The collective sale frenzy continues unabated as Dunearn Gardens, a 114-unit freehold residential development located off Newton Road, becomes the latest to be sold on its third attempt.
The sale was made to a fully owned subsidiary of EL Development - the property arm of building firm Evan Lim Group - for $468 million.
Dunearn Gardens comprises three adjoining residential blocks, with apartment units ranging from 75 to 306 sq m. Surrounded by Good Class Bungalows, landed homes, high-rise condominiums and a 150m walk away from Newton MRT station, it has a site area of 8,866.9 sq m, or 95,442 sq ft.
Each apartment owner will stand to receive a gross sale price of about $2.69 million to $7.98 million, said property consultancy Knight Frank in a news release.
EL Development is expected to incur a development charge of about $43.6 million to redevelop the site to a gross plot ratio of 2.8, based on the maximum permissible gross floor area of about 267,239 sq ft.
The sale price translates to a land price of about $1,914 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), said Knight Frank. Including a 10 per cent bonus balcony, which would raise the proposed plot ratio to 3.08, the land price would be about $1,841 psf ppr, though this is subject to the authorities' approval, it added.
EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon said the group intends to redevelop the site into a 34-storey luxury condominium comprising 348 units which have between one and four bedrooms.
Mr Ian Loh, executive director of Knight Frank and head of investment and capital markets, said the new high-rise development will enjoy unobstructed views of the city.
"We believe the new development will appeal to owner-occupiers and investors, given its choice location right at the city fringe," he added.
Mr Petras Tsui, deputy chairman of the Dunearn Gardens collective sale committee, noted that this was the third attempt at a collective sale. He said he appreciated the strong support from fellow owners, consultants and lawyers along the way.
EL Development had in January also acquired Singtel's Hill Street site for $118 million, which it is planning to develop into a mid-to high-end business hotel with more than 300 rooms. Its last residential site purchase was from the government land sales programme in August 2015, which it is developing into the 752-unit condominium project Parc Riviera in West Coast Vale.
Knight Frank said it is also scheduling the launch of another collective sale site, Kemaman Point - a freehold condoin the vicinity of Balestier Plaza and Shaw Plaza - for sale by tender early next month.
• Additional reporting by Lynette Khoo
