JLL relaunches Horizon Towers collective sale tender

SINGAPORE, 16 February 2023 – JLL, acting as sole marketing agent, today announced the relaunch of the collective sale by tender of Horizon Towers, a high-potential site in the prestigious Leonie Hill.

Horizon Towers is situated on a sprawling 1.9ha of elevated ground in the coveted District 9. The 99-year leasehold site includes double road accesses amidst the tree-lined serenity of Leonie Hill and Leonie Hill Road. According to JLL, the site holds significant upside potential for redevelopment into a super luxurious high-rise residential location with spectacular city views.

The site is zoned “Residential” in the 2019 Master Plan with an allowable height of up to 36 storeys. It has an “as-built” approved gross plot ratio (“GPR”) of approximately 3.28228.

“Due to its location within the Central Area, Horizon Towers is not subject to minimum average unit size controls. This will provide potential developers with the flexibility to build various small and large unit permutations to meet the varied demands of a diverse, luxury-focused demographic,” says Mr. Tan Hong Boon, Executive Director, Capital Markets, Singapore, JLL.

Strategically located in the exclusive precinct of Leonie Hill, Horizon Towers is connected to a myriad of shopping, entertainment, sports, leisure, education and cultural offerings, world-class medical services and a host of other amenities. For families, the site is located within one kilometer of the renowned River Valley Primary School.

The site is 400m or five minutes’ walk northward to Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road, one of Singapore’s premier shopping, F&B and lifestyle locations. The entrance to the new Orchard MRT Interchange, extended from the existing Orchard Station to the newly opened Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), is just about 600m away.

To its south, the newly opened Great World MRT Station on the TEL is 150m away. integrates seamlessly with pedestrian access to Great World Mall, Kim Seng Park and Robertson Quay riverfront promenade.

“Given the rarity of an elevated and sprawling terrain that allows for a high-rise luxurious development with unlimited design potential, we are confident that this relaunched site will attract broad interest. Developers are consistently reevaluating their opportunistic strategies given the dwindling number of unsold units in the Core Central Region (CCR) against the significant increases in primary market sales by developers over the last two years. We expect the primary market to remain robust in 2023 with the relaunch of this site to allow developers to bolster their landbank and be ready to capitalize on the continued rising demand for CCR units,” says Mr. Tan.

With the rise in private residential prices in the CCR lagging behind those of the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and the Outside Central Region (OCR), coupled with the continued and increasing inflow of investment post-pandemic into our luxurious market segment, prices and sales volume in the CCR are set to rise at a faster pace going forward. Despite the headwinds, Singapore's recognised position as a "safe haven" investment destination will continue to attract domestic and international investors.

There has been a significant improvement in primary market sales in the CCR by developers in the last two years at 2,521 units and 1,896 units respectively for 2021 and 2022. The improvements are on the back of the past 10-year average annual sales of 1,206 units. With rising sales volumes expected to continue, the current inventory that stands at 5,723 units in 4Q 2022 will dwindle and an apparent shortage of high-end properties, especially premier products around the Orchard Road area, will be felt in the near-term.

“At a reserve price of $1.1 billion, Horizon Towers’ unit land rate reflects about $2,049 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf/pr) after factoring in the lease top-up premium estimated to be in the region of $277 million. As the site has a high development baseline, there is no land betterment charge for the intensification of the site even up to the maximum 10 per cent bonus gross floor area, reflecting a unit land rate of $1,862 psf/pr. At this reasonable pricing, this is a compelling redevelopment opportunity to be reevaluated in view of the imminent changing market conditions in favour of the high-end market segment now,” added Mr. Tan.

The tender for Horizon Towers closes on Thursday, 30 March 2023, at 3 p.m.