Orchard Bel Air en bloc closes without sale; 5 Oxley Rise, Oxley Garden also not sold

THE public tender sale of Orchard Bel Air closed on Tuesday (Sep 6) with its owners entering into discussions with potential buyers.

Located at the doorstep of the soon-to-open Orchard Boulevard MRT Station, the prime District 10 condominium was put up for sale at S$587.5 million on Jul 27.

The 71-unit development’s 99-year leasehold tenure started in Aug 1980, and it has a land area of about 93,126 square feet (sq ft). Under the Master Plan 2019, it has a gross plot ratio (GPR) of 2.8 and a building height control of up to 36 storeys.

Marketing agent Knight Frank had said its guide price translates to a land rate of approximately S$2,600 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) after factoring in an upgrading premium of approximately S$131 million for the lease top-up.

No development charge is payable. Taking into consideration the 7 per cent bonus gross floor area allowed for balconies, this translates to approximately S$2,526 psf ppr.

The last successful large-scale en bloc sale in the Orchard Boulevard vicinity was Park House, located just across the road from Orchard Bel Air.

Park House was sold for S$375.5 million or S$2,910 psf ppr in Jun 2018.

Meanwhile, the sale by public tender of 2 Prime District 9 sites – 5 Oxley Rise and Oxley Garden – also closed without sales on Jun 8 and Jun 14 respectively.

Launched on Apr 19, 5 Oxley Rise is a rare freehold landed site with an enormous size of 151,205 sq ft and offers in excess of S$300 million had been expected.

The Business Times (BT) understands that its sellers are talking to a few parties in private.

5 Oxley Rise is said to be one of the last remaining freehold residential landed sites within the prime Orchard Road district.

Situated on a hilltop, it comprises 2 land plots, with a 2-storey bungalow and 4 outhouses surrounded by sprawling greenery on site.

The bungalow is an iconic mansion steeped in rich heritage, where numerous notable figures in Singapore’s history have resided. These include Manasseh Meyer, a Jewish businessman responsible for constructing the neighbouring Chesed-El Synagogue, and Cheong Eak Chong, one of Singapore’s pioneer real estate developers and founder of Hong Fok Corporation and Tian Teck group.

Marketed by CBRE, the property is understood to be owned by 7 members of the same family, all sons of the late magnate.

According to the Master Plan 2019, the site is zoned for residential (2-storey mixed landed) use.

Sitting right next to 5 Oxley Rise is Oxley Garden, which was also launched for sale soon after, at a minimum price of S$200 million. BT understands its owners are planning a relaunch of their en-bloc sale.

Built in 1986, the 4-storey Oxley Garden sits on a 58,207 sq ft freehold plot which is split into 2 by an access road owned by the owners of 5 Oxley Rise.

Comprising 6 blocks of 46 walk-up apartments, the site can be rebuilt into a 5-storey condominium with gross floor area (GFA) of 85,246 sq ft, based on its existing GPR of 1.4645.

Its marketing agent, JLL, had said that the GFA could be increased to 92,065 sq ft with a GPR of 1.5817, including an 8 per cent bonus GFA.