http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...u-kang-ec-plot

Tender deadline pushed back for Choa Chu Kang EC plot

By Mindy Tan

[email protected]@MindyTanBT

Jul 1, 2015


THE tender deadline for the executive condominium (EC) plot at Choa Chu Kang Avenue 5 has been pushed back due to a new condition imposed by the Housing and Development Board.

In an amendment issued on June 15, HDB said that the development built on the plot will have to be set back at least 15 metres from the line of road reserve along Choa Chu Kang Ave 5. This is to maintain the quality of the streetscape.

The tender for the site, which allows for the building of ECs which are a public and private housing hybrid, will now close on July 28.

The land parcel has a site area of 16,386.1 square metres with gross plot ratio not exceeding 3.0. The 99-year leasehold site can yield about 490 residential units.

Analysts were lukewarm about the site when it was launched in May, citing limited amenities and its distance - about 1.8 km - from Choa Chu Kang MRT station.

JLL national director Ong Teck Hui said then that bidders for the site would take into account the slow sales for most EC projects launched since late last year.

"The number of uncompleted EC units with pre-requisites for sale that have been launched but unsold has been increasing," he told BT then. "It was 2,129 units as at Q1 2015, up from 874 units in Q1 2014 and 372 units in Q1 2013 - reflecting the increasing challenge in moving new EC sales."

Property consultants polled then said they expected the site to fetch between three and seven bids. Their forecast for the top bid was in the S$250 to S$330 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) range.