At a reserve price of $2.7 billion, International Plaza in Tanjong Pagar, Singapore’s biggest collective sale in terms of number of units and value, is put up for public tender.
This comes after more than 80% of the owners decided on July 7 to put the 50-story leasehold commercial-cum-residential skyscraper – one of Singapore’s largest integrated projects – on the market for the first time, based on share value and stratum area.
On Wednesday afternoon, marketing agent Edmund Tie informed The Straits Times that the reserve price comes out to a land cost of $2,448 per square foot per plot ratio.
The land cost will be about $2,170 per square foot per plot ratio if the 25% increase in gross plot ratio is authorized by the authorities.
Due to the property’s commercial zoning, developers will not be required to pay Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty.
On November 30, at 3 p.m., the tender will conclude.
The building, which is located at the intersection of Anson Road and Choon Guan Street, “represents the final key corner site with major road frontage at the entrance to the Tanjong Pagar district,” according to Ms Swee Shou Fern, executive director of investment advice at Edmund Tie.
The building, which was constructed in the 1970s, has 209 residential apartments, 559 office spaces, 192 strata shops, a parking, and a swimming pool on the 36th level.
The property, which is designated for commercial use, is approximately 0.7ha in size and has a lease term of 48 years. It was created by the Cheong family, who own Hong Fok Corp, which is listed in Singapore.
Owner sign-ups for the collective sale started in October 2019 and were scheduled to be completed by last October, but owing to the pandemic, it took another ten months.
Under last year’s measures, the Ministry of Law gave numerous sites extensions to their selling deadlines, including International Plaza.
International Plaza fulfills the requirements for the Central Business District Incentive Scheme in terms of building age, current land use, and site size.
Depending on the planned land use, the CBD Incentive Scheme enables eligible properties to expand their gross floor space by 25 to 30%.
An application has been filed to the Urban Redevelopment Authority in this regard. The land may be rebuilt with a gross floor area of 167,826.16 sq m (1,806,464 sq ft) or a plot ratio of 24.06 if it is permitted.
Mr Wong Xian Yang, head of research for Singapore at Cushman & Wakefield, said that aging office buildings in the CBD may use this plan to convert the property to residential mixed development, enabling the developer to take advantage of a strong housing market.
“Several projects are preparing for en bloc sales in the next months. Given Singapore’s anticipated robust recovery, en bloc projects that start early may benefit from a first-mover advantage, according to the report “Added he.
In June, an unidentified developer has agreed to offer at least $1.508 billion for a government property site in Marina View. A mixed-use development with residential, hotel, commercial, and/or serviced apartments is planned for the white site. On September 21, the public tender for that location will conclude at noon.
Mr Wong believes that, depending on the future planned use of International Plaza, the Marina View government land sales (GLS) property may be a competitor. “When opposed to buying land on the en bloc market, GLS plots are a more simple path to take. IP, on the other hand, has greater flexibility since it may be created as completely commercial or mixed development.”
“Both Marina View and International Plaza would appeal to bigger developers or collaborative ventures due to their enormous scale. The winning offer for the Marina View property is likely to be closer to $2 billion,” he added.
