SINGAPORE – A plum state land parcel in Chuan Grove secured a top bid of $703.6 million on July 8 from a joint venture between Sing Holdings Residential and Sunway Developments.

This site – the first Government Land Sales (GLS) site in Chuan Grove since 2009 – drew seven bids, signalling optimism about the Lorong Chuan location.

This came on the heels of a hotly contested state tender in June for a Dunearn Road site, which drew nine bids, and a Lakeside Drive tender, which attracted six bids.

The top bid of $703.6 million, which translates to $1,376 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), is 7.3 per cent higher than the next bid of $1,282 psf ppr tabled by City Developments.

It is the second-highest bid ever for a private GLS plot in the suburbs, after a Bayshore Road plot was awarded at $1,388 psf ppr in March.

Sing Holdings, in a Singapore Exchange filing on July 8, said it will form a joint venture with Sunway with equity interests of 65 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, to complete the land purchase and develop a new residential project with a gross floor area of 47,495 sq m.

Mr Lee Sze Hao, chief executive of Sing Holdings, said: “Subject to the tender award by URA (Urban Redevelopment Authority), we plan to develop a residential development comprising three high-rise towers of approximately 550 units with full facilities and community-centric features.” 

The Chuan Grove site is one of the more attractive suburban sites bordering the city fringe area, said Mr Justin Quek, deputy group CEO of Realion, the entity formed after a merger between OrangeTee and real estate consultancy ETC.

He noted that the $1,376 psf ppr bid for the suburban site was only 2.4 per cent lower than the Dunearn Road prime district parcel, which was awarded on July 3 at $1,410 psf ppr.

ERA Singapore CEO Marcus Chu said: “With the site’s desirable location and excellent connectivity, the developer likely anticipated healthy demand, giving them the ...