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Project, one of HDB’s biggest under Sers scheme, will be completed by 2011

CLOSE to 1,700 households in Clementi have been selected for relocation in one of the Housing Board’s largest redevelopment exercises.

Under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers), households in the 30-year-old precinct at Clementi Avenue 1 will be relocated to a new site nearby.

The current site comprises eight blocks of flats, two rental blocks and some shops.

Apart from a Sers exercise in March last year which involved about 1,800 units, earlier exercises typically involved relocation of about 600 to 1,000 units.

The new estate, due for completion by the end of 2011, will feature a new park, and is situated near Clementi MRT station, bus interchange and town centre.

It is the 70th site since Sers was introduced in 1995.

The HDB will build 1,600 new two- to five-room replacement flats and eligible flat owners living in blocks 401 to 404, and 407 to 409, will be invited to pick their new flats in mid-2008.

Four of the 10 new blocks will be 40 storeys high, joining 22 similar HDB blocks now being built or already completed islandwide.

Under Sers, owners are compensated for their homes at the prevailing market rate, and also get a 20 per cent discount on their new flats.

They are assured of flats in the new site so they can choose to live with old neighbours again, or pick flats elsewhere.

The existing blocks will be torn down for residential development after the residents are relocated, the HDB said yesterday.

Among those affected are about 500 rental tenants in blocks 405 and 406 who will be given priority allocation of new flats at the replacement site, or alternative rental flats elsewhere.

About 500 one- and two-room rental flats will be built at the new site. Tenants eligible for the Public Rental Scheme will also get a $1,000 removal allowance.

Retiree Sia Soo Kee, 72, rents a one-room flat and has lived there for 23 years. He said he does not want to relocate for fear of losing his neighbours.

Shop owners in Block 407 had mixed reactions to the announcement.

Under Sers, shop owners will be compensated based on their property’s market value and will be given priority allocation at the new site. Shop tenants will be given an ex gratia payment of $60,000 and a 10 percent discount if they bid successfully for HDB shops elsewhere.

Coffee-shop owner Phang Wei Lim, 40, said he paid a relatively high price of $690,000 for his shop and felt the HDB’s compensation will not be enough.

But a provision shop owner who wanted to be known only as Mr Lim, who paid about $500,000 for his shop, welcomed the news.

‘This estate is getting old and my shop is struggling to break even,’ he said.

Mr Yap Hee Kwan, 67, is both an affected resident and shop owner. He runs a hair salon and provision shop with his wife.

He had mixed feelings about the move. He liked the idea of a new home but added: ‘After living and working here for nearly 30 years, there are so many memories to leave behind.’

Source : Straits Times - 29 Jun 2007

Owners of 618 units will get $2.15m each; buyer CapitaLand plans 36-storey condo

PROPERTY giant CapitaLand is paying $1.3388 billion for the sprawling Farrer Court estate - the biggest lump sum ever shelled out for a residential site in Singapore.

Owners at the 618-unit estate will get about $2.15 million each, depending on the size of their flats, which range from 1,453 sq ft to 1,615 sq ft.

The bumper price for the former HUDC estate beat the reserve price of $1.2 billion but fell short of the owners’ asking price of $1.5 billion.

It also signals how high and how fast prices have risen this year. Farrer Court owners had revised their reserve price from $700 million to $840 million at the start of the year, only to push it up to $1.2 billion in March.

Credo Real Estate, which brokered the deal, said the sale is also the largest one in terms of land area, number of units and buildable gross floor area.

Farrer Court, which is 30 years into a 99-year lease, sits on 838,488 sq ft of land near the junction of Farrer Road and Holland Road. It is also close to the upcoming Farrer MRT Station.

It is the only site on Farrer Road with the potential to be built up to 36 storeys.

CapitaLand said it plans to build a ‘luxurious’ 36-storey condominium with about 1,500 ‘generously-sized’ flats on the site, which will be ready for launch in early 2009.

