Kajima Overseas Asia bought Bishopswalk/Bishopsgate

The tender for the collective sale of Bishops Walk, a freehold development of 25 townhouses in the Bishopswalk/Bishopsgate area, is said to have drawn a top bid from a Kajima Overseas Asia unit.

The bid is believed to be more than $130 million or $1,500 per sq ft of potential gross floor area including an estimated $15.6 million development charge.

The 69,189 sq ft site is zoned for residential use with a 1.4 plot ratio and a height limit of five storeys.

As Kajima is in the construction business, it should achieve a more economical breakeven cost for the new project it will develop, market watchers reckon. Their breakeven estimates for a five-storey condo range from about $1,900 to $2,000 psf.

The District 10 site - in the prestigious Bishopsgate and Chatsworth Good Class Bungalow area - is close to the Indonesian and Egyptian embassies. It is not known if Kajima will tie up with a partner for the project.

The tender for Bishops Walk, conducted by CB Richard Ellis, is said to have drawn seven or eight bids. Industry sources say that besides Kajima, contenders included Napier Properties, which bought Eng Lok Mansions last year, and BS Capital.

Source: The Business Times, 13 April 2007