For the very first time in approximately 10 years, mega property developers CapitaLand and City Developments Ltd (CDL) will be teaming up to co-develop a 99-year leasehold mixed-use site next to Buangkok MRT Station.
The 3.7-ha residential and commercial site along Sengkang Central has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 842,124 sq feet and was acquired under the “dual-envelope” system for a whopping $777.78 million or a land rate of $923.59 psf ppr.
The future new launch at Buangkok MRT station will be known as Sengkang Grand Residences.
The Sengkang GLS site drew a total of 7 bids submitted by 6 developers and the winning bid was noted to be the highest among the 4 tenderers that were shortlisted for the Sengkang GLS site.
The other 3 tenderers were a joint-venture between Qingjian Realty & Perennial Singapore (bid amount of close to $682 million or $809.86 psf ppr); SPH & Kajima Development (bid amount of $636.39 million or $755.69 psf) and Wing Tai Holdings together with Keppel Land (bid amount of $608.9 million or $723.05 psf ppr).
Under the “dual-envelope” system, tenderers will first have their concept proposals being assessed by the Concept Evaluation Committee (CEC). After that, the shortlisted concepts will move on to the second stage – which they will be evaluated based on their bid price and the tender will go to the highest bidder.
As the tender was closed before 05 July 2018, the joint venture will be subjected to the previous ABSD rates instead of the ones stated under the new set of property cooling measures – which will cost the developers even more.
According to both CapitaLand and CDL, the Sengkang GLS site will be developed into an integrated community hub housing more than 700 private homes and will have a wide range of amenities, such as a community club, food centre, retail shops, and public transportation, serving the residents’ needs in Buangkok.
CapitaLand hasn’t been very active in both the land sale and collective sale tender segments in recent years. Their most noticeable acquisition was for Pearl Bank Apartments via en bloc back in February 2018 – for a staggering $728 million (the new project is known as One Pearl Bank).
It was mentioned that the last time these 2 developers joint-developed a project in Singapore was for the 493-unit Botannia condo in the West Coast precinct.
Although CDL’s group CEO, Mr Sherman Kwek had previously mentioned that the group will remain cautious on latest cooling measures, he is still confident on the tremendous potential in the Sengkang GLS site due to its notable attributes.
The new development in Sengkang Central is slated for completion in the first half of the year 2022.