Existing Farrer Court owners will have the first right of refusal to buy units at the new development, it said.

CapitaLand president and chief executive Liew Mun Leong said the deal would further boost its residential land bank, allowing it to benefit from Singapore’s ‘growth story’.

The site also gives the developer the chance to work with world-renowned architects to create a unique landmark project, he added.

The Farrer Court tender closed on Wednesday and attracted two bids, both above the reserve price.

Credo Real Estate declined to comment on the second bid, but sources said it came from GuocoLand, which had paid a then-

record $835 million for the freehold Leedon Heights site in Holland Road in April.

CapitaLand’s price for Farrer Court works out to about $762 to $783 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area.

This psf price includes about $450 million to $500 million to maximise the use of the land and to top up the lease to a fresh 99-year tenure.

The deal is subject to the approval of the Strata Titles Board and should be completed by the second quarter of next year.

CapitaLand intends to share its risks with partners but will be the lead development manager for the project.

It said yesterday that Hotel Properties (HPL), US-based Wachovia Development Corp and possibly a foreign fund will join it in the venture.

CapitaLand is likely to hold 35 to 40 per cent of the joint venture while HPL expects to take a 20 to 30 per cent interest.

HPL took a stake in an earlier CapitaLand purchase of another former HUDC estate, Gillman Heights, in Alexandra Road, which cost $548 million, or $363 psf of potential gross floor area.

The sale of Farrer Court leaves the 290-unit Pacific Mansions in River Valley Close as the only estate up for sale at more than $1 billion.

Owners of Pacific Mansions are asking for $1.18 billion or about $2,400 psf of potential gross floor area.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Jun 2007

Its $31m total price is also likely to be the highest ever paid for a single unit in S’pore

The price of a condominium unit in Singapore has crossed the $5,000 per sq ft (psf) mark for the first time.

The all-time high was set by at least one apartment in The Marq on Paterson Hill, the latest project by luxury developer SC Global.

This 6,195 sq ft unit fetched $5,100 psf, or a total of about $31 million - also believed to be the highest price ever paid for a single condominium unit, said SC Global.

All the 21 units released at The Marq been taken up, just a week after SC Global said it would offer them at an invitation-only preview.

The apartments sold at the 66-unit development achieved an average price of $4,137 psf, SC Global said in a statement.

Each unit was priced at between $11 million and $31 million.

Prices of luxury condominiums have soared to new heights since the beginning of the year.

In March, they crossed the $4,000 psf mark at CapitaLand’s The Orchard in Orchard Turn and two weeks ago, an apartment in St Regis Residences in Cuscaden Road, developed by City Developments, fetched a record $4,635.50 psf.

Even The Marq’s record may not last for long, say property experts.

As Singapore’s property developers start catering more to ‘ultra-high net worth individuals’ from around the world, condominiums are likely to get more expensive, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

‘We will continue seeing more and more opulent types of developments coming into the market, which will support continued growth in capital values,’ he added.

Despite the roaring market, average prices of Singapore’s most luxurious condominiums are still below those in major cities.

In Tokyo and Hong Kong, for instance, the average price of the most prime apartments is more than $3,000 psf, Mr Ku said.

In New York, it is $4,000 psf, and in London, it can go up to $9,000 psf. The average price of luxury condominiums in Singapore is about $2,000 psf.

The record-setting apartment at The Marq was one of eight sold in the development’s Signature Tower, which boasts a 15m private lap pool in every unit. Each unit takes up an entire floor.

Although SC Global would not disclose the nationality of the buyer who forked out $31 million, it said that 65 per cent of The Marq’s buyers so far have been foreigners.

They hail from Indonesia, Malaysia, Britain, China and India, the developer added.

SC Global also said it has not yet finalised a date for the release of the other units at The Marq.

