URA has released a 99-year leasehold residential site at Martin Place for sale from the Confirmed List of 1H2016 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The 171,535 sq ft site with a maximum gross floor area of 480,307 sq ft could potentially yield 450 to 460 housing units.
The plot is located close to the future Great World MRT station and River Valley Primary School, and is expected to draw strong interest due to its prime location, says Desmond Sim head of CBRE Research SEA.
The last time a GLS site was made available in the vicinity was in Robertson Quay in March 2011 which developer City Developments Ltd won with a bid of $938 psf ppr. The project has since been launched as the 70-unit UP@Robertson Quay residential block located next to the 300-room M Social Hotel.
Elsewhere in District 9, the last GLS site awarded was in Mount Sophia in September 2013 when Hoi Hup and Sunway Development won the site with a bid of $1,157 psf ppr). The site has since been launched as the 493-unit Sophia Hills @ Mount Sophia condo. Nearby on Handy Road, Allgreen Properties won a GLS site in 2007, which has since been developed into the 118-unit Suites at Orchard.
There have therefore been fewer than a handful of GLS sites launched in District 9 over the past decade, according to Nicholas Mak, executive director of research & consultancy at SLP International. “This tender could draw about 10 to 16 bids with the top bid ranging from $450 million to $480 million ($937 to $1,000 psf ppr),” estimates Mak. Tender for the land parcel will close at 12 noon on June 28.
Site plan