Clementi Avenue 1 site draws top bid of $491.3 million
A proposed plan for the site is to develop a 40-storey condominium with 640 private homes.
Moderate interest was shown for the government land sales (GLS) site at Clementi Avenue 1 as only 5 bids were submitted in total.
The site was launched under the 1H 2019 GLS programme and the top bid came from a joint-venture between UOL Group and UIC at $491.3 million or a land rate of $788.31 psf ppr.
A unit from property developer MCL Land came in second with a bid of $471 million ($755.75 psf ppr) and a joint-venture between MCC Land (Singapore) and Sing Holdings came in third with a bid of $452.3 million.
Property consultants believe that the lukewarm response could be due to the fact that the Clementi Avenue 1 GLS site is not located near the Clementi MRT station and the city center; the high land price which almost works out to almost half a billion.
However, it was mentioned that UOL Group fancies the attributes which the Clementi Avenue 1 site presents as it has also contributed to the 100 percent sell-out of its nearby condominium project, The Clement Canopy.
The Clement Canopy is a 505-unit private residential development situated along Clementi Avenue 1 as well. It was first launched in the month of February of 2017 and all units were completely taken up by July 2018.
UOL Group added that the firm believes there is a strong and sustainable demand within the precinct due to the fact that it is situated close to various top educational institutes, such as Nan Hua High School and the National University of Singapore.
Thus, the Clementi Avenue 1 GLS site will attract prospects of all genres, from homebuyers and upgraders to property investors due to its proximity to the nearby commercial hubs such as Science Park and one-north – one of the biggest pools for potential tenants.
According to UOL, it plans to develop a brand new 40-storey tall private residential project which accommodates around 640 homes and says the timing is perfect to replenish its land bank due to the strong take-up at 2 of its current new launch projects – Amber 45 and The Tre Ver.
Market watchers noted that the top bid from UOL-UIC could have been benchmarked accordingly with an eventual average selling price at less than $1,400 psf.