Source : Straits Times - 29 Jun 2007

Two sites awarded at Tanglin Village; plans for fine dining, recreation

More buzz will soon be added to Tanglin Village (picture), the rustic bohemian hangout a short drive from the busy Orchard Road area.

Yesterday, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) awarded a total of 11 buildings — consisting of 40,135 sq m over two sites — to local construction company Country City Investment Pte Ltd.

Country City Investment is planning to turn the cluster into a “lifestyle destination area”.

For the Dempsey Hill area, the tenant is planning a mixture of food and beverage (F&B) establishments and recreational outlets, such as a children’s entertainment centre.

Over at the former Civil Service Club at 25 Dempsey Road, a mix of fine dining restaurants will form the sub-tenants.

Mr Nicholas Ng, Country City general manager, told Today the company has been “very selective”, considering factors such as concept and business proposal.

“Ultimately, we hope that with the F&B establishments and fine dining restaurants will be a new lifestyle destination that will attract locals, expatriates and travellers alike,” said Mr Ng.

The two new developments are expected to be operational in the later half of this year.

The tenancies at the two sites are for an initial term of three years and renewable up to 2015.

Since Tanglin Village’s launch last year, the SLA has managed to attract keen interest. For example, the former Civil Service Club received an overwhelming nine bids — ranging from $38,000 to $93,889, on a total site area of about 16,300 sq m.

With the award of the two sites, SLA said it is closer to fulfilling about 60 per cent of the site’s occupancy as an enclave of lifestyle, education and art interests.

In August, it will put up another property for public tender at Minden Road for similar lifestyle uses.

Source : Today - 29 Jun 2007

Long-term plans for Jurong, Paya Lebar to ease the squeeze on Shenton Way

Jurong and Paya Lebar have been designated to become new business hubs, under the upcoming Master Plan review for 2008.

Giving a preview of the plans in a Channel NewsAsia interview, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said these would provide space for Singapore’s continued growth as a global business centre, and offer an alternative to the overcrowded CBD area.

The Master Plan guides Singapore’s medium-term land use, and is reviewed every five years.

The Government plans to release sites for new offices, shops, homes and entertainment outlets in Jurong and Paya Lebar, to grow them into new hubs for businesses.

According to the minister, the lower costs will be a key pull factor. Said Mr Mah: “I think the best incentive is that it will offer cheaper office space — cheaper than the CBD quite obviously. It will offer proximity to some of the nearby residences; as people want to live near their workplace, that would be an attraction.

“Of course, it’s going to be a very nice leisure, recreational area as well. In Jurong, for example, we can redevelop the areas around the Jurong Lake, which can provide very nice retail, and F&B outlets on the waterfront.”

The specific locations of the sites have yet to be determined, but they will be centred around the existing MRT stations. For Jurong, these would likely be the Lakeside, Boon Lay or Jurong East stations, while the Paya Lebar station is the likely candidate in the east.

Mr Mah added that he did not see the need for the land acquisition by the Government as there was ample empty sites in these areas.

The new hubs are seen as part of the long-term answer to the current office space crunch.

“I remember we took at least 10 years to fully develop Tampines as a Regional Centre. So I think, depending on the reaction of the market, it may take just as long (to build up Jurong and Paya Lebar).”

As for speculation about drastic increases in plot ratios for land around the island to cope with an anticipated rise in population, Mr Mah said there was no need for any such move yet. He explained that the figure of 6.5 million was a very long-term parameter to guide land-use planning, spanning up to 50 years.

As such, he said: “There’s really no urgent need for us to drastically change all our plot ratios, or up the intensity of all the various parcels of land that we have. We’ve been doing this gradually over many years … It’s not something that we need to do across the board at this point in time, based on the reviews that we have done.”

The Master Plan will also include new details of living options, leisure facilities, and ways to encourage rootedness in Singapore. It will be put up for public feedback by mid next year. — Channel NewsAsia

Source : Today - 29 Jun 2007