IOI places top bid of S$2.57 billion or S$1,689 psf ppr for Central Boulevard white site

A 99-year leasehold white site with a mandatory office component along Central Boulevard in Singapore has attracted seven bids.

The highest bid of S$2.57 billion, which works out to S$1,689 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) was made by IOI Properties Group Bhd of Malaysia.

This is the highest bid ever in absolute dollar quantum as well as psf ppr for a Government Land Sale site in Singapore.

The adjacent site, on which now stands Asia Square Tower 1, was sold for S$2.02 billion or S$1,409 psf ppr at a state tender that closed in September 2007.

The second highest bid at Tuesday's tender came from Mapletree Investments, which offered S$2.21 billion or S$1,451 psf ppr for the site.

Nanshan Group bid S$2.19 billion for the site while a Hongkong Land-Cheung Kong tie-up offered S$2.13 billion. CapitaLand group of companies and Great Eagle Group teamed up to offer slightly over S$2 billion for the site. Yanlord made a bid of S$1.985 billion. The lowest bid, of S$1.91 billion, came from a partnership between OUE Limited, Guangzhou R&F Properties Co Ltd and Tang City Properties.

The 1.1-hectare white site next to Asia Square Tower 1 can be built up to 50 storeys, with a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 141,294 sq m (1.52 million sq ft), of which at least 100,000 sq m or 70.77 per cent must be put to office use. In addition, up to 5,000 sq m GFA can be set aside for retail use.

The development is to include a childcare facility with a minimum GFA of 500 sq m. The balance may be utilised for additional office, commercial school, hotel, serviced apartment or residential uses. The entire development - excluding the GFA for hotel, serviced apartment and residential use - can have no more than three strata lots. This means that strata subdivision of office units for sale as multiple individual units is not allowed.

The project will be directly and seamlessly connected to the adjacent Downtown MRT Station in addition to being linked to Raffles Place Interchange MRT station and the future Shenton Way MRT station (Thomson-East Coast Line), providing all-weather connections to the public transport nodes.