Lee Foundation-linked company selling two Barker Road bungalows for S$32.2 million

Price for the freehold land area of 14,123 sq ft works out to S$2,280 psf

Jun 01, 2023



PULAU Properties – owned by the Lee Foundation and members of the Lee family that founded OCBC – is selling a pair of freehold bungalows in Barker Road for S$32.2 million.

The price works out to S$2,280 per square foot on a land area of 14,123 square feet.

According to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) latest Master Plan, the District 11 site is zoned for two-storey mixed landed residential use.

The two-and-a-half storey bungalows, which sit on a single land lot, are said to have been completed about 25 years ago, though they have been well maintained.

They are being bought by Singapore-incorporated Barker Developments, wholly owned by a Singaporean family member of Indonesian palm oil tycoon Bachtiar Karim.

Karim, also known as Lim Ek Tjioe, is the executive chairman of Singapore-based Musim Mas Group, one of the largest integrated palm oil players.

Pulau Properties granted Barker Developments the option to purchase the property on Apr 20; the option was exercised on May 2.

Some market watchers noted that based on current rules, Barker Developments can be a special-purpose vehicle to redevelop the site. They also highlighted that since the redevelopment project would have four or fewer residential units, it would not require a housing developer’s licence from the URA.

Barker Developments may apply for upfront remission of the 35 per cent remittable Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) on housing developers for residential site purchases, subject to conditions. For non-licensed developers, such conditions include completing and selling the new residential development on the site within three years of the acquisition date.

Separately, Invictus Developments – another Singapore-incorporated entity linked to Karim – is also active on the local property scene.

Invictus was set up in October 2018. Its subsidiary, Altitude Orange Grove, is currently developing The Standard, Singapore, a 143-room hotel project at 12 Orange Grove Road. The hotel is slated to open in early 2024. Altitude Orange Grove acquired the site, on which Darby Park Executive Suites used to stand, in 2019 for S$160 million.

In May 2022, Invictus bought the House of Tan Yeok Nee at the corner of Penang Road and Clemenceau Avenue, for S$87 million.

The national monument is currently leased to Amity Global Institute. After the lease expires next year, Invictus plans to reposition the asset to cater to retail, food and beverage, and office tenants, subject to approvals from the relevant authorities.

More recently, in late 2022, Invictus acquired the 59-room Harbour Rocks Hotel in Sydney. In January this year, the company bought the Quest Woolloongabba, a serviced apartment block in Brisbane with 132 rooms.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/pro...s-s322-million