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Thread: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

  1. #1
    DrMinority Guest

    Default High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    The Straits Times (Singapore)
    March 26, 2008 Wednesday
    High Court rejects Airview Towers' collective sale
    Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

    A SINGLE home owner has managed to persuade the High Court to reject the $202 million collective sale of Airview Towers in the River Valley area.

    The sole objector, Mr Ken Lee, 52, a business consultant, pulled off the victory by representing himself in court against the might of top Singapore law firm Harry Elias Partnership.

    The High Court upheld a decision of the Strata Titles Board (STB) last October to throw out the sale application as the minimum 80 per cent approval had not been met in the required time.

    Mr Lee said the case showed that the system is fair and considers the views of minority owners.

    Bukit Sembawang Estates was the prospective buyer. Unit owners would have reaped about $2 million each.

    The court case centred on just two out of the 100 units at Airview Towers, which made the crucial difference between the approval level rising above or falling below 80 per cent.

    These two new owners had bought their units during the collective sale process from owners who had signed the agreement - but the new owners failed to sign the agreement in time.

    Justice Lee Seiu Kin, in a judgment dated March 19, concluded that the two flats should not be counted. The owners of the two units, whose signatures were originally counted as part of the 80 per cent had, in effect, not signed in time, he said.

    That meant the condo did not meet the minimum requirement for the sale to go ahead of 80 per cent of share values within 12 months of the first signature.

    As a result, he threw out the appeal against STB's dismissal of the sale application.

    He said the 12-month timeline for the 80 per cent minimum requirement is a 'substantive' condition put in place by the legislature to protect the legitimate rights of the minority.

    The plaintiffs, three owners, argued that the owners of the pivotal two units agreed all along to the sale. Their failure to sign was due to 'mistake or inadvertence' and so was a technicality.

    But the judge ruled that non-compliance with the timeline is not a mere technicality.

    He said safeguards were built into the Land Titles (Strata) Act, allowing for the consideration of all objections of minority owners, and other factors. 'Timing is important because the longer the process is dragged out, the greater the likelihood that market conditions will change.'

    Numerous owners agreed to the sale after the 12-month period. Mr Lee said he objected only over concerns that the sale process was not being done properly - which was some time last June after he had rushed out to buy a replacement unit.

    'I had nine objections but only one was found necessary to halt the sale,' said Mr Lee.

    He added: 'I respect the majority's wish to sell, but they should be mindful of the minority's rights to their homes.

    'That means they have to sell it at a proper en bloc price and do it properly and legally.'

    An owner who signed the agreement after the estate's sale tender was launched said he is 'very happy' it did not go through.

    'I was misled into signing the (agreement). I was told they had launched the tender and 80 per cent have signed,' said Mr Foo Feng Yin, 54.

    'I am very grateful to Mr Lee as I feel that the sale wasn't done in a transparent manner. The proceeds are also not enough for me to find a replacement unit in the same area.'

    Listed Bukit Sembawang won the tender last April. It was planning a 36-storey condo on the site and an adjacent site, Chez Bright Apartment, that it bought in an en bloc sale in 2006. It could not be reached for comment yesterday.

    Property consultants said the firm is unlikely to take the case further.

    'Chez Bright can be developed into a small upmarket development,' said Savills Residential director Ku Swee Yong

    'Given today's tighter credit terms and slower pace of sales, this decision is probably a positive for Bukit Sembawang.'

    [email protected]

  2. #2
    DrMinority Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    [Posting earlier articles on Airview)

    The Straits Times (Singapore)
    April 3, 2007 Tuesday
    River Valley estate sells for $202m
    Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

    BUKIT Sembawang Estates announced yesterday that it has won a tender for the purchase of Airview Towers in St Thomas Walk in the River Valley area for $202.17 million.

    This is below the owners' revised asking price of $210 million, which is 50 per cent above the initial level they wanted last June.

    Each owner in the 100-unit freehold development will reap about $2 million from the sale.

    The price works out to nearly $1,038 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the 5,877.4 sq m site. No development charge is due.

    The group bought the neighbouring Chez Bright Apartments site for $54 million, or just $625 psf ppr, last year.

    The plots will be combined, giving a land area of 9,073.4 sq m. It can be redeveloped into a 36-storey condominium with a total gross floor area of 27,050 sq m, the group said.

    The average price of the combined sites works out to be $880 psf ppr, it added.

    Two other collective sale sites were made available for sale by expression of interest yesterday.

    One is the 24-unit freehold Serene House in the Bukit Timah area, near the upcoming Botanic Garden MRT station.

