Consortium to build condo-like flats

Published May 30, 2007

$233.74 psf ppr top bid for second DBSS

By ARTHUR SIM


THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) tender for its second Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) has closed with the top bid of $233.74 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) - double the $113.64 psf ppr price for the first DBSS site sold in January 2006.

Hoi Hup Realty, together with Sunway Concrete Products and Oriental Worldwide Investments Inc, submitted a bid of $170.2 million for the site on Boon Keng Road, near Kallang River.

The highest bid is also 33 per cent more than the second-highest by Sim Lian Land. A total of six bids were received. The DBSS involves the private sector in the development of public housing so as to bring about greater innovation in building and design and more housing choices.

Hoi Hup director Wong Sjew Hung explained that its bid was based on the building efficiency it hopes to achieve. The 197,991-sq-ft site has a maximum gross floor area of 728,145.5 sq ft and Ms Wong believes between 600 and 700 units can be built. 'It all depends on the design,' she said.

Buyers of DBSS developments enjoy the same perks accorded to those buying normal HDB flats, including CPF housing grants for those eligible.

Ms Wong said that the new development could be launched within six to nine months. 'We are targeting HDB upgraders and first-time buyers,' she added.

If demand for the first DBSS project by Sim Lian Land is any indication, Hoi Hup should see an equally good response for the Boon Keng Road development. Sim Lian's Premiere@Tampines received close to 6,000 applications for its 616-unit development. The average selling price was around $300 psf.

Located closer to the city, the Boon Keng Road site is expected to be priced higher.

Savills Singapore director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong estimates that the break-even cost could be closer to $400 psf. On the size of the bid, he said: 'For this site, the price seems OK.'

Mr Ku said prices for new private residential developments in the vicinity are rising.

A check with SISV-Realink database reveals that a unit at the 99-year leasehold Citylights on Jellicoe Road recently sold for $1,000 psf on the secondary market, although average prices are lower.

Perhaps more important, as Mr Ku notes, is that the HDB appears to have bridged the gap between public and private housing successfully with DBSS. 'It's an indication that the government is doing creative things,' he said.

May 30, 2007

Condo-like public housing: $170m bid for 2nd site

Top bid from group linked to Straits Construction for 1.8ha Boon Keng Road site

By Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent


A CONSORTIUM linked to established contractor Straits Construction yesterday emerged tops in the tender for the second site for public housing to be built and sold by private developers.

The group, comprising Straits' subsidiary Hoi Hup Realty, Sunway Concrete Products and Oriental Worldwide Investments, submitted the highest bid - of $170.2 million - among six parties for the 1.8ha site in Boon Keng Road.

The next highest bid of $128.2 million was submitted by Sim Lian Land, which is developing the first such project in Tampines called The Premiere@Tampines.

The other bidders were Chng Gim Huat, Boon Keng Development, CEL Development and a team comprising SP Development and Greatearth Developments.

The site, which consultants say can accommodate an estimated 600 flats, comes with a 103-year lease. It was put up for sale in March after the pilot Tampines project drew almost 6,000 applications for its 616 units.

Under this particular public housing programme, private developers are free to design, build, price and sell the flats. But they can sell the homes to only people who qualify for public housing.

This means that they have to be bought by family units, the ethnic quota has to be maintained, and the buyers' monthly household income cannot exceed $8,000.

The Housing Board will evaluate the tender and is expected to announce the successful bidder in the next two weeks.

The eventual winner will have to set aside at least 30 per cent of the flats for four-room or smaller units.

The Premiere was known for its condominium-like features - generous balconies, floor-to-ceiling wardrobes and air-conditioning units - which set it apart from typical public housing developments.

The general manager of Straits Construction, Mr Kenneth Loo, told The Straits Times yesterday that his company also plans to introduce 'condo-like' flats at the Boon Keng site, with a 'bit more refinement' than the ones in the Tampines project.

[email protected]

Bidders go flat out for 2nd design-and-build project

Leong Wee Keat

[email protected]


IT was a novel concept that turned out to be a runaway success — about 6,000 people applied last year for the 616 flats at the Premiere in Tampines, which was under the Housing Board's (HDB's) first Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).

No wonder then that six private developers are eyeing the second such site offered by the HDB, putting in bids of up to $170 million by the close of tender yesterday.

