Spring Grove tipped for en bloc

Spring Grove, a 325-unit condominium located on Grange Road, is tipped for collective sale if negotiations between homeowners and the US Embassy are successful.

Located on the site of the former residence of the US ambassador, the 24,481 sq m site was acquired by City Developments Limited (CDL) from the US government over 20 years ago and developed into a condo project.

According to The Straits Times, the site has a 99-year leasehold period that started on 1 December 1991. It said that ownership will revert to the US government which has freehold rights to the estate when the leasehold period expires.

This is unusual as the government normally sells 99-year leasehold sites through the land sales programme while keeping its freehold interest.

Parag Goradia, Chairman of Spring Grove’s management committee, said they will set up a sales committee after their extraordinary general meeting in April. He noted that most residents want to sell the property through a collective sale while the US government is still keen to divest its interest.

Meanwhile, experts feel that a possible en bloc sale would be more complicated.

“While there are no precedents on sharing formulas – between the homeowners and the freehold interest owner in an en bloc sale – there could be parallels drawn from how leasehold en blocs are priced against the top up premium payable to the state,” said Karamjit Singh, Managing Director of Credo Real Estate.

He noted that the homeowners and US government should enter into a joint sale agreement to sell the freehold site and building, and agree on the sale price and how they would share the proceeds.

Goradia said that the property could fetch “over a billion dollars” and will likely come into the market in the next six to 12 months.

Source : PropetyGuru – 28 Feb 2012

Join The Discussion

Compare listings

Compare