A hotel site at East Coast Road that contains the former Joo Chiat Police Station has been triggered for sale, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Wednesday.

This is after an unnamed developer said it would bid at least $160 million for the site, which was on the Government Land Sales programme reserve list.

The 0.8 ha land parcel "contains the historically and architecturally significant former Joo Chiat Police Station which shall be restored as part of the future hotel development", the URA said in a statement.

The bid price works out to about $601 per sq ft for the plot, which has a gross floor area of 266,041 sq ft and is at the junction of East Coast Road and Joo Chiat Road.

The public tender will be launched in about two weeks and will run for about eight weeks.