Two new high-end projects coming up in Leonie Hill area

Published April 19, 2007

Two new high-end projects coming up in Leonie Hill area

By UMA SHANKARI


PROPERTY developers Koh Brothers and Heeton Holdings yesterday announced their new high-end project in the Leonie Hill area, saying that they will continue to look for more land sites in the prime districts, both individually and as a team.


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The Lumos: The majority of units here will be three and four-bedders of 1,700 sq ft and 3,300 sq ft


The 53-unit The Lumos could be launched at between $2,500 and $3,000 per square foot (psf), in line with prices that apartments in other projects in the area are fetching, the two companies said.

The tentative launch date is set for around the end of next month.

Twelve out of 44 units in Soilbuild's Leonie Parc View have been sold before the project's launch, through private placements to buyers from Hong Kong and Indonesia, sources told BT. The units fetched an average price of $2,700 psf. Apartment sizes range from 2,013 sq ft to about 6,600 sq ft for the largest penthouse.

Leonie Parc View will now be marketed in Indonesia and Hong Kong through roadshows over the next two weekends, BT understands.

For The Lumos, Koh Brothers and Heeton, who each hold a 50 per cent stake, bought the site in April last year for $79.2 million, or about $880 psf per plot ratio including a development charge of about $3.9 million.

'I think now is a good time and we are ready, so we want to launch it,' said Koh Brothers chief executive Francis Koh. 'The property market is quite buoyant and the demand is there,' he added.

However, with the large number of upmarket projects launched lately, there is a need to distinguish The Lumos, Mr Koh said. He aims to do this through the project's 'unique' design and facilities such as a sky garden for each unit.

The 36-storey project will feature iconic architecture evolved from the idea of a chandelier. Units will be equipped with state-of-the art interior fittings to cater to the project's target market.

The designer fittings, as well as the increased price of sand, has pushed the project's breakeven cost to $1,200-$1,300 psf, said Mr Koh.

Units in the project will range from from one-bedders of 635 sq ft to two penthouses of 6,000 sq ft each. The majority of units will be three and four-bedders of 1,700 sq ft and 3,300 sq ft.

The Lumos is the second time that Koh Brothers has joined hands with Heeton. The two companies jointly developed the Sun Plaza shopping mall next to Sembawang MRT station.

And more projects could follow as they could bid for further sites together, said Danny Low, executive director of Heeton Holdings.

Both developers still intend to focus on the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11 for land acquisitions, although they are also interested in mass market sites in suburban areas because of recent signs that the mass market is picking up.

For Koh Brothers, Mr Koh said that with land cost in the Orchard Road area increasingly expensive, the company will look to build up its land bank through sites in the Bukit Timah and Holland Road areas, where there is still a potential upside for prices.

Koh Brothers' stock closed unchanged at 43 cents yesterday, while Heeton's shares fell one cent to close at 71 cents.