Pasir Ris white site up for sale by public tender

Bids for 99-year leasehold site next to Pasir Ris MRT station will be evaluated in a dual-envelope exercise: HDB

Tue, Aug 28, 2018



A WHITE site at Pasir Ris Central, spanning 3.8 hectares, was launched for sale off the government land sales (GLS) confirmed list in a dual-envelope public tender on Monday.

The 99-year leasehold site went on the market with the Housing & Development Board (HDB) calling for a mixed-use commercial and residential development, as part of its "Remaking Our Heartland" plan to rejuvenate Pasir Ris Town.

The land parcel next to Pasir Ris MRT station must be integrated with a bus interchange, a polyclinic and a town plaza, and can yield up to 600 private homes, said HDB. The maximum permissible gross floor area is 95,010 sq m (1.02 million sq ft), with a proposed gross plot ratio of 2.5.

Pointing to the seven bids in a recent Sengkang GLS site tender, Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, told The Business Times that the Pasir Ris plot could get six to eight offers as well, based on the similarities between the sites.

Knight Frank Singapore's senior director and head of research, Lee Nai Jia, also predicted at least six to eight bids and said that the winning bidder could offer between S$800 and S$830 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The price tag is "likely to reflect the existing market conditions in view of the cooling measures", he told BT. "Notwithstanding, there is not much new supply in the area . . . There is likely to be strong demand from upgraders and the young families that want to stay near their parents in the area."

But Tricia Song, head of research for Singapore at Colliers International, was more bearish. She said that there could be as few as four bids, topping out at S$800 psf ppr. The Sengkang Central site may have gone for S$924 psf ppr, but more units were allowed and it had no mall nearby, she noted.

"Given the substantial size of the plot and various tender conditions, we think this site could likely attract larger developers or a consortium of them working together," she added.

Lee Sze Teck, research head at Huttons Asia, also figured that joint ventures and real estate investment trust sponsors would be likely bidders.

Bids received will be evaluated under a concept and price revenue system, where tenderers have to submit their concept proposals and tender prices in two separate envelopes.

HDB will hold a briefing on key planning and urban design requirements and evaluation criteria on Sept 11. The tender closes at noon on Dec 14.