Novelty Group buys St Thomas Walk site for $810 psf ppr

Property
Published November 14, 2006

Eng Tai Mansion sold for $76.5m

Novelty Group buys St Thomas Walk site for $810 psf ppr

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

NOVELTY Group is buying the freehold Eng Tai Mansion at St Thomas Walk for $76.5 million, or about $810 per square foot of potential gross floor area inclusive of an estimated $10.4 million development charges (DC), BT understands.

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Novelty can redevelop the 38,300 sq ft site into a condo with 60 units averaging 1,800 sq ft. Breakeven could be around $1,200 psf

Jones Lang LaSalle brokered the collective sale. The property consultancy had marketed the property through a tender which closed on Nov 9.

Novelty can redevelop the 38,300 sq ft site into a 36-storey condo with about 60 units averaging 1,800 sq ft.

The breakeven cost for a new condo could be around $1,200 psf, say market watchers.

The District 9 site is zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio (ratio of potential gross floor area to land area) and a maximum height of 36 storeys.

Eng Tai currently comprises two blocks with a total of 50 apartments owned by more than 40 owners.

Last month, City Developments bought Futura at Leonie Hill Road - also in the River Valley area - for a unit land price of $1,179 psf per plot ratio or an absolute sum of $287.3 million.

Novelty Group is involved in the department store business besides property development.

Its projects include Bluwaters condo in Pasir Ris and The Murano in Pasir Panjang.

Earlier this year, the group bought White House Park Apartments for $22 million from Asia General Holdings group.

The price paid for the freehold property in the Stevens/White House Park roads area, worked out to about $650 psf of existing strata area.

Novelty is expected to refurbish the 14 apartments and five townhouses in the four-storey development before selling them, according to a BT report in July this year.