Chuan Park owners to get S$1.16m to S$2.53m each; some unhappy with lack of timely updates

OWNERS of the 444 homes at Chuan Park condominium, which was sold en bloc on July 5, will receive gross proceeds of about S$1.16 million for a 710 square foot (sq ft) unit and up to S$2.53 million for a 2,045 sq ft unit.

The 2 commercial units will receive S$1.09 million for a 474 sq ft unit and S$2 million for a 1,238 sq ft unit.

The numbers were revealed to Chuan Park’s owners at a Zoom meeting last night (July 25), where marketing agent ERA Realty and the condominium’s Collective Sale Committee (CSC) again declined to reveal the name of the buyers. They said that under the terms of their agreement, they were not allowed to disclose the buyers’ identity without their permission.

At the 3-hour long meeting, some owners expressed their unhappiness over what they felt was a lack of timely updates leading up to, and after the Jul 5 deadline for the condo’s CSC to sign the sales and purchase (S&P) agreement.

On June 17, a circular issued to owners said an expression of interest (EOI) was received from a developer for S$860 million, and that the CSC required an 80 per cent mandate from owners by June 26 so as to enter into negotiations with the buyer.

On June 29, owners were informed that an EOI for S$890 million was received, and they were urged to give their mandate for the sale.

This led to some confusion over the deadline for achieving the 80 per cent mandate.

It transpired that on July 5, 80.93 per cent of the subsidiary proprietors of Chuan Park by share value and 80.11 per cent by strata area had signed. However, the CSC explained that the buyers and their lawyers, understood to be Lee & Lee, were specific about what could and could not be revealed.

The sale is subject to an Order for Sale being made by the Strata Titles Board, High Court or Court of Appeal.

As with many other collective sale efforts, there have been disagreements and unpleasant exchanges at Chuan Park. One owner who did not sign the collective sale agreement lodged a police report earlier this month against another, alleging harassment, verbal abuse and threats.

The 99-year leasehold development - built in 1985 - was sold via private treaty for S$890 million - 5.1 per cent below the S$938 million reserve price - after the tender for its collective sale closed on Apr 26 without bids. This makes Chuan Park the largest collective sale to have been sealed so far this year.

It is understood that the buyers are related to developers Kingsford Group and MCC Singapore.

It is said that Kingsford is eager to replenish its landbank after having sold all 1,862 units at its Normanton Park project as at end June this year. The project’s main contractor is MCC Singapore, a subsidiary of China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC Group), a China state-owned enterprise.

The collective sale tender was launched on Mar 14, but before that, the condo had been put up for tender from Oct 5 to Nov 18, 2021, just before the government introduced fresh cooling measures in December. Chuan Park had also taken a shot at a collective sale in 2018, with an asking price of S$900 million — revised upwards from an initial S$790 million — but did not secure the necessary 80 per cent consent from owners at the time.

ERA told owners last night that they had approached some 40 developers of different sizes but no bids were received apart from the EOI that came in at a very late stage of the private treaty period.

At S$890 million, the land rate, which includes an estimated upgrading premium of S$165 million, works out to S$1,254 per square foot per plot ratio, according to ERA. The development charge is not payable due to the existing high baseline.

The 400,588.7 sq ft site has a gross plot ratio of 2.1 under the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Master Plan 2019 and an achievable proposed gross floor area of 841,236.3 sq ft.

The sale is subject to several conditions, one of which is that the purchaser must obtain shareholder approval within 16 weeks after the date of the S&P agreement.

Another is that it needs to obtain approval from the Land Transport Authority for the buyer’s pre-application feasibility study which supports a redevelopment of “not less than 919 dwelling units based on the average size of each dwelling unit being 85 square metres or such lower number of dwelling units that the purchaser may decide”. If these conditions are not met, the agreement is deemed cancelled and all deposit monies paid by the purchaser will be refunded.