Commentary

Opportunity for a landmark development at Jalan Anak Bukit

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) launched a commercial and residential site at Jalan Anak Bukit for sale by public tender on 30 June under the 1H2020 Confirmed List of the Government Land Sales Programme

July 01, 2020

The subject land parcel spans an area of 32,332.4 sqm (including the horizontal cross-sectional area of subterranean space) with a maximum gross floor area of 96,551 sqm and could generate an estimated 845 residential units.

Located at Jalan Anak Bukit, the site has strong locational attributes being near to the Beauty World MRT station and served by a wide range of amenities in its immediate vicinity. It is also located within 1 km of top primary schools such as Methodist Girls’ School (Primary) and Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School, the Ngee Ann Polytechnic and other institutions of higher learning.

The subject site is envisioned to be a landmark residential and commercial development to help rejuvenate the Beauty World area. In line with this vision, a concept and price revenue tender approach will be used to shortlist quality development concepts.

In view of the Covid-19 situation, developers have been offered a longer period of nine months to submit their bids for the 99-year leasehold site, with the tender for the site closing at 12 noon on March 30 next year. As their tender closing will be in 1H2021, project sales could be launched sometime in 2022.

The subject site holds promise of being developed into a landmark development in the Jalan Anak Bukit locality, being a project of more than a million square feet in gross floor area, comprising of a bus interchange, commercial and residential uses.

Due to the scale of the project and its impact on the surrounding, a concept and price tender is indeed appropriate to ensure the quality of the development.

Bidding for site would depend on how bidders assess market conditions when tender closes in March 2021. It would be considered a fairly risky development due to its large size and the huge investment outlay. Based on the current market, the land price could be around a billion dollars or in the region of $1,000 psf/pr. Interest is likely to come from major developers possibly with consortiums being formed. We may expect 5 to 8 parties contesting for the site.