SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

ERC awarded former school site for boutique office complex

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) yesterday said it has received strong interest for state properties it put up solely for lease as offices earlier this year.

SLA has so far awarded one site. The former River Valley Primary School site was awarded to ERC Holdings Pte Ltd, which submitted the highest of four bids.

ERC, an investment holding company, intends to invest $3 million to $5 million to refurbish the property, which is in the Central Business District, the SLA said.

The government agency also said that three other tenders which closed in May - for the former Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) building in Cantonment Road, the former Moulmein Community Centre (CC) and the former ITE Pasir Panjang in Alexandra Road - saw average bids as high as 68 per cent above the guide rents.

These tenders are under evaluation and further announcements will be made when the tenders are awarded, SLA said.

In the meantime, three more properties for office use - at Pearl’s Hill Terrace, Raeburn Park and Jalan Bukit Ho Swee - have also been launched for tender recently.

For the former River Valley Primary School, ERC has plans for a boutique office complex with support services like food and beverage outlets, and meeting and training rooms.

The complex is slated to open by the fourth quarter of 2007, and about half of it may be sub-let. ‘We have been bidding for such properties as they are a cost-efficient alternative for the private sector in the face of the high market rentals,’ said Andy Ong, chief executive of ERC.

‘In land-scarce Singapore, the interim use of state properties is a cost-effective way to optimise their use pending their long-term redevelopment.’

The tender for the CPIB building also saw strong interest - attracting 15 bids, the highest number ever received for a SLA public tender for rental of state property. The bids ranged between $27,000 and $91,731, with Bravo Building Construction Pte Ltd’s bid being the highest at 68.6 per cent above the guide rent. The next 11 bids were also all above the guide rent by at least 10 per cent.

Elsewhere, the former Moulmein CC and former ITE Pasir Panjang drew bids from property management companies and securities firms.

Phillip Securities Pte Ltd topped the bid for Moulmein CC with a tendered monthly rent of $35,000.

And at the former Pasir Panjang ITE, RichZone Properties Investment Pte Ltd, a new property management company, offered $289,000 per month - almost 45 per cent more than the guide rent.

Source : Business Times - 8 Jun 2007

PROPERTY group UOL yesterday said it has agreed to buy through a collective sale the freehold Oakswood Heights on Spottiswoode Park Road for $132 million.

The price paid for the 63,700 sq ft site works out to $740 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), taking into account a 2.8 plot ratio. No development charge is expected to be paid for the site.

UOL said that it will develop the property together with an adjoining site it acquired earlier this year. In April, UOL paid $79.5 million - or $732 psf ppr including an estimated $167,000 development charge - for the 38,900 sq ft Spottiswoode Apartment next door. Together, both sites will give UOL a land area of 102,600 sq ft to work with.

The company told BT yesterday that it will build a high-rise residential project of about 250 units on the amalgamated sites - meaning that the apartments could average 1,100 sq ft each. Judging by the location, market watchers said the project, which UOL said will be launched next year, will probably be in the upper mid-range segment.

They estimate that UOL’s breakeven cost for the project could be about $1,150 psf ppr.

UOL said that both the acquisition of Oakswood Heights and the subsequent redevelopment will be financed by internal funds and bank borrowings.

The purchase is not expected to have a material financial impact on the group’s net tangible assets per share or earnings per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2007, the company said.

UOL’s shares closed five cents up at $5.45 yesterday. The company’s stock has climbed 25.6 per cent since the start of the year.

Source : Business Times - 8 Jun 2007

ALL 273 condominium units offered yesterday morning under the first phase of CapitaLand’s maiden Vietnamese residential project were fully booked by the afternoon, the company said yesterday. Indicative prices range from US$1,200-US$1,600 per sq metre.

The Vista condominium is in the An Phu Ward of Ho Chi Minh City. ‘Over 400 people queued for a total of 273 units in two towers,’ CapitaLand said. The entire project comprises a total of 750 apartments in five towers.

CapitaLand has an 80 per cent stake in the joint venture company that is developing The Vista. The Singapore-listed property group is also the lead development manager.

‘With the highest per capita GDP in the country and growing foreign investments, Ho Chi Minh City’s rapid economic development presents many business opportunities for CapitaLand,’ said the group’s president and CEO Liew Mun Leong. ‘Moreover, with the burgeoning urbanisation, the growth potential of the real estate market in Vietnam is tremendous and there will be greater demand for quality homes.’

