Hotel site at Novena has been triggered for sale. A new hotel and the neighbouring condo means that the entire empty land behind Novena Square will get developed in a few years.

Sinaran Drive hotel site to go on sale this year

7 Nov 06

THE fourth hotel development site this year will soon be put up for sale by tender after an unnamed developer committed to bid at least $92 million for it.
That is way above market expectations of about $40 million to $55 million earlier this year and is the latest sign of an improving hotel market.

The 0.58ha Sinaran Drive plot is behind Novena Square, opposite Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Sited next to Square 2, a commercial property with 145 medical suites, the new hotel site has a plot ratio of 4.2 which allows it to generate a maximum gross floor area of about 24,313 sq m.

A four-star hotel with up to 500 rooms could be built on the 99-year leasehold site, say property consultants.

The plot was the first hotel site to be made available on the Government's reserve list this year.

Sites on this list are put up for tender only if a developer shows firm interest by committing a bid at a level deemed acceptable by the Government.

While other hotel sites put on the list later have attracted satisfactory triggering bids and were put up for sale, the Sinaran Drive site has stayed on the list since April.

But the site now appears hot, considering that consultants had expected it to fetch bids of only about $40 million to $55 million back in April.

The market has shifted markedly since then. For instance, in late August, Hong Kong's Park Hotel Group paid $55.5 million or a whopping $466 per sq ft (psf) of potential gross floor area for a hotel site at the corner of Clemenceau Avenue and Unity Street.

The price was more than double the $25 million trigger bid made for the site just two months earlier in June. This worked out to just $210 psf of potential gross floor area.

'Sentiment in the hotel market has improved significantly in the past few months,' said Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels executive vice-president Chee Hok Yean.

The tenders for two other hotel sites - at Mohamed Sultan Road/Nanson Road and Bencoolen Street - will close on Nov 21 and Nov 30 respectively.

Late last month, another hotel site in Balestier Road was also released but no triggering bid has been made yet.

On the Sinaran Drive site, Mr Nicholas Mak of property consultancy Knight Frank said: 'With a trigger bid of about $352 psf, the interested party is quite aggressive and expects a fairly strong rise in hotel rates.

'As the site is very near the MRT station and hospitals, a hotel on that site could cater to medical, business and budget-conscious tourists,' said Mr Mak, the firm's director of research and consultancy.

Considering that four-star hotel room rates are now around $160 a night, the Sinaran Drive site's hotel, being new and set to be ready only in two to three years' time, should be able to charge more, said Ms Chee.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority will launch the tender for the site in about two weeks' time.

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

http://www.ura.gov.sg/sales/SinaranHotel(25Apr06)/embrace-page(1).gif

The sale site at Sinaran Drive is centrally located at Novena Centre. With its prime location, the site is an ideal opportunity to develop a landmark hotel that will provide guests with convenient access to the city and its attractions.

The future hotel is located right next to Novena MRT station, linking it to Changi Airport and all parts of the island including the city centre. Hotel guests will be a short train ride away from the city's attractions and the Central Business District.

A twenty-minute drive from Changi Airport, the hotel will also be easily accessible by road from islandwide, as the site is linked to major roads. These include Newton Road, Moulmein Road, Thomson Road, Pan-Island Espressway and Central Expressway.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/sales/SinaranHotel(25Apr06)/heart-page(1).jpg

The future hotel is just footsteps away from Novena Square and United Square. These modern shopping centres cum office buildings offer a one-stop destination for leisure and business travel, and are alive with activity all year round.

Hotel guests will be fascinated by the wide array of retail outlets, food courts, restaurants and entertainment choices at their doorstep.

The hotel will also be able to cater to the increasing number of visitors who travel to Singapore for medical care at the nearby hospitals and medical centres.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/sales/SinaranHotel(25Apr06)/city-page(1).jpg

With Orchard Road just minutes away, hotel guests can go shopping at Singapore's premier shopping street and most visited tourist area. They will be spoilt for choice with international fashion labels, hip local fashion, trendy eateries, exclusive restaurants and entertainment outlets.

Business travelers can enjoy the convenience of being a short train ride away from the Central Business District at Raffles Place and Shenton Way, Suntec City, as well as Marina Bay.

^^that last pic with the red taxi looks so hong kong-ish

http://www.ura.gov.sg/sales/SinaranHotel(25Apr06)/embrace-page(1).gif

[i]The sale site at Sinaran Drive is centrally located at Novena Centre. With its prime location, the site is an ideal opportunity to develop a landmark hotel that will provide guests with convenient access to the city and its attractions......



They've launch the tender on 20 Nov 2006....lets wait for some exciting proposals.....:D

http://www.ura.gov.sg/AllFrame.jsp?contents=pr/text/pr06-84.html&leftFrame=News%20Releases.htm

They've launch the tender on 20 Nov 2006....lets wait for some exciting proposals.....:D

http://www.ura.gov.sg/AllFrame.jsp?contents=pr/text/pr06-84.html&leftFrame=News%20Releases.htm

Novena will certainly be very different by the looks of things to come.

At this point in time .... I just got a gut feeling (huntch) that UOL (or one of its several property stables) will be in the running.

Just my 2 cents worth.

UOL does own big chunks in that area.....

the residential site next door belongs to Centrepoint...looking forward to something tall there

OOOOHH!!!!! exciting!!!

Far East tops bid for Novena hotel site

17 Jan 07

FAR East Organisation is expanding its Singapore hotel business with two new projects.

It will invest about $330 million to $350 million developing a hotel with 420 to 450 rooms for the leisure, business and medical tourism markets on a site next to Novena MRT Station for which it was the top bidder at a state tender yesterday.

