Former HUDC estate in Potong Pasir up for collective sale

SINGAPORE - Raintree Gardens, a 175-unit residential development in Potong Pasir, has just been launched for collective sale.

The tender was put up by JLL on Wednesday, after more than 80 per cent of Raintree Gardens owners by development share value and strata area gave their consent to the collective sale.

They are expecting a minimum price of S$315 million or about S$1.8 million per unit, which translates to S$759 per square foot per plot ratio on the potential gross floor area, inclusive of differential premium payable for a lease top-up to a fresh 99 years and for site intensification.

This implies a breakeven cost of about S$1,250 psf for the developer, with the new units to be built on the site likely to fetch prices in the region of S$1,450 psf, JLL said.

The tender for Raintree Gardens, which closes on Oct 5 at 2.30pm, follows the landmark sale of Bishan's Shunfu Ville to Qingjian Realty for S$638 million in May. But most industry players are not ready to call this a revival in collective sales yet.

Built in the late 1980s, Raintree Gardens comprises two 12-storey mansionette blocks and one 7-storey mansionette block, with land area of approximately 201,405 square feet. Under the 2014 Master Plan, it is zoned residential with a gross plot ratio of 2.8.

"This site presents a unique offering as it enjoys a direct frontage of over 200 metres of the Kallang River and could potentially be rebuilt into a 600 to 748-unit waterfront condominium," said Nicholas Ng, local director of capital markets at JLL.

"We believe that Raintree Gardens will be an attractive and unique site for developers keen to replenish their land bank in a mature estate that is centrally located, yet with new amenities and infrastructure being planned around it," Mr Ng added.

There will be upcoming communal and commercial developments and amenities planned at the nearby Bidadari Estate, where recently launched HDB flats under the built-to-order programme were highly popular.

The site is also a short walk to Potong Pasir MRT Station on the North-East Line. A market square, bus interchange, two community malls and Bidadari Park will be within reach via the Kallang Park Connector.

This article was first published on September 1, 2016.
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