CapitaLand and CDL JV wins bid for Sengkang Central site for $777.78m

The 3.7 ha site will be developed into an integrated community hub with 700 apartments.

The joint venture (JV) of CapitaLand and City Developments Limited clinched the mixed-use residential and commercial site in Sengkang Central for $777.78m, an announcement revealed. Said winning bid works out to a $923.60 psf of gross floor area (GFA).

The JV plans to develop the 3.7 ha site, which is the largest mixed use site awarded since 2015, into an integrated community hub with about 700 apartments. They also eye to make it a one-stop place with amenities including a hawker centre, community club, childcare centre, retail shops, public rail, and bus transport facilities.

Set for completion by H1 2022, the developers noted that the new Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rate imposed on housing developers from 6 July will not apply for the site acquisition.

The site has direct access to Buangkok MRT Station and the future bus interchange, mere 20-minute drive from the Central Business District. It is also accessible via major expressways such as KPE, SLE and CTE and well connected to major hubs such as the future Punggol Digital District and Seletar Aerospace Park.

“Whilst the narrative of the market has changed since the cooling measures, I believe this project will still be attractive to many buyers,” Knight Frank Singapore director and head of research Lee Nai Jia said. “Not only is the upcoming project a stone’s throw away from Buangkok MRT station, the integrated development has many attributes that will attract upgraders to the area.”

Lee thinks that the proposed retail mall could likely perform well if positioned correctly amidst strong residential catchment. Moreover, Lee believes that the market may move and adjust from cooling measures by the time the project is launched.