The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has received a minimum committed bid of $116.2 million for a commercial site on Anson Road.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has received a minimum committed bid of $116.2 million for a commercial site on Anson Road. This works out to about $460 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

The site, which was put on the reserve list of the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme in October 2006, will now be put up for public tender.

The 0.25-ha site has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 23,418 sq m (252,069 sq ft) and a building height restriction of 50 storeys. URA also says the site configuration can provide a floor plate of 1,800 sq m.

Savills Singapore director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong believes the site could fetch bids of between $900-$1,000 psf ppr. ‘Foreign investors are also likely to be keen to bid,’ he added.

Late last month, a nearby GLS commercial site at Anson Road/Enggor Street was put up for public tender after the URA received a committed minimum bid of $172 million. The tender closes next month.

Using some recent transactions in the Grade A office sector as a benchmark, Mr Ku believes capital values for new developments could reflect the current asking prices of $1,700 psf. Prices for commercial property have been increasing significantly.

In February, Kim Eng Properties paid $44 million for a 0.13-ha commercial site at New Bridge Road/North Canal Road. The public tender, which saw 11 bids for the site, closed with Kim Eng’s bid reaching $758.40 psf ppr, 25 per cent higher than the next highest bid.

The latest public tender will be launched in about two weeks’ time. A tender period of about eight weeks will be allowed for the site.

Source: The Business Times, 19 June 2007