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View Full Version : VIIO at Balestier to launch at $1,450 psf



Amber Woods
19-04-16, 10:45
By Michael Lim / The Edge Property | April 19, 2016 10:00 AM MYT

On Balestier Road, a new freehold mixed-use develop ment called VIIO at Balestier is scheduled for a soft launch at the end of April. It is a redevelopment of the former mixed-use residential-and-commercial block called Leong On Building, which was purchased by contractor-turned- developer Techkon in December 2012 for $92.3 million.

“We had been looking around for a residential site to purchase,” says George Goh, managing director of Techkon. Having visited several properties within Balestier, the company was convinced it was the right location as the area had transformed from a red-light district into a sought-after city-fringe residential neighbourhood. Therefore, when Leong On Building became available on the market, Techkon decided to acquire it.

According to Goh, VIIO at Balestier will also benefit from being adjacent to Hiap Hoe Ltd’s Zhongshan Park, an integrated development with two hotels, Days Hotel Singapore and Ramada Singapore, as well as an office tower and two-storey mall.

VIIO at Balestier is expected to attract investors as well as owner occupiers, given its city-fringe location: It is a 10-minute drive from both the CBD and Orchard Road. Apartments in the area have also attracted those working in the medical field, given that it is equidistant from the Thomson Medical Centre at one end of Balestier Road, and the Novena medical cluster with the likes of Novena Medical Centre, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital and Medical Centre as well as Tan Tock Seng Hospital at the other end.

Founded 15 years ago, Techkon carved a niche for itself by building the sales galleries and show flats of other developers’ condominium projects, such as CapitaLand’s Glentrees at Mount Sinai and the 73-unit Scotts Highpark on Scotts Road, Keppel Land’s landmark Reflections at Keppel Bay, as well as Sing Holdings’ The Laurels at Cairnhill. Over the years, the company has developed mainly detached and semi-detached houses, the latest being the White Bungalows at Sembawang.

Maiden mixed-used development
Techkon was the contractor for the 17-unit, five-storey freehold apartment block, One K Green Lane in District 15, which was completed in 2005. VIIO at Balestier is its maiden mixed use development. When completed at end-2017, VIIO will have 56 residential units spanning seven storeys sitting on top of a three-storey retail podium with 22 strata shop units. There will also be a sky garden with a 33m lap pool. The residential and retail components will have their own dedicated entrances, with a separate car park podium.

The majority of the residential units at VIIO are two-bedroom types — from compact, standard to dualkey apartments sized between 474 sq ft and 840 sq ft. There are 14 units of each type. There are also 14 three-bedroom dual-key units sized at 1,076 sq ft each. Absolute prices of the residential units in the project are said to start from $750,000 to $1.5 million, with an average price of $1,450 psf. To date, 15 units, or 30%, of the apartments at VIIO were reserved by existing clients, friends and business associates of Techkon’s directors, says Goh.

Prices trimmed, design overhauled
Owing to the property cooling measures, Techkon has trimmed the average selling price of the residential units at VIIO by 15% to $1,450 psf, he adds. In addition to that, Techkon went back to the drawing board two years ago and completely overhauled the design of its units and downsized them.

The earlier incarnation of VIIO was first launched in 2014; it had 48 residential units and 30 strata shops. At that time, units were priced from $1 million to $2 million, or an average of $1,700 psf. “We managed to sell three units, but decided to stop sales and relook our development plans,” explains Goh.

The move was made when a number of interested buyers dropped out as they were unable to obtain financing owing to tighter borrowing limits after the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) was imposed in June 2013. The developer has since refunded the three buyers their deposits, he says.

As residential sales across Singa pore plunged owing to the TDSR, introduced on top of eight successive rounds of property cooling measures, Goh applied for a change-of-use for VIIO in late 2014. The first was for it to be a hotel, which was rejected. Techkon then applied to use it as an office block. Again, the URA turned that down.

Goh then decided to bring in MKPL Architects to design the latest version of VIIO at Balestier. The retail podium was reconfigured from a conventional mall to a pedestrian friendly mall, with direct street access to the shops on the first level and escalators leading to more shops on the two upper floors.

A seamless connection will also be built to link it to neighbouring Zhongshan Park Mall, says Siew Man Kok, chairman and founding partner of MKPL, winner of the Presi dent’s Design Awards Singapore 2015. MKPL also removed the basement level, which will help reduce the construction cost.

For now, the shop units in the retail podium will be managed by Techkon and will not be offered for sale. The company intends to hold the commercial units for lease to earn recurring income. It has engaged Daven Wong, sole proprietor of Kylou Properties, to handle the marketing of VIIO. Wong reckons the shop units can be leased at rental rates ranging from $8 to $16 psf per month.

The latest residential project to be completed in the vicinity is the freehold 115-unit Skysuites 17 by EL Development, which was completed in 2014. The most recent transaction at the 30-storey Skysuites 17 was for a 10th floor, 1,066 sq ft three-bedroom unit that changed hands for $1.41 million ($1,323 psf) last month, according to a caveat lodged with URA Realis.

Wong says the asking prices of $1,450 psf at VIIO is competitive as it is a freehold mixed-use development and next to Zhongshan Park. On the other hand, Skysuites 17 — which is also adjacent to Zhongshan Park — is a condo development, says Wong.

my2cents
22-04-16, 18:54
Balestier Road is still Balestier Road, noisy and busy, for similar price, Irrawaddy Road is a better buy, The Centrio, IR or Domus all freehold district 11 and much more exclusive, small and not busy road, very serene and very short walking distance to Novena MRT.

Amber Woods
23-04-16, 17:16
Balestier Road is still Balestier Road, noisy and busy, for similar price, Irrawaddy Road is a better buy, The Centrio, IR or Domus all freehold district 11 and much more exclusive, small and not busy road, very serene and very short walking distance to Novena MRT.


At $1450 psf, it is not cheap in the heart of Balestier which is busy, noisy and heavy traffic all day round. However, there are still many investors having faith in mixed development primarily for investment.