SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The owners of the 46 apartments at Oxley Garden have decided to put their property up for collective sale for a total of $200 million. The six blocks of four-storey, walk-up apartments were believed to have been built sometime in the late 1950s by property mogul Cheong Eak Chong, whose primary residence had been the mansion at the top of the hill at 5 Oxley Rise.

Seven of his sons now own the property at 5 Oxley Rise, which is held under two separate titles: One of the titles is for the bungalow plot of 117,230 sq ft, while the other is for the access road to both 5 Oxley Rise and Oxley Garden, which is 33,975 sq ft. When combined, the property has a total area of 151,205 sq ft. It was put up for sale at $300 million on April 19.

The mansion at 5 Oxley Rise was purchased by Cheong in 1952 from Jewish businessman Manasseh Meyer, who constructed the neighbouring Chesed-El Synagogue at 2 Oxley Rise. Cheong had remodeled the interiors of the bungalow to suit his family’s needs. The existing main house is said to have a built-up area of about 11,000 sq ft.

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Cheong is believed to have built the apartment blocks at Oxley Garden sometime in the late 1950s, originally for his family’s use. One of the blocks at Oxley Garden was used as an office, and some of Cheong’s children had moved into the apartments at Oxley Garden after they were married and had families of their own.

A side-gate at the bottom of the garden of 5 Oxley Rise facilitated the comings and goings of family members between the two properties in the past.

It was only sometime in the mid-1980s that the apartments at Oxley Garden were sold to others. The existing apartments at Oxley Garden are three-bedroom apartments, with sizes ranging from 1,647 to 1,776 sq ft. There have only been eight recorded transactions at Oxley Garden since January 1995. The latest sale was for a 1,647 sq ft, three-bedroom apartment that changed hands for $2.3 million ($1,397 psf) in January 2012.

In the past, the owners of Oxley Garden had made several collective sale attempts. The latest was in 2018. This time around, the collective sale committee at Oxley Garden appointed JLL and Brilliance Capital as joint marketing agencies. And the property is put up for collective sale in conjunction with the bungalow at 5 Oxley Rise.

The six blocks of apartments at Oxley Rise are split into two plots: No. 1 to 24 Oxley Garden sit on a freehold strip of 31,102 sq ft, while No. 25 to 46 Oxley Garden occupy a land area of 27,105 sq ft. When combined, the total site area is 58,207 sq ft.

According to URA, the site is zoned for residential use with a plot ratio of 1.4, under the Master Plan 2019. A new development with a gross floor area (GFA) of 85,246 sq ft can be built on the site. According to Tan Hong Boon, JLL executive director of capital markets, Oxley Garden is located within the Central Area, hence it does not need to adhere to a minimum size for the new apartments.

Assuming an 85 sq m (915 sq ft) average size for the new units, however, a developer could build a new condominium block with 93 apartments. If a developer wants to build luxury apartments with an average size of 250 sq m (2,691 sq ft), the site can accommodate 31 apartments, estimates JLL’s Tan.

“However, many of the developers who have viewed the site are interested in looking at the option of redeveloping both sites — Oxley Garden and the bungalow site at 5 Oxley Road,” notes Tan.

The property at 5 Oxley Road is marketed by CBRE. Depending on the profile of the buyer, there are various possibilities. There could be a single owner, for instance, an ultra-high-net-worth individual or family office that wants to buy the entire site and retain it as a single property for redevelopment into a super mansion or several houses for personal use, according to Michael Tay, CBRE Singapore head of capital markets.

Alternatively, a developer could redevelop the site into an exclusive strata landed project with a maximum of 42 houses, made up of 40 terraced houses and a pair of semi-detached houses. As a strata landed development, the developer will have to provide for road access, swimming pool and other shared facilities within the gated project, says CBRE.

Assuming the developer wants to build conventional houses, the maximum would be 28 terraced houses and a pair of semi-detached houses, bringing the total to 30.

URA has said that it is open to considering zoning the entire site as a Good Class Bungalow Area (GCBA), provided the existing main house is conserved. According to Tay, including the existing mansion, the property can be subdivided into six GCBs. The five new GCBs will sit on land areas ranging from 15,933 sq ft to 16,838 sq ft, while the existing mansion sits right at the centre, on the largest plot of 24,842 sq ft. However, it is subject to approval by the authorities.

Besides the main house, on the grounds are four outhouses, which can be redeveloped. Given the vantage point of the site, the bungalow commands “a 360-degree panoramic view of the city”, says Tay. The site is zoned for “residential, two-storey mixed-landed” use.

Located in prime District 9, the Oxley area is within a short drive of the Orchard Road shopping and lifestyle district, and top schools such as Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), River Valley Primary School and St Margaret’s Primary School.

“Developers are interested in the possibility of amalgamating both sites, including the road,” says Sammi Lim, founder and executive director of Brilliance Capital. “The option that the developer chooses will determine how many more units can be added.”

While the tender for the bungalow at 5 Oxley Rise will close on June 8, the tender for Oxley Garden will close on June 14.

Check out the latest listings near Oxley Garden, Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), River Valley Primary School, St Margaret’s Primary School

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