Freehold site near old New World Amusement Park launched for sale

Foreigners are allowed to buy the $13.5m site.

A commercial freehold site located along Jalan Besar Road has just been launched for sale via an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise with an asking price of $13.5m, JLL announced. The price reflects a rate of $1,392 psf ppr. No development charge is payable for the intensification of the site.

According to a press release, the site located at the entrance to the former New World Amusement Park, the commercial site is situated in-between 251 Jalan Besar Road and 255 Jalan Besar Road. It occupies a total land area of approximately 3,230 sqft. Under the 2014 Master Plan, the site is zoned "Commercial" with a gross plot ratio 3.0.

JLL noted that incoming purchasers have the benefit of exploring various development works to maximize the use of the site. "Subject to approval from relevant authorities, potential Commercial uses for the new development include F&B, office, co-working and retail amongst others. Currently, a Written Permission has been obtained by the existing owner to develop the site to accommodate two four-storey units infill envelope control buildings with temporary eating house use on the ground floor and office use for the upper floor. The approved gross floor area (GFA) is 9,694 sqft," it added.

The site is a walking distance from Lavender MRT station (East-West Line), Bendemeer MRT station (Downtown Line), and Farrer Park MRT station (North-East Line). It is also easily accessible to other parts of Singapore via Pan Island Expressway (PIE) and Central Expressway (CTE).

"Jalan Besar, which means "main road" in Malay, was one of the earliest areas to be developed in Singapore. Due to its rich heritage, the area has been granted conservation status in 1991," JLL added.

JLL Capital Markets associate director Clemence Lee said, "New World Amusement Park is one of the major landmarks in Singapore's history. Having the site being situated at the entrance to New World Amusement Park, and given its freehold tenure, city fringe location, excellent main road frontage, potential future naming rights and flexible commercial uses, we are confident that incoming developers and owner-occupiers would appreciate the rich heritage and strong attributes of the site and develop an iconic flagship building there."

"After factoring in the development cost, the blended breakeven for the new development would be in the region of $1,925 psf. This compares favourably to the average price of $5,000 - $5,500 psf achieved for the strata retail units and $2,400 - $2,500 psf for the strata office units at the nearby Arc 380 and Centrum Square", he added.

As the property sits on land zoned for commercial use, foreigners are eligible to purchase the site. There is also no Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) or Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) imposed on the purchase of the property.

The property will be marketed through an Expression of Interest exercise which closes on Thursday, 30 May 2018 at 3 p.m.