The Orchard Bel Air en bloc development has been discontinued without a sale; 5 Oxley Rise and Oxley Garden have also not been acquired

Sep 06, 2022

On Tuesday (September 6), the public tender sale of Orchard Bel Air came to a close, and the owners of the property have begun engaging into conversations with prospective buyers.

The prime condominium in District 10 was listed for sale on July 27 at a price of S$587.5 million. It is located right outside the entrance of the Orchard Boulevard MRT Station, which is scheduled to open in the near future.

The 99-year leasehold tenure for the 71-unit construction began in August of 1980, and the land area of the property is about 93,126 square feet (sq ft). It has a building height limit of up to 36 storeys and a gross plot ratio (GPR) of 2.8, both of which are outlined in the Master Plan 2019 for the area.

After taking into account an upgrade premium of roughly 131 million Singapore dollars for the lease top-up, the marketing firm Knight Frank had stated that the property's reference price equates to a land rate of around 2,600 Singapore dollars per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

No development charge is charged. This equates to around S$2,526 per square foot, per plot ratio when one takes into account the seven percent additional gross floor space that is permitted for balconies.

Park House, which is located just across the street from Orchard Bel Air, was the location of the most recent successful large-scale en bloc sale in the general region of Orchard Boulevard.

In June of 2018, Park House was sold for a total of S$375.5 million, which is equivalent to S$2,910 psf ppr.

In the meantime, the public tender sale of two Prime District 9 plots, namely 5 Oxley Rise and Oxley Garden, came to a conclusion on June 8 and June 14, respectively, without any transactions being made.

First introduced on April 19th, 5 Oxley Rise is a unique freehold landed site that spans a massive 151,205 square feet, and bids in excess of S$300 million were anticipated before the property was put up for sale.

Journalists have been informed that its sellers are having confidential conversations with a number of interested parties.

It is said that 5 Oxley Rise is one of the very few freehold residential landed properties that are still available inside the exclusive Orchard Road region.

On the summit of a hill, this property consists of two land plots, a bungalow with two stories, and four outbuildings, all of which are encircled by extensive vegetation.

The bungalow is an iconic home that is steeped in rich past, and it has been the residence of various famous personalities throughout the history of Singapore. Manasseh Meyer was a Jewish businessman who was responsible for the construction of the neighbouring Chesed-El Synagogue. Cheong Eak Chong was one of the pioneer real estate developers in Singapore and the founder of Hong Fok Corporation and the Tian Teck group. Both of these men are mentioned here.

The property is being marketed by CBRE, and it is believed that it is held by seven members of the same family, all of whom are sons of the late patriarch.

In accordance with the Master Plan for 2019, the property in question is designated for the purpose of residential (2-storey mixed landed) development.

Oxley Garden, which is located directly next to 5 Oxley Rise and was likewise put up for sale not long after, has a starting price of S$200 million and is now on the market. According to BT's understanding, the company's owners are intending to restart the en-bloc selling process.

The four-story Oxley Garden was constructed in 1986, and it is situated on a 58,207 square foot freehold property that is divided in half by an access road that is owned by the owners of 5 Oxley Rise.

Based on its current GPR of 1.4645, the property may be redeveloped into a 5-story condominium with a gross floor area (GFA) of 85,246 square feet. The site now has six blocks with a total of forty-six walk-up flats.

The company's marketing agent, JLL, had said that the GFA could be expanded to 92,065 square feet with a gross per square foot ratio of 1.5817, in addition to an 8% bonus GFA.