The top bidders for a site along East Coast Road that used to house the former Joo Chiat police station have won the tender.

Master Contract Services and Keong Hong Construction, who put in the joint bid, were awarded the hotel site by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

They submitted the highest bid of $352.8 million for the 99-year leasehold site in the tender that closed on Tuesday.

This works out to be $1,326 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the parcel with a gross floor area of 266,041 sq ft.

The price had surprised analysts, who expected a bid of up to $1,080 psf ppr.

The next highest bid of $321.3 million came from CEL Residential Development, or some $1,208 psf ppr.

It was also more than double the minimum committed bid of $160 million, when an unnamed developer agreed to put in at least that price for the site in November last year, triggering the sale.

The land parcel was placed on the reserve list of the GLS programme in June 2012.

URA says the 1920s colonial Joo Chiat police station building on the site will have to be conserved due to its historical and architectural significance.