Punggol Town Centre site up for bidding

Published November 30, 2010

Punggol Town Centre site up for bidding

By FELDA CHAY


THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) is launching a tender for a mixed commercial and residential site in Punggol Town Centre - the first site sale along the Punggol Waterway - and industry watchers expect the site to see healthy interest.


Located at the junction of Punggol Central and Punggol Walk, the 99-year leasehold site has a maximum permissible gross floor area of 1.4 million sq ft. According to HDB, the site can potentially yield 542,501 sq ft of gross commercial space, and 685 dwelling units.

It has a project completion period of seven years from the date of acceptance of the tender.

Said Ong Kah Seng, Cushman & Wakefield's senior manager of Asia-Pacific research: 'The mixed- use site is expected to draw moderate interest from developers, particularly from some developers who wish to have a first-mover advantage in developing condominiums in Punggol, a new growth residential area which is by far predominantly public residential.'

He expects the site to draw about seven bids, with the expected winner to fork out between $400- $450 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Assuming that the project is launched in the second half of next year, the expected selling price of the apartments should be between $800-$850 per square foot, he added.

Mr Ong said that some developers who participated in the recent tender of a close-by site in Punggol Central/Punggol Walk, but failed to secure the land, may participate in this tender as private housing demand in the northeastern area is expected to be overall positive.

Chua Chor Hoon, DTZ's head of research in South- east Asia, noted that the site will house the first major shopping centre in the town, and is located in the immediate vicinity of the MRT and LRT stations and the bus interchange.

The new flats in the area should provide a ready catchment of shoppers, said Ms Chua. She expects six to nine bids for the site.


Source: businesstimes.com.sg