Ex-Zouk site, 4th Ave plum land plots for sale

Developers expected to trigger both 99-year leasehold sites, given positive market sentiment, prime locations

Fancy living right where party types used to dance the night away at the iconic Zouk nightclub?

The original site of what is arguably Singapore's best-known nightspot has been made available for developers to build up to 525 new homes on.

But the developers must conserve the three warehouses occupied by Zouk until December last year, when it moved to Clarke Quay.

The site in Jiak Kim Street was one of two plum residential sites - which could provide 970 new private homes - made available for sale by the Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday.

Both 99-year leasehold plots - the other is in Fourth Avenue in Bukit Timah - are on the reserve list, so they go to tender only when a developer commits to a minimum bid acceptable to the Government.

Analysts expect developers to trigger both sites for sale soon, riding on the positive sentiment in the property market and the sites' prime locations in Districts 9 and 10.

"Both sites should be very popular... I would expect the Fourth Avenue site to be triggered sooner, given the current momentum for developers to replenish their landbanks," said Ms Tricia Song, research head at Colliers International Singapore.

Spanning 18,532.2 sq m, the Fourth Avenue site has a maximum gross floor area of 33,358 sq m, and can yield 445 apartments.

It is within an established bungalow enclave and is also next to the Sixth Avenue MRT Station.

Consultancy OrangeTee expects the site to be hotly contested, attracting possibly 15 to 25 bids.

"Fourth Avenue could be triggered soon, given the keen demand from developers for the Toh Tuck site... The size and quantum of the site are on the lower end and would be palatable to smaller developers," said OrangeTee head of research and consultancy Wong Xian Yang.

A Toh Tuck Road site tender attracted a record 24 bids in April, with Malaysian developer SP Setia clinching the 99-year leasehold plot for $265 million, or $939 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Mr Wong estimates the top bid for the Fourth Avenue site could be $340 million to $376 million, or $950 to $1,050 psf ppr).

Collier's Ms Song puts it at $330 million to $380 million, or $900 to $1,050 psf ppr.

Interest in the Jiak Kim Street site, however, will depend on sales at a nearby upcoming luxury project - Martin Modern by GuocoLand. Mr Wong said: "(It) will serve as a litmus test for property demand and the pricing level of new launches in the area."

The plot is 13,482.4 sq m, with a maximum gross floor area of 51,234 sq m. It is zoned residential with commercial space on the first floor, and could offer 525 private homes.

"Besides proximity to two upcoming MRT stations - Great World and Havelock MRT stations - the Jiak Kim Street condo site is located in the core central region... (future residents) would enjoy an uninterrupted view of the Singapore River," noted Mr Nicholas Mak, head of research and consultancy at ZACD Group.

Ms Song believes the site could attract eight to 12 bids, perhaps with consortiums.

Mr Mak projects a top bid of $634 million to $690 million ($1,150 to $1,251 psf ppr), lower than Ms Song's range of $675 million to $810 million ($1,200 to $1,500 psf ppr) for the Jiak Kim Street site.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 01, 2017, with the headline Ex-Zouk site, 4th Ave plum land plots for sale. Subscribe