SINGAPORE - The owners of Ava Towers are putting their freehold condominium development up for tender in their first attempt at a collective sale.

Their reserve price of $248 million for the site at Ava Road in Balestier translates to a land rate of about $1,374 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), said marketing agent ERA Realty Network.

Given the site's high development baseline, there is no development charge payable for redevelopment up to a gross plot ratio of 2.8. But if a 10 per cent bonus gross floor area (GFA) for balconies is included, the land rate would be reduced to $1,274 psf ppr, after factoring in about $5.03 million in development charge.

ERA said a written confirmation has already been obtained from the Land Transport Authority that a pre-application feasibility study on traffic impact will not be required for this site, based on a proposed redevelopment of a minimum 215 dwelling units averaging 70 square metres per unit.

Built in the 1990s, the 124-unit freehold condo sits on a sizeable land area of about 64,471 square feet and is zoned for residential use with a gross plot ratio of 2.8 under Master Plan 2014. The site can be redeveloped up to a gross floor area of 180,519 square feet, with a proposed plot ratio of 2.8.

The condominium is near medical facilities such as Thomson Medical Centre and Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital, grocery options such as the Whampoa wet market and food centre, along with a 24-hour NTUC supermarket, as well as local and international educational institutions such as Curtin Singapore, the Global Indian International School and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine.

The winning developer will have the option to retain the structure of the development with additions and alterations, or rebuild it into a contemporary design of a minimum 215 units that average 753 sq ft, said ERA.

The tender for the site opens on May 16 and closes on July 2.