unit land price is slightly higher than the $1,060 psf ppr including DC that Far East paid for the Angullia Mansion site in February.

Market watchers reckon the breakeven cost for new apartment developments on both sites could come in at about $1,450 to $1,550 psf. Both deals were brokered by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

While Angullia Mansion involved a collective sale with multiple owners, Skyline Angullia is owned by a single party, Skyline Investment Holdings Pte Ltd, controlled by Kang Swee Liat and his wife.

They developed the property, completing it in 1992 and have kept it since for rental income.

The boutique property group also developed houses on Barker Road in the 1980s. The existing Angullia Skyline is a 14-storey tower comprising 22 apartments and two penthouses.

The 35,810 sq ft freehold site is zoned for 36-storey residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area).

The site may be redeveloped into a new project with about 45 units averaging 2,000 sq ft.

Far East has been one of the most active and successful land buyers this year. Its earlier acquisitions include the Amberville site in Katong and the former Glutton’s Square parcel on Orchard Road.

The Beverly Mai site, marketed by CB Richard Ellis, has a 76,888 sq ft site area. It also has a 2.8 plot ratio and 36-storey height limit.

Source : Business Times - 26 Apr 2006