Shunfu Ville, a 358-unit residential project in Upper Thomson, is up for collective sale with an asking price of at least $688 million.
It was built in the late 1980s by the former HUDC and privatised in 2013. More than 80 per cent of owners have agreed to the sale.
"Many residents have been living here a long time. Whether or not they are supportive of the collective sale bid, they all love the area - quiet, yet near town," Mr Woo Hon Wai, chairman of the collective sale committee, told The Straits Times yesterday.
"But as an old estate, close to 30 years old, it's reached an age where it needs to be rejuvenated."
The estate has ample untapped redevelopment potential and is close to top schools, including Catholic High Primary, Ai Tong School and Raffles Institution, he noted.
Shunfu has three 16-storey apartment blocks and three low-rise blocks of maisonettes.
Given a plot size of about 408,927 sq ft and gross plot ratio of 2.8, the site could yield about 1,100 units with an average size of 1,000 sq ft, said marketing agent JLL.
"The new project could be the tallest residential development within its 1km radius, with breathtaking views all around, as the Master Plan 2014 provides for a building height of up to 36 storeys," said Mr Tan Hong Boon, JLL regional director of capital markets.
With the minimum $688 million purchase price and another estimated $218 million in fees to the Government to top up the lease to a fresh 99 years and for intensifying land use, land rate would be about $791 psf per plot ratio (psf/pr) on the potential gross floor area.
Estimated break-even cost for an eventual project should be about $1,250 psf, said Mr Tan. "New units can expect to fetch between $1,400 psf and $1,450 psf."
Shunfu owners can expect gross sales proceeds of at least $1.9 million per unit, or about 50 per cent more than what they can get by selling on the open market, he added.
Mr Simon Ang, 50, who has lived in a four-bedder for about 10 years, said its age and maintenance issues are partly prompting him to sell.
His family of 12 includes three grown-up children who would like their own space.
"Hopefully, we will be able to upgrade to a larger unit."
Chestertons managing director Donald Han said developers may bear in mind the failed collective sale bid of nearby Thomson View Condominium, and therefore prefer Government Land Sales (GLS) sites involving fewer legal hurdles, or would want prices to factor in the added risks.
Nearby sites recently sold via the GLS programme include a 113,051 sq ft parcel in Lorong Puntong, off Sin Ming Avenue, which Nanshan Group bought for $173.57 million or $731.10 psf/pr in October 2013.
Shunfu Ville is about 200m from Marymount MRT station on the Circle Line and about 600m from the future Upper Thomson MRT station on the Thomson East-Coast Line, set to be ready in 2020.
The tender exercise for Shunfu Ville closes on Oct 27.
