No Bids Submitted Upper Thomson Road Gls Site
“No Bidders for Upper Thomson Road GLS Site”
The public tender for a residential land parcel along Upper Thomson Road has closed with no bids received on June 19. The site was bunched together with another site, River Valley (Parcel A).
This particular site is a 99-year leasehold and spans over 262,875 square feet. It is expected to have around 640 residential units and 100 long-stay serviced apartments. The site is zoned for residential use and will include a commercial component of approximately 21,528 square feet.
This will be the second site that will feature long-stay serviced apartments which require a minimum stay of three months. The first site to include this type of accommodation was the Zion Road (Parcel A) plot which was awarded to a joint venture between City Developments Ltd (CDL) and Mitsui Fudosan on April 16. The partners submitted the only bid of $1.107 billion which translates to $1,202 per square foot per plot ratio.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, believes that it was expected for there to be no bids for the Upper Thomson (Parcel A) site as serviced apartments in this area are relatively new and untested. Yip also suggests that the government may have anticipated this and only allocated 100 units for long-stay serviced apartments. He explains that with such a small number of serviced apartment units, developers may have felt that the risks were too high and chose not to participate in the tender.
Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, adds that the location of the site is not in a prime commercial area which could have supported rental demand. Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank, also notes that the Upper Thomson/Springleaf area is not typically associated with mid-term tenants, which may have discouraged developers from the tender.
Chu also mentions that the developer of the Parcel A site will face strong competition from the adjacent Upper Thomson Road (Parcel B) residential site, which was awarded to a joint venture between GuocoLand and Hong Leong Holdings in April. The Parcel B site can yield up to 940 residential units and the JV submitted the sole bid of $779.6 million or $905 per square foot per plot ratio.
Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at PropNex, predicts that this site may be included in the 2H2024 GLS programme. She also adds that the lack of interest in the site may prompt the government to review the requirements for long-stay serviced apartments in future tenders.
In line with the URA Master Plan, Marina Bay is currently undergoing enhancements to enhance its connectivity. This brings great advantages for residents of Marina Gardens Lane Condo, who can now enjoy better accessibility to important areas throughout the city. The plan includes the construction of new MRT stations and bus services, allowing for a smoother daily commute for working professionals to various parts of the city. Additionally, families with children attending school will also reap the benefits of these developments, as they will have improved connectivity options. The upcoming Marina South MRT Station Condo, set to be completed soon, will further enhance the connectivity of this prime location, making Marina Bay an even more desirable hub for both residential and business purposes. Marina South MRT Station Condo will only add to the convenience of this already well-connected area.
Considering the responses for the past two GLS sites that include long-stay serviced apartments, Yip suggests that it may be more attractive for developers to participate in tenders for such sites if they are located near the city centre or major commercial areas. The next GLS site that includes long-stay serviced apartments is located in Media Circle and is expected to close on September 19. Yip forecasts that there may only be one bid for this site.