HDB offers design, build and sell site for tender

Published March 16, 2007

IN THE HEARTLANDS

HDB offers design, build and sell site for tender

1.8-ha plot at Boon Keng, Bendemeer junction could fetch $87-95m

By UMA SHANKARI


THE Housing & Development Board yesterday said that it would launch a 1.8 hectare site at the junction of Boon Keng Road and Bendemeer Road for sale by tender today under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS).

The site could fetch $87-95 million, or $120-130 per square foot per plot ratio, market watchers said.

'We expect a good response from mid-sized developers, or joint-ventures of contractors and developers,' said Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CB Richard Ellis' research unit.

He pointed out that for the pilot site offered under DBSS, the Premiere At Tampines, 6,000 people applied for the 616 flats.

This site has a land area of 18,400 square metres and a maximum gross floor area of 67,600 square metres. Building height can range from 122 metres to 131 metres.

This means that a developer could build as many as 600 units and go as high as 40 storeys, said Nicholas Mak, Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy. The site is near Boon Keng MRT station.

In response to public feedback, HDB said that it would impose a new condition that 30 per cent of flats in this project must have a floor area of 95 square metres or less, which means they would be four-room flats or smaller.

Said HDB: 'The aim here is to promote social integration and provide more choices for those who wish to buy smaller DBSS flats.'

Property firm ERA said that four-room flats in the vicinity now go for $300,000-350,000, while five-room flats sell for $400,000-450,000. Most of the flats in the project could go for $350,000-500,000 by the time the project is launched, said ERA assistant vice-president Eugene Lim.

The DBSS scheme was launched in 2005 as part of the government's move to gradually open up the public housing building programme to the private sector. Market competition, it was hoped, would result in greater innovation in building and design, greater choice of flats, and better value for money for flat buyers.

Under the scheme, the chosen developer will undertake the entire public housing development process, from tendering of the land, to designing, building and selling the flats.

Like flats developed by HDB, unit sold under DBSS come with a 99-year lease and will be offered to buyers under the same HDB eligibility conditions.

The housing board said that the tender would close at noon on May 29.

March 16, 2007

2nd site for 'condo like' public housing

Boon Keng Road tender requires at least 30 per cent of flats to be four-room or smaller

By Tan Hui Yee, Housing Correspondent


THE popularity of the initial condo-style public apartments in Tampines has led to a second site being put up for tender - this time with a quota set for smaller units.

The 1.8ha site, released by the Housing Board for tender today, is at the junction of Boon Keng Road and Bendemeer Road, next to the Boon Keng MRT station.

As in the first project, The Premiere@Tampines, the scheme allows a private developer to design, build and sell public housing at a price it sets.

This time, the developer is required to set aside at least 30 per cent of the flats for four-room or smaller units.

In its statement yesterday, the HDB said this was in response to public feedback as well as to 'promote social integration' and give more choices to those who wished to buy smaller flats.

The Premiere@Tampines, featuring flats with generous balconies, built-in wardrobes and air-conditioning units, had just 40 four-room or smaller flats, out of a total of 616 units.

With a height restriction of up to 131m, or about 42 storeys, consultants say the new site will be able to accommodate about 600 flats, all of which have to be elderly-friendly as well.

Going by this estimate, just under 200 units will be available as smaller and more affordable flats. The tender for the site closes on May 29 and the successful developer will have four years to complete the project.

Property consultant Nicholas Mak from Knight Frank expects a keen contest after the red-hot demand for such flats in Tampines, with the bids likely to come from developers which are also contractors.

The Premiere@Tampines, developed by Sim Lian Land, generated immense interest last year. Despite the relatively higher prices - $308,000 to $450,000 for its five-room flats, for example - almost 6,000 people applied for its 616 units.

Under this HDB scheme, which aims to increase the variety of public housing available, private developers get to design, build, price and sell the flats at selected sites. They can be bought only by families earning no more than $8,000 a month.

Sim Lian's executive director, Ms Diana Kuik, said her company will examine the details of the latest site before deciding if it wanted to make a bid. She expects homes there to be popular with young people wanting to move closer to the city.

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HDB to launch sale of site at Boon Keng Road under DBSS

Posted: 15 March 2007 2225 hrs


http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/2...g9dac03le0.jpg
Location plan at Boon Keng Road


SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will launch the sale of a site at Boon Keng Road for tender under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) on Friday.

This is the second site to be offered under the scheme where private developers have the flexibility to design and price the flats.

Last year, the flats at the pilot site at Tampines Avenue 6 were oversubscribed within hours.

The second site is located at the junction of Boon Keng Road and Bedemeer Road, and is next to the Boon Keng MRT Station.

30 percent of the units under this project must have a floor area of 95 square metres or below, equivalent to a 4-room flat or smaller.

Like flats developed by HDB, flats under DBSS come with a 99-year lease and will be offered to buyers under the usual HDB eligibility conditions.

Tender closes on 29 May.


- CNA/so