The bungalow at 5 Oxley Road and the road bordering it has been put up for sale (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Sitting on a hilltop plot at 5 Oxley Rise in prime District 9, is a bungalow that is now on the market for sale at a breathtaking $300 million. The bungalow was previously the residence of the late property tycoon Cheong Eak Chong.
According to a title search, the property is now in the hands of seven of his sons, each with a one-seventh share. Three of the sons have links to Singapore-listed Hong Fok Corp. They are Cheong Kim Pong, former chairman and CEO of the firm; Cheong Pin Chuan, the current joint CEO; and former executive director Cheong Pin Seng. The other four sons are involved in Tian Teck Land, namely Cheong Hooi Hong, chairman and CEO of the firm; as well as Cheong Kheng Lim, Cheong Keng Hooi and Cheong Sim Lam, who are directors of the firm.
The owners have engaged CBRE to put the site for sale by tender. There are two plots on the site: The double-storey bungalow and four outhouses that sit on a 117,230 sq ft elevated site, and the road bordering the site and the neighbouring Oxley Garden private condominium, which has a total area of 33,375 sq ft. When combined, the total area of the entire plot is 151,205 sq ft.
Map showing the two plots at 5 Oxley Rise, which includes the road access to the neighbouring Oxley Garden apartment blocks (Source: URA)
Read more: Oxley Garden to be put up for en bloc sale at $200 mil, alongside bungalow at 5 Oxley Rise
The property at 5 Oxley Rise had changed hands over the years and had been rebuilt many times over the years. The existing bungalow is said to have been constructed in the 1920s by Sir Manasseh Meyer, a Jewish businessman who also built the neighbouring Chesed-El Synagogue at 2 Oxley Rise.
Until two years ago, a family member had occupied the mansion, with its spacious balconies, wide windows and terracotta roof. Given its lofty perch, the bungalow commands “a 360° panoramic view of the city”, according to Michael Tay, head of CBRE capital markets Singapore.
The site is zoned for “residential, two-storey mixed-landed” use. If the existing mansion is conserved, the URA will consider gazetting the site into a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) area. Based on the assumption, the developer is able to develop six new GCBs on the site with a minimum land area of 15,070 sq ft, estimates CBRE’s Tay.
The existing mansion at 5 Oxley Rise, which if conserved, URA would consider gazetting the site as a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) area, and six new GCBs could be built on the site (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Alternatively, the site could also be redeveloped into a single large mansion or a mixed-use landed or strata landed development, subject to approval from the relevant authorities.
“Plum landed sites that are larger than 100,000 sq ft are typically tightly held and rarely put up for sale,” Tay comments. “As such, this asset class has been proven to be resilient through the various market cycles.”
The price tag, starting from $300 million, reflects a land rate of $1,984 psf, excluding development charge, which will vary depending on what the developer builds on the site.
“If 5 Oxley Rise is zoned exclusively for GCB use, it would be the only one in the prime Oxley area, and will be coveted by many,” observes Samuel Eyo, managing director of Lighthouse Property Consultants.
Location of 5 Oxley Rise (Source: EdgeProp Inspector)
Some of the recent GCB transactions in the vicinity include 2 Cluny Hill, which changed hands for $63.7 million ($4,291 psf) in April 2021; 30 Nassim Road for $128.8 million ($4,005 psf) in March 2021; and 33 Nassim Road for $230 million ($2,721 psf) in mid-2019.
Alternatively, an ultra-high net worth individual would want to conserve the existing mansion at 5 Oxley Rise as "a party house", and build a new “super bungalow” for his own use, reckons Lighthouse’s Eyo.
The public tender for 5 Oxley Rise will close on June 8.
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