This works out to $2,516 per square metre for the Boon Keng Road site, more than double the highest bid of $1,224 per square metre received for the Tampines site.

Sim Lian Land, who was awarded the first site, was not the top bidder. It ranked No 2, after a consortium of Hoi Hup Realty, Sunway Concrete Products and Oriental Worldwide Investments.

Other bidders are Chng Gim Huat, SP Development, Boon Keng Development and CEL Development.

Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said the first DBSS project gave developers confidence to bid even higher this time.

"The first DBSS project was untested and developers had questions over whether consumers would take to the project," he told Today. Premiere @ Tampines was 10 times oversubscribed.

Mr Mak added: "The market is also doing very well. While the bids are fairly bullish, they also showed the developers' confidence in the booming property market."

Under the DBSS scheme, a private developer takes over the HDB's role in deciding how the flats will look, what size units to build, and how the flats will be priced and marketed to the public.

Would-be buyers can expect more smaller flats at Boon Keng Road, which has a maximum allowable gross floor area of 67,647 sq m.

Following feedback from the first exercise, the HDB has stipulated that at least 30 per cent of the project should consist of four-room or smaller flats.

While the tender will be evaluated based on the tender prices, a HDB spokesman said it is "not bound to accept the highest or any tender". The tender will be awarded in two weeks' time.

June 6, 2007

Consortium to build condo-like flats

A CONSORTIUM linked to contractor Straits Construction was yesterday picked to develop the second public housing project to be built and sold by the private sector.

Straits Construction subsidiary Hoi Hup Realty, Sunway Concrete Products and Oriental Worldwide Investments emerged as the front runner in the tender last month for a 1.8ha site in Boon Keng Road where the project will be located.

Its bid of $170.2 million was about 30 per cent more than the next highest bidder, Sim Lian Land, which is building the first such project under this scheme in Tampines.

Under the programme, which aims to create more variety in housing types, private developers get to design, build, price and sell flats. These homes can be bought only by those eligible for public housing, which means that buyers' monthly household income cannot exceed $8,000.

On the flip side, buyers can use government housing grants to offset the cost of these flats.

The consortium will have to set aside at least 30 per cent of the flats it builds for four-room or smaller units.

Hoi Hup said last week that the project, which could have about 600 to 700 homes, can be launched within six to nine months.

The first such development, called The Premiere@Tampines, drew close to 6,000 applications for its 616 units. The homes came with condominium-like features such as generous balconies, floor- to-ceiling wardrobes and air-conditioning units.

They are expected to be ready by 2009.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

'Condo-like' HDB

Winner of second DBSS tender plans swank facilities

Leong Wee Keat
[email protected]


BUYERS can expect "condominium-like features" at the second public housing project in Singapore to be built by a private developer.

A consortium — linked to established contractor Straits Construction — was yesterday awarded the tender to build the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) second Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project.

The group, comprising Straits Construction subsidiary Hoi Hup Realty, Sunway Concrete Products and Oriental Worldwide Investments, had submitted the highest bid of $170.2 million for the Boon Keng Road site.

It had beaten five other bidders — including the winner of the first site, Sim Lian Land — in the tender.

While it is putting final touches to the development plans, Straits Construction general manager Kenneth Loo told Today that buyers can expect similar condominium-like features seen in the first DBSS project in Tampines, The Premiere.

The Premiere had condominium finishings such as teak parquet flooring, Italian kitchen hobs and built-in wardrobes, setting it apart from typical public housing developments. And it was a runaway success as 6,000 people applied last year for the 616 flats available. The Boon Keng Road development, aimed at HDB upgraders, is expected to generate a similar response, said Mr Loo.

"We are confident that we will come up with a good product," he said.

The consortium's confidence is also reflected in its winning bid — it paid $2,516 per square metre for the Boon Keng Road site, more than double the winning bid of $1,224 per square metre received for the Tampines site.

Following feedback from the first exercise, the HDB has stipulated that at least 30 per cent of the project should consist of four-room or smaller flats, so would-be buyers can expect more of these.

Under the DBSS scheme, a private developer takes over the HDB's role in deciding how the flats will look, what size units to build, and how the flats will be priced and marketed to the public.

The Boon Keng project, which comes with a 103-year lease, is likely to be launched for sale in six to nine months' time, with the construction expected to be completed in three years' time.