Amber Park sold for freehold record of $906.7m
City Developments Limited (CDL) is taking a second bite of the cherry with plans to redevelop Katong condominium Amber Park, which it built in 1986, into a bigger project.
The firm beat seven other bidders with a $906.7 million offer as the 200-unit estate finally made good on its fourth attempt at a collective sale.
With a price tag well above the $768 million reserve, Amber Park has also set a record by dollar value for freehold properties sold en bloc.
CDL lodged the bid through its Cityzens Development subsidiary and a joint-venture partner from parent Hong Leong Group in an 80:20 pairing.
It plans to turn the 213,675 sq ft plot into a condominium of around 800 luxury apartments, spread over four 25-storey towers.
No development charge is needed for the site, which has an allowable gross floor area of roughly 598,290 sq ft.
Amber Park home owners stand to make $4.3 million each for standard apartments or $8.3 million for penthouses.
But an owner missed out after offloading an apartment in September last year. That unit went for $2.08 million.
Key plus points for the estate include its proximity to sought-after schools such as Tanjong Katong Primary School and Tao Nan School, as well as to the Tanjong Katong MRT station, due in 2023.
Mr Galven Tan, director of capital markets at real estate consultancy CBRE, noted: "Developers are hungry to get a development site sooner rather than later. Prime freehold sites with good attributes will continue to attract strong bids from developers."
CDL chief executive-designate Sherman Kwek, who called the transaction "one of our most significant investment deals in the Singapore residential market in recent years", said: "In addition to its strong locational attributes, a distinct advantage of this site is its freehold status, something that is increasingly rare in Singapore."
A CDL spokesman added that the site has "tremendous potential" with "healthy demand" expected, given that the Katong and East Coast area is well established but also stands to gain from renewal projects such as the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Line and the redevelopment of East Coast Park.
With CDL's land price working out to $1,515 per sq ft (psf) per plot ratio, ZACD Group executive director Nicholas Mak estimated the minimum price for new units on the site to cross the $2,200 psf mark.
FOR MORE, READ THE STRAITS TIMES TODAY
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
