Landmark site at City Hall draws 14 bids

[mr funny]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...00251,00.html?

Published August 19, 2010

Landmark site at City Hall draws 14 bids

Far East submits 3 separate bids, Wing Tai and a consortium 2 each

By UMA SHANKARI


(SINGAPORE) Ten developers and consortiums handed in 14 different bids to buy and redevelop a landmark commercial site at City Hall - with the historic Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building and Stamford House on it - by the close of the state tender yesterday.

Far East Organization submitted three separate bids while two bids were put in each by Wing Tai Holdings and a consortium made up of Perennial Real Estate, Chesham Properties and TOP Property Investment.

And one bid each was submitted by: CapitaMalls Asia and parent company CapitaLand; GuocoLand; Park Hotel Group; United Engineers; YTL Corporation; private equity fund manager GAW Capital Partners; and a consortium made up of Sin Heng Chan Group, Kim Eng Group and Japan's Takenaka Group.

The amount of each bid was not revealed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) as the land parcel is being sold through a 'concept and price revenue' tender process.

Under this system, tenderers are required to submit their concept proposals and tender prices in two separate envelopes. The concept proposals will be first evaluated against a specified set of criteria and only those that meet the criteria will be considered. The site will then be awarded to the tender with the highest bid price among those with acceptable concept proposals.

Developers can therefore choose to submit multiple bids, as Far East Organization, Wing Tai Holdings and the consortium led by Perennial Real Estate have done. Perennial Real Estate is led by Pua Seck Guan, ex-CapitaLand head of retail.

The 99-year leasehold site, which is located at the junction of Stamford Road and North Bridge Road and which also comprises Capitol Centre and a subterranean parcel that will link directly to City Hall MRT station, was launched for sale in April this year.

The tender was triggered after an unnamed developer committed to bid at least $100 million - or $184 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) - for it.

Analysts said then that the plot can fetch $400-$600 psf ppr.

The eventual developer of the site is required to retain and restore three 'historically and architecturally significant buildings' - Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building and Stamford House - for re-use. In particular, URA said that Capitol Theatre is required to be used as an arts or entertainment-related performance venue. Capitol Centre, on the other hand, can be torn down.

The winning bidder is also required to set aside 25 per cent of the total gross floor area for hotel use. This will help to strengthen the hotel cluster in the area, which now includes Swissotel The Stamford, The Fairmont and Grand Plaza Park Hotel.

The bidders will now present their concepts to a concept evaluation panel put together by URA.

[mr funny]

http://www.straitstimes.com/Money/St...ry_568188.html

Aug 19, 2010

Prime Capitol site tender draws 14 submissions

By Joyce Teo


THE much anticipated tender for the stretch of colonial buildings along Stamford Road that includes the Capitol Theatre has drawn a strong response, with 14 submissions lodged by nine firms.

Big-gun developers here and overseas, including Far East Organization and CapitaLand, have lined up for the prime land, which could go for more than $300million.

The high number of tenders surprised experts, as the Government has placed some tough constraints on how the 1.43ha plot at the junction of Stamford and North Bridge roads can be used.

The 99-year leasehold site comprises Stamford House, Capitol Building, Capitol Theatre and Capitol Centre.

The dingy Capitol Centre can be demolished but the other three buildings must be conserved.

The winning developer must use Capitol Theatre as an arts or entertainment-related performance venue. It must also build an underground walkway lined with shops and restaurants to link the site to City Hall MRT station.

A quarter of the land parcel's total gross floor area of 50,389 sqm must also be used for hotel rooms, to add to the existing hotel cluster in the area.

'The challenges for the developers and designers will be quite intense because the buildings are in the civic precinct, which is the the original heart of Singapore and they have to be conserved,' said architect John Ting.

Stamford House was built in 1904 in a neo-classical style by Regent Alfred John Bidwell, the architect behind the Raffles Hotel.

Capitol Theatre, which housed Singapore's first cinema, was built in 1929, and Capitol Building, previously known as Shaw Building, was built in 1933.

The buildings also mark the time when the same neoclassical language was used in the civic precinct. They are private developments, but belong to the same era as government buildings such as City Hall and the Supreme Court, added Mr Ting. 'The designers have to be very creative to come up with something that is relevant to today's use,' he said.

Knight Frank group managing director Danny Yeo added: 'What you are putting into the site is key. I think the conserved buildings could house a unique, upmarket hotel, while the new development there could house a mall. Whoever can bring something new to the site will have an extra edge.'

Far East submitted three ideas for the land while Wing Tai Group lodged two. United Engineers, GuocoLand Group, CapitaLand, Hong Kong-based Park Hotel Group, Malaysia's YTL Corporation and private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners made submissions as well.

A proposal also came from a consortium formed by Mr Pua Seck Guan, former chief executive of CapitaMall Trust Management, comprising Perennial (Capitol), a subsidiary of his Perennial Real Estate Group, Mr Kwee Liong Seen's Chesham Properties and Top Global's Top Property Investment.

'The high number of bids reflects optimism in the commercial and hospitality sectors,' said DTZ's head of South-east Asia research, Ms Chua Chor Hoon.

Bids were not revealed yesterday as the tender is on a two-envelope system, in which developers submit their design proposals and tender prices in two separate envelopes.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority will first shortlist the designs and then choose the one with the highest bid. The South Beach and Clifford Pier plots were also sold this way.

CBRE Research expects bids to be in the range of $220million to $270million. This would work out to $400 to $500 per sq ft (psf) of total floor area.

Said Mr Yeo: 'We expect the bids to be high because of the conservation requirements and the underground link. The price could easily be about $550 to $600 psf per plot ratio.'