CapitaLand also has another residential project in the city, comprising about 600 homes. This will be a joint venture with South Saigon Development Corporation - a state-owned joint-stock company established by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

Source : Business Times - 8 Jun 2007

SLA puts up 3 more govt buildings for tender, awards River Valley lease

DEMAND for office space is so strong that firms in Singapore are scrambling for the chance to lease old state buildings such as a former primary school and a former police office.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) has just put up three more vacant state buildings for use as office space.

And it yesterday awarded the lease of the first of these old state buildings, the former River Valley Primary School, for use as office space.

Prime office space is so scarce that rents are escalating and some companies have been forced to move out of the Central Business District (CBD) to look elsewhere.

The SLA’s move may help to ease the tight supply slightly as its properties may attract firms which want to avoid rising office rentals in the CBD, said Mr Nicholas Mak, the director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

A DTZ Debenham Tie Leung report said prime occupancy costs in Raffles Place have escalated by 28 per cent in the first quarter to $10.90 per sf ft (psf) on average.

A record 15 bids have been received by the SLA for a favourably located Cantonment Road property - the former Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) office.

Usually, only a few bids are submitted for tenders to lease such properties.

The SLA first made some buildings available for office use in February. Nine buildings have been offered so far.

One of them, the former primary school in River Valley Road, was awarded yesterday to investment holding company ERC Holdings. It won the tender with an offer to pay a monthly rent of $75,555 - the highest of four bids.

Its chief executive, Mr Andy Ong, said the firm will spend $3 million to $5 million on refurbishments, such as the addition of carpark lots and air-conditioning.

The building will have a boutique office concept, offering furnished, well-designed offices to meet tenants’ needs.

Mr Ong said ERC will keep one of the two blocks for its own use and sublet the other block, which will have a 2,500 sq ft food outlet.

Already, he has had inquiries from parties such as publishing firms and a foreign bank on the lookout for backroom operation space.

‘It’s a matter of whom we want as a tenant,’ said Mr Ong, who intends to sublet his space for a monthly rent of $4.20 psf to $5 psf.

He will keep half of his current space in the CBD, where his landlord tripled his rent.

The SLA said the top bid for the former CPIB building was $91,731 a month - 70 per cent above the guide rent. It came from Bravo Building Construction. The lowest bid was $27,000.

The SLA is now evaluating the bids for its other properties.

The former Moulmein community centre attracted two bids. One of them came from Phillip Securities, which said it has no plans to move out of its current premises, regardless of the tender results.

There were also two bids registered for the former Pasir Panjang ITE, with the highest coming in at $288,999 from a new property management firm, RichZone Properties Investment.

Also, the SLA has received one bid for the former CAAS building in Upper Changi Road North. The tender for this property had closed earlier without any bids.

Meanwhile, two more buildings - one in Pearl’s Hill Terrace and the other in Raeburn Park - have been put up for lease.

A third - the former Bukit Ho Swee community centre - will be tendered out for lease today.

Easing the crunch

THE SLA’s move may help to ease the tight supply slightly as its properties may attract firms which want to avoid rising office rentals in the CBD, says Knight Frank’s Mr Mak.

Prime occupancy costs in Raffles Place have escalated by 28 per cent in the first quarter to $10.90 psf, says DTZ Debenham in a report.

Source : Straits Times - 8 Jun 2007

I REFER to the letter, ‘No business space? Try HDB void-deck office’ (ST, May 26). Mr Mak Seck Hong suggested that void-deck space near town centres be converted for use as office space.

Void decks in HDB estates are usually reserved for social interactions among residents and for holding functions. Part of this limited space is needed to provide social and community facilities, such as Residents’ Committee centres and childcare and education centres, which benefit residents directly.

HDB has vacant office units immediately available for rent in its various estates. Those interested can bid for them at the website www.place2lease.com.

Those who wish to conduct small-scale businesses from HDB housing estates can also consider doing so in their homes under the Home Office Scheme. Details on the scheme are available at our website www.hdb.gov.sg.

We thank Mr Mak for his suggestion.

Ng Leong Keng Deputy Director (Policy & Planning) For Director(Properties & Land) Housing & Development Board

Source : Straits Times - 8 Jun 2007