Pacific Mansion seeks S$938m en bloc price

THE owners of Pacific Mansion have put the River Valley condominium up for public tender with a reserve price of S$938 million or S$1,728 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), said CBRE, their appointed property agent.

Built in the mid-1970s, the development is located in River Valley Close on a freehold residential site with a land area of approximately 128,352 square feet.

Based on the Urban Redevelopment Authority's 2014 Master Plan, the site has a plot ratio of 2.8 and a height control of 36 storeys.

However, the verified existing gross floor area (GFA) is approximately 493,222 sq ft, equivalent to a plot ratio of 3.84, said CBRE.

Taking the 10 per cent bonus balconies GFA into account, the maximum allowable GFA for the site is 542,544 sq ft, it added.

According to the URA baseline record, no development charge is payable on the maximum allowable GFA, said the agency.

As Pacific Mansion is located in the Central Area, the "70 sq m" rule does not apply in the calculation of the maximum number of dwelling units per development, CBRE added.

This is a cap on the number of units, based on an average size of 70 sq m GFA for each, in non-landed private housing projects outside the Central Area.

Said Galven Tan, CBRE's director of capital markets: "We expect strong interest from developers as this is a rare opportunity to acquire a sprawling freehold site in the River Valley district. Pacific Mansion stands out with superior attributes including its freehold tenure, District 9 address and being within a seven-minute walk to the main Orchard Road shopping belt."

"Both local and foreign developers will be keen to evaluate the site which offers the unique opportunity to design an iconic landmark development to add to the central Singapore skyline, next to the upcoming Great World MRT Station."

The tender for Pacific Mansion will close at 3pm on March 16.

Separately, Fernwood Towers, a 216-unit freehold development in Marine Parade Road, appears set to launch an en bloc sale, according to ERA Realty.

The reserve price for the sale of the site has been set at S$688 million or approximately S$1,572 psf ppr, which includes the development charge payable.

Built in the 1990s, it has a land area of approximately 148,963 sq ft and is zoned for residential use under URA's 2014 Master Plan.

The site has a plot ratio of 3.0 and can be redeveloped up to a GFA of 446,889 sq ft with "some development charge payable", ERA said.

Fernwood Towers is located opposite Mandarin Gardens, which announced its first collective sale bid in 10 years on Jan 23 and is also in the proximity of East Coast Park, Parkway Parade shopping mall and Victoria School.

Commenting on the prospective collective sale, Jeremy Rikas Chiu, ERA Realty Network's group division director said: "We expect a healthy market demand for the new project at the Fernwood Towers site, given its prime location and rare freehold status. We envisage the development being rebuilt into an upscale condominium project of over 400 units, assuming an average apartment size of 1,000 sq ft."

Source from The Business Times 7 Feb 2018