URA releases site at Tan Quee Lan Street, expected to yield 580 homes

The location plan for the land parcel at Tan Quee Lan Street. (Image: Urban Redevelopment Authority)

SINGAPORE: A site at Tan Quee Lan Street was on Friday (Mar 29) launched for sale under the confirmed list of the first half 2019 Government Land Sales Programme.

The 99-year site, which is zoned as residential with commercial at the first storey, is expected to yield up to 580 homes, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

The 11,530.9 sq m site has a maximum gross floor area of 48,430 sq m, and a maximum building height of 30 storeys for a high-rise zone and six storeys for a low-rise zone.

The launch comes as URA earlier this week revealed that more homes are planned for the central business district and Marina Bay area under its draft master plan.

Located next to Bugis MRT station, the site's city-centre location was cited by analysts as a key attraction to potential bidders.

Calling the site the "most attractive" of all those on the first half 2019 Government Land Sales Programme's confirmed list, Ms Tay Huey Ying, JLL's Singapore head of research and consultancy, said it is expected to be hotly contested.

"It will attract developers keen to ride on the area’s rapid transformation into a vibrant mixed-use locale and an extension to the CBD," she said.  "We expect most of the participants of the Middle Road site for which tender closed yesterday to bid for the Tan Quee Lan Street site."

She pointed out that a low pipeline supply of available residential units for sale - amounting to fewer than 800 units - in the immediate locality could "embolden" interested bidders to be bullish in their bids, in spite of cooling measures currently in place.

Ms Tricia Song, head of research for Colliers in Singapore, said the tender is expected to set "benchmark land pricing for a residential site", in view of the plot's location and good transport links.

In addition, she pointed out that the site will not be subject to the rule on minimum unit size as it is located in the central area.

"This would give the developer a freer hand in crafting the unit-mix at the future development," said Ms Song.

Taking a leaf from the public tender for the nearby Middle Road site, Colliers expects similar healthy interest for the Tan Quee Lan Street plot, she said.

"We project that the site could attract 10 or more bidders, with a potential top bid of S$834 million, translating to S$1,600 per square foot per plot ratio," said Ms Song.

"This would be about 10 per cent higher than the top bid for (the) Middle Road site, as the Tan Quee Lan site is in an arguably more attractive location and more units could be built (versus 375 homes for the Middle Road site)," she added. 

ONE-NORTH GATEWAY SITE LAUNCH POSTPONED

Meanwhile, URA also announced that the tender for a residential site at one-north Gateway, which was originally scheduled to be launched in March, will be rescheduled to June 2019 to "facilitate a review of planning parameters and tender conditions for the site".

Ms Tay noted that the master plan zoning for this site has been changed from full-residential to residential with commercial at first storey.

"The launch of the tender for this site has likely been delayed to allow the authority to incorporate this change into the tender conditions and documents," she said.

The tender for the Tan Quee Lan Street site will close at noon on Sep 5, together with another site at Bernam Street which is scheduled for sale in May under the first half of the 2019 Government Land Sales Programme.

Source: CNA/nc(cy)