    Marketing agent Colliers International said the site comes with an indicated value of $55 million or $924 psf ppr.

    The second is the freehold 81-unit The Balmoral, off Stevens Road, which is marketed by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

    In East Coast Road, JTML Properties has put up the freehold Merlin Mansion for sale at $26 million, excluding development charge. Its tender closes on Thursday.

    JTML is also handling the sale of mixed development Changi Garden condo off Upper Changi North Road.

  3. #3
    DrMinority Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    [Posting earlier articles]

    The Business Times Singapore
    April 3, 2007 Tuesday
    Bukit Sembawang pays $202m for Airview site

    BUKIT Sembawang Estates has won the tender for the Airview Towers freehold site at St Thomas Walk for about $202.17 million.

    It won the properties at 2 and 10 St Thomas Walk through subsidiary Bukit Sembawang View Pte Ltd.

    The site has a land area of 5,877.4 square metres, with allowable gross floor area (GFA) of about 18,102 sq m (inclusive of 10 per cent of development GFA for balcony space). No development charge is payable.

    The purchase price reflects a unit land cost of $1,141 per square foot per plot ratio based on a 2.8 plot ratio. Inclusive of the 10 per cent extra GFA for balconies, the price is lower at $1,037 psf ppr.

    The sale of Airview Towers was brokered by DTZ Debenham Tie Leung.

    Bukit Sembawang View will build a 36-storey condominium by combining this lot with a neighbouring en-bloc site currently known as Chez Bright, which it acquired last year. The total area for development will be 9,073.4 sq m with GFA of 27,050 sq m. The average price of the combined site works out to $880 psf ppr.

  4. #4
    DrMinority Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    [Posting 2006 article on Airview]
    The Business Times Singapore
    May 17, 2006 Wednesday
    Airview Towers owners woo developers;
    More flexibility, upside seen in 'collective exchange' than sale

    Arthur Sim

    AIRVIEW Towers in River Valley Road is for sale - sort of. DTZ Debenham Tie Leung has been appointed by a sale committee of owners to look for developers keen on the 63,264 sq ft property.

    DTZ's director of investment advisory services Tang Wei Leng said an expression-of-interest exercise will give both buyers and sellers 'flexibility' to negotiate the terms before anyone actually signs on the dotted line, or even before a contract is drawn-up.

    With the recent 'collective exchange' of Paterson Lodge - existing home owners opted for new units in the redevelopment of their building rather than cash payment - more home owners are considering this route rather than a traditional collective sale, as there could be more upside.

    Based on recent prices at new developments in the area, Ms Tang reckons the land price for Airview Towers, which has a plot ratio of 2.8, could be about $750-$800 psf ppr. This would work out to about $135-$142 million in total. On average, existing owners would reap a 30-40 per cent premium on the current market price for individual units.

    But through a collective exchange, Ms Tang says owners who take a 'future view can ride through the market and hope for future capital appreciation rather than cash out at a particular price at this point in time'.

    Although a collective exchange throws up contractual complexities, as owners and the developer have to be amenable to the terms, Ms Tang says she has received more requests for this option recently.

    Developers, however, have a choice in the vicinity of Airview Towers. Also for sale in the same area is a warehouse at Martin, Narayanan Chetty and Muthuraman Chetty roads.

    Opposite the former TradeMart site, which is now RiverGate condominium, the 44,477 sq ft redevelopment site, with a plot ratio of 2.8, is being marketed by Jones Lang LaSalle.

    JLL's regional director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt says the site will primarily be for residential use but will also have a commercial component on the first storey.

    The maximum GFA is 124,500 sq ft and the land price is likely to be $750-$800 psf ppr including development charge.

  5. #5
    DrMinority Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    [Airview attempted an enbloc in 1999 as well]
    The Straits Times (Singapore)
    November 22, 1999
    Airview Towers in River Valley up for en bloc sale

    A PRIME freehold River Valley Road site, Airview Towers, is on the market by collective sale. Its neighbours Chez Bright Apartments and St Thomas Mansion are also in the process of joining the sale.

    The amalgamated site of the three residential developments -measuring almost 120,000 sq ft in total -is expected to fetch a cool $ 300 million.

    On its own, the Airview Towers site could fetch as much as $ 135 million. This is based on the recent Devonshire Court transaction in which Allgreen Properties, the second-largest listed developer here, paid $ 775 per sq ft of potential built-up floor area, property sources said.

    At that price, the breakeven cost for the new development should be around $ 1,200 psf -a threshold which should be crossed easily since recent transactions in the secondary market for nearby developments such as Mirage Tower and Aspen Heights have achieved $ 1,200 to $ 1,400 psf.

    Marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle said the two 13-storey apartment blocks at Airview Towers sit on 63,264 sq ft of prime land, which comes with a 2.8 plot ratio and a 30-storey height restriction under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's guide plan for the area.

    JLL director and head of investment sales Terence Tang said the key selling point of the site is its prime location within the prestigious residential District 9.

    He added that the two sites next door are presently at the signing stage and he expected to get the necessary 80 per cent approvals for each of them within a fortnight.

    The tender for Airview Towers will close on Jan 12. In a separate sale, a single owner has put up a freehold 35,102 sq ft site at Changi Road for sale by tender.

    The site, near the Kembangan MRT Station, is expected to fetch more than $ 22 million as it can yield more than 70,000 sq ft in gross floor area, sources said.

    The price works out to about $ 300 to $ 320 psf of potential built-up floorspace and the break-even cost could be in the region of about $ 650 to $ 680 psf, they said.

    Market watchers said the going price in the area was about $ 750 psf and this means that the developer would still be able to make a decent profit margin.

    JLL associate director Ho Eng Joo said the site is accessible easily and ideal for residential and commercial projects or institutional use.

    He said interest is expected to be good for the tender which closes on Dec 16.

  6. #6
    Unregistered Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    100 less buyers on the market.

  7. #7
    Unregistered Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered
    100 less buyers on the market.
    maybe all get sued by bukit sembawang. must buy popcorn and get ready for show.

  8. #8
    Unregistered Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered
    100 less buyers on the market.
    correction, 100 more replacement units in the resale market.

  9. #9
    Unregistered Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Quote Originally Posted by Unregistered
    correction, 100 more replacement units in the resale market.
    Correction 100 less buyers and 1 more dreamer in the market.

  10. #10
    Unregistered Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Correction. The tide is turning for the majority bullies.

  11. #11
    DrMinority Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Latest info on Airview is that it's not all over. From SGX:

    Bukit Sembawang Estates Limited

    Purchase of Lot 444C TS21 Also Known as Airview Towers at 2 & 10 St Thomas Walk ("Property")
    Ruling of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore

    The Board of Directors (the "Board") refers to the announcement dated 2 April 2007 made by the Company in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Property by our subsidiary, Bukit Sembawang View Pte Ltd.

    As announced earlier, the completion of the acquisition of teh Property was subject, inter alia, to orders made by the Strata Titles Board (the "STB"). On 31 October 2007, the STB dismissed the vendor's application for approval of the sale of the Property.

    The vendor appealed against the decision of the STB to the High Court of the Republic of Singapore (the "High Court"). On 19 March 2008, the High Court dismissed the vendor's appeal. The vendor has informed our subsidiary that a further appeal, to the Court of Appeal, will be filed.

    The Company will wait for the outcome of the vendor's appeal to the Court of Appeal and make further announcements in the event that there are any material developments.

    By order of the board

    Tan Sim Peng
    Company Secretary
    3 April 2008

    Source: SGX Info on Bukit Sembawang

  12. #12
    Unregistered Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Quote Originally Posted by DrMinority
    Latest info on Airview is that it's not all over. From SGX:

    Bukit Sembawang Estates Limited

    Purchase of Lot 444C TS21 Also Known as Airview Towers at 2 & 10 St Thomas Walk ("Property")
    Ruling of the High Court of the Republic of Singapore

    The Board of Directors (the "Board") refers to the announcement dated 2 April 2007 made by the Company in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Property by our subsidiary, Bukit Sembawang View Pte Ltd.

    As announced earlier, the completion of the acquisition of teh Property was subject, inter alia, to orders made by the Strata Titles Board (the "STB"). On 31 October 2007, the STB dismissed the vendor's application for approval of the sale of the Property.

    The vendor appealed against the decision of the STB to the High Court of the Republic of Singapore (the "High Court"). On 19 March 2008, the High Court dismissed the vendor's appeal. The vendor has informed our subsidiary that a further appeal, to the Court of Appeal, will be filed.

    The Company will wait for the outcome of the vendor's appeal to the Court of Appeal and make further announcements in the event that there are any material developments.

    By order of the board

    Tan Sim Peng
    Company Secretary
    3 April 2008

    Source: SGX Info on Bukit Sembawang
    Drug trafficking: hanging?


    Murder: hanging?

    Majority of the enblocs: HANGING?

    Murder: hanging?

  13. #13
    Unregistered Guest

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Messed Up? Simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and ALL is gone from your lives forever!!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    107

    Default Re: High Court rejects Airview Towers' Collective Sale

    Ken Lee won but lost.Innocent then sentenced guilty.

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