The Normanton Park condominium is set to be put up for en bloc sale next Thursday (Oct 22) after more than 80 per cent of the owners agreed to a sale.
Channel NewsAsia understands that the reserve price is in the region of S$840 million.
Located near Kent Ridge Park, the estate is on a site of about 62,000 square metres with a balance lease term of about 61 years.
Formerly designed for Singapore Armed Forces personnel and their families, Normanton Park comprises 488 units in eight low-rise blocks and five 23-storey towers. The units range from 118 square metres to 144 square metres.
Under the URA’s Master Plan 2014, the site is zoned for residential use with a 2.1 plot ratio, which translates to a potential project of 1,388 units based on an average unit size of 93 square metres.
The collective sale is marketed by Mount Everest Properties and the tender exercise closes on Jan 19, 2016.
Although the en bloc sale exercise has yet to be launched, Mount Everest Properties said it has already received some interest from developers and – being near both National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital – even from the healthcare sector.
Said Mr Dillon Loi, a project consultant at Mount Everest Properties: “There is also a medical group that has expressed some interest perhaps in working with a developer who plans to lead the development of this site, to convert this place into a wellness village, with medical services-cum-residential homes as well.”
But the sale comes amid a languishing private housing market, weighed down by cooling measures.
Property consultancy JLL said that only one successful en bloc deal was made so far this year.
“Timing is always an issue … it’s far from the time of the cycle where we have seen collective sales take place in a big way,” said JLL’s international director, Karamjit Singh.
“The best part would have been in 2007, when almost all collective sales were successful, where … massive ones took place amounting to S$1.3 billion or S$800 million,” he added.
Another concern is the huge size of the land parcel, which means those looking to redevelop the site will have to fork out a substantial sum.
Mr Singh noted: “In terms of scale, it is about three times the average scale of a development that comes out of a Government Land Sales programme. So it is massive.”
The marketing agent said that other than local developers, it will also be reaching out to developers overseas.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 15 Oct 2015