THE Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Monday launched a hotel site at Balestier Road for sale by public tender.

The 1.77 ha land parcel is one of two hotel sites to be launched for sale in the Government Land Sales Programme for the first half of this year.

The hotel site, located across from the Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, a national monument and heritage centre that pays tribute to Dr Sun Yat Sen who led the Chinese Revolution in 1911, will nestled in a 0.46 ha park, named 'Zhongshan Park'.

The developer is also required to provide a public event space within the park to serve as a venue for the staging of events and activities.

This public event space, together with outdoor refreshment areas and tea pavilions which are allowed in the park, will help to activate and inject greater vibrancy into the park and the surrounding area.

With excellent frontage along Balestier Road, the plot has a maximum permissible gross floor area (GFA) of about 40,000 sqm, 60 per cent of which can be used for hotel and hotel-related uses. The remaining GFA can be for complementary commercial and residential uses.

'The land parcel's proximity to the Memorial Hall provides a great opportunity to develop a unique hotel development,' said the URA on Monday.

'This hotel development is envisaged to be a distinctive contemporary hotel that draws inspiration from the Chinese culture and architecture of symmetry and geometric forms interspersed with attractive landscaped garden and courtyards.'

Balestier Road has an interesting mix of conserved shophouses that were built in the 1840s and modern commercial and residential buildings.

The juxtaposition of these heritage shophouses and new buildings creates an interesting streetscape along Balestier Road, displaying its significant past and vibrant present.

In recognition of its strong heritage value and distinctive old world charm, Balestier was designated as one of Singapore's Identity Nodes in URA's Identity Plan in 2002.

Balestier Road is also known for its delicious local fares, such as Tau Sar Pia and Bak Kut Teh, that are tucked away in shophouses that line the road. Today, many locals and tourists explore Balestier Road to immerse in its historical charms and dine at many of the interesting eating outlets.

To enable visitors to enjoy the area better and enhance their walking experience, there are plans by URA to improve the walkways and landscaping along Balestier Road, said the URA.

Given that the site will be a key development along Balestier Road, the development proposal for the site will be subject to review by a Design Advisory Panel to ensure a well designed development of appropriate quality and standard.