Outram Park MRT plot could draw bids topping $1b

URA offers white site above Outram Park MRT station

By Loh Kim Chin, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 27 June 2007 2047 hrs


SINGAPORE : The Urban Redevelopment Authority is inviting applications from developers for the white site directly above the Outram Park MRT station.

The 99-year leasehold site at the junction of Outram Road and Eu Tong Sen Street sits on 26,000 square metres.

It has a gross floor area of over 143,000 square metres.

At least 50 percent of the total gross floor area will have to be set aside for office use and at least another 20 percent for hotel use.

Property consultant CB Richard Ellis says it expects the site to fetch about $650 to $700 per square foot per plot ratio. - CNA/ch

June 28, 2007

Outram Park MRT plot could draw bids topping $1b

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter


BIDS of more than $1 billion are expected for a large site on top of Outram Park MRT Station, which was released by the Government yesterday.

The 2.56ha plot, at the junction of Outram Road and Eu Tong Sen Street, is set to attract keen interest from property developers due to its good location and large size, property consultants said.

The site is also notable for being the first one to be offered for development in Pearl's Hill, thus kick-starting the area's redevelopment, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday.

The area is planned for a mix of homes and commercial buildings set within a garden. It will centre on Pearl's Hill City Park, which will be transformed into two parks.

The new site will offer direct frontage to one of these parks, the URA said.

Half of the site's total gross floor area of 1.54 million sq ft must be used for offices. Another 20 per cent of the area, or about 308,000 sq ft, must cater to hotel rooms.

But the rest of the area is 'white' - which means it can be used for homes, shops, or more hotel or office space.

It is the only 'white' site to be released on the Government's reserve list for the first half of this year.

Under the reserve list system, an interested buyer must submit a bid for the plot at an acceptable price to the Government, which will then put the site up for public tender.

Consultants such as Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CB Richard Ellis Research, said the plot is a 'prime site with lots of commercial potential'.

'We expect the site to fetch about $650 to $700 per sq ft per plot ratio,' he said. This puts the total price at between $1 billion and $1.08 billion.

'In view of the large size of the development, interested developers are likely to form a consortium to jointly bid for the site,' he said.

Mr Li added that the 'white' area of the site is likely to be turned into a retail mall to cater to the high pedestrian volume streaming out from Outram Park MRT Station as well as the 'dense residential population' in the area.

It 'offers developers an opportunity to develop a good-quality mall to rejuvenate the retail scene around Chinatown', he said.

The Pearl's Hill area - known for its old landmark buildings, myriad hotels and its proximity to Chinatown - has been in the spotlight recently.

Pearl Bank Apartments, a 30-year-old development just outside the Pearl's Hill City Park, is said to be gunning for a collective sale that could fetch more than $500 million.