Trustees seek bids for 25,741-sq-ft Cuscaden Road redevelopment site

Published Mon, Apr 4, 2016 · 05:45 AM

THE trustees of an estate that holds a 25,741-square-foot freehold site on the ultra-prime Cuscaden Road are putting the property up for sale by tender.

The site has a gross plot ratio of 4.2 times, which implies a gross floor area of about 108,112 square feet. Although a detached house currently sits on the site, the site has been zoned as "hotel" in the 2014 Master Plan.

JLL, which has been engaged to market the property, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority has expressed willingness to also consider a 20-storey residential project. The first floor could also be used as commercial space.

The site sits next to St Regis Residences.

JLL said the vendors expect offers in the region of S$160 million to S$170 million, which would work out to between S$1,480 and S$1,572 per square foot (psf) of allowable gross floor area excluding development charges. The deadline for the tenders is 2.30pm, May 12, 2016.

The last sale of a prime high-rise residential development site in Singapore took place about three years ago when Swire Properties bought Hampton Court at Draycott Park for S$155 million, JLL said. That transaction was reported at S$2,526 psf on allowable gross floor area, inclusive of development charges.

There were two sales of freehold hotel and hospitality sites in the Orchard Road area over the past three years. Thong Sia Building sold for S$380 million, or about S$2,431 psf of allowable gross floor area, in 2015. In 2013, the 308-room Grand Park Orchard Hotel sold for S$1.16 billion, or S$4,640 psf on the existing gross floor area.

"A purchaser could redevelop the site into a mid to upscale hotel with around 300 rooms, depending on the design," JLL international director Karamjit Singh said in a statement. "Alternatively, a residential developer may be able to accommodate as many as 185 small 'shoebox' apartments with an average size of 540 sq ft, or 50 units of 2,000 sq ft apartments, depending on the configuration of the building and subject to approval from the relevant authorities."