Not interested: Commercial site gets solitary bid

While a similar plot nearby attracted 10 bids in April.

The 20,694.7 sqm land parcel at Sims Avenue/Tanjong Katong Road, launched for public tender on
26 July 2011, got a single bid made jointly by UOL and Sing Land. The tendered sale price was $529.3m, according to the announcement by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.

DMG Research noted that this is 35% lower than the $872 psf ppr paid for the Paya Lebar Road/Eunos Road 8 site won by a Low Keng Huat-led consortium in April.

“There are, however, some distinct differences between the two sites, as the current site is split into two triangular portions by a section of the Geylang River and could pose technical challenges in the layout design,” said DMG Research.

At least 40% and 15% of the maximum permissible GFA (86,918 sqm) of the proposed development on the subject site, which is located next to Paya Lebar Interchange MRT Station, must be set aside for office and hotel use respectively. The remaining GFA can be for additional office, hotel, retail, entertainment or food & beverage uses.

According to DMG Research, total development cost is expected to be in the region of S$1b. It said, “If it is awarded the site, UOL/Sing Land consortium intends to develop 2 towers comprising of an office block and a hotel, with a retail podium. The lower land cost for its site versus the earlier site won by LKH will give it greater flexibility in the use of the land without compromising on profitability.”

Still the cold response says something about the sentiments among property players.