Serangoon property approved for education use up for sale

A PROPERTY at 11 Hillside Drive has been put up for sale. The site, approved for education use and held under a 103-year leasehold tenure from 2012, sits on a land area of about 81,457 sq ft, and has a gross floor area of about 46,753 sq ft. It is currently tenanted to an educational institution.

Rohit Hemnani, head of corporate capital markets at JLL, said he expects interest from educational operators and investors who are looking to enter the Singapore market, or established groups looking to expand their presence and offering in Singapore.

The site is within the Serangoon sub-regional district, and near retail offerings such as nex mall, Heartland Mall, and facilities such as Serangoon stadium and swimming complex. Kovan MRT Station, Serangoon MRT Station and Serangoon Bus Interchange are one kilometre or 10 to 15 minutes' walk away. Its city fringe location also makes it a 15-minute drive to the Central Business District and Orchard Road shopping belt.

Shaun Poh, executive director of capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), said: "It is widely recognised that there is a shortage of real estate spaces for community, childcare/education and education facilities in Singapore. This is partly due to the fact that the government had not been releasing enough land for such purposes in the recent years. On the other hand, we notice that there has been firm interest for most of the state land tender for such uses in the past."

JLL and C&W are the joint marketing agents. They are inviting offers for the purchase of the property through an expressions of interest (EOI) exercise, which closes on Dec 16, 2015, at 3pm.