Its $131.1 million bid for the 99-year leasehold site at Sinaran Drive works out to $501 psf of potential gross floor area, which was 33.8 per cent higher than the only other bid, which came from Hong Kong's Park Hotel Group.

Far East is also developing a 108-room 'hip hotel' to be named Quincy, next to its Elizabeth hotel in the Mount Elizabeth area.

The total development cost for this property - inclusive of the historical land cost for the former Elizabeth Regency site that the group bought in the late 1980s - is about $50 million. It will open around mid-2008, targeting the 'smart set of young travellers who want something different', a Far East spokesman told BT yesterday. 'The hotel will be a little quirky, with a minimalist, contemporary decor. We're looking at charging above $200 per night for the rooms,' he added.

These two new hotels, along with the new 120-room hotel that Sino Land - Far East's sister company in Hong Kong - will build on the Collyer Quay site that was sold by the Singapore Government in December, will increase the Far East group's portfolio of hotels in Singapore to nine, from the current six. The six include Orchard Parade, Albert Court, Changi Village, The Elizabeth and Golden Landmark hotels, plus The Fullerton, which is owned by Sino Land.

The $330-350 million development cost estimate for the new hotel development next to Novena MRT Station includes the $131.1 million land price, construction costs, fees, and interest.

A four-star hotel will make up about 60 per cent of the project's 261,703 sq ft maximum gross floor area, the Far East spokesman said. Medical visitors to the hotel would include patients being treated in nearby medical facilities like the John Hopkins-Singapore International Medical Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, or the Thomson Medical Centre, and those visiting consultants and specialists.

The break-even cost per hotel room could be about $450,000, according to back-of-the-envelope calculations. 'Hotel investors these days want a minimum 6-7 per cent net yield. If we were to open the hotel today, we'd want to charge rooms at $160-170 per night,' the Far East spokesman said. The development is expected to be completed in about three to three-and-a-half years.

The remaining 40 per cent of the project's gross floor area is likely to be allocated to retail or medical-related uses.

Market watchers were not surprised by Far East's top bid for the Sinaran Drive site yesterday; the group has been doing roaring sales for its Novena Medical Suites nearby. The four levels of suites will be housed in the top portion of an 11-storey development that also includes the Square 2 mall.

The two bids at yesterday's tender were lower than the six to eight bids drawn by three hotel sites offered by Urban Redevelopment Authority last year.

However, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels executive vice-president Chee Hok Yean does not think that yesterday's outcome reflects waning interest in hotel sites. Unlike the three earlier sites, which were in the city area, the Sinaran Drive site will have appeal to a more specialised set of players. 'Far East's bid reflects its keen interest in the site, which boasts an excellent location next to Novena MRT Station, just two stops away from Orchard. And the area is well served by a few malls - including Velocity@Novena, Square 2, and United Square,' she said.

Ms Chee says the outlook for the Singapore hotel market remains positive. 'Room rates are expected to trade upwards this year while the high occupancy rates seen last year will continue to prevail in 2007.'


By KALPANA RASHIWALA

Hi fellow forumners, I have started a thread on The Fullerton Hotel beside Soleil@Sinaran, so as to moniter the progress of this hotel. Heres some info:

Height: 36-storeys ( Got this info from some forumners )

Type of Building: Hotel + Retail Podium

Location: Sinaran Drive, beside Soleil@Sinaran

Name: The Fullerton Hotel

Developer: Far East Organization

Perhaps they create a branch for The Fullerton Hotel @ Marina Bay?

Isn't this a huge confusion to the famous landmark Fullerton Hotel at Raffles Place ?

Can be borrowing a reputable brand name or may end up spoiling a good brand name.

Hi fellow forumners, I have started a thread on The Fullerton Hotel beside Soleil@Sinaran, so as to moniter the progress of this hotel. Heres some info:

Height: 36-storeys ( Got this info from some forumners )

Type of Building: Hotel + Retail Podium

Location: Sinaran Drive, beside Soleil@Sinaran

Name: The Fullerton Hotel

Developer: Far East Organization

Perhaps they create a branch for The Fullerton Hotel @ Marina Bay?

I am at Sinaran Drive right now and I am typing this reply next to the plot at Novena. Yet I didn't even know that project would be called Fullerton Hotel. Still wondering what it's called! :lol:

The hoardings put "The Fullerton Hotel".

Isn't this a huge confusion to the famous landmark Fullerton Hotel at Raffles Place ?

Can be borrowing a reputable brand name or may end up spoiling a good brand name.

I think it's just like The Ritz-Carlton Hotels, theres one @ Bugis and one @ Marina Bay. So I guess it just takes time for people to get used to it.

oops, I didn't even know there is a Ritz Carlton hotel at Bugis.

I think it's just like The Ritz-Carlton Hotels, theres one @ Bugis and one @ Marina Bay. So I guess it just takes time for people to get used to it.

The one at Bugis is actually called Carlton Hotel,not Ritz-Carlton although the name is similar.

But are they under the same owner?

The hoardings put "The Fullerton Hotel".

I was there yesterday and saw the hoardings. The "fine print" on the hoardings referred to them as the "Developer of: The Fullerton Hotel, Novena Medical Centre" or something like that. Quite vague as to the real name of the project.

Okay. So maybe I saw the hoardings wrongly :D

It does sound rather weird! :lol:

If it is indeed 36 storeys it would be one of the taller hotels here. I did see some vague rendering on the hoarding the design doesnt look too bad. I think it has skygardens.

It does sound rather weird! :lol:

If it is indeed 36 storeys it would be one of the taller hotels here. I did see some vague rendering on the hoarding the design doesnt look too bad. I think it has skygardens.

welcome back! :banana::banana::banana:

the develops are the same one that does the fullerton hotel and novena medical centre . That does not make it called The fullerton Hotel... By the way as for ritz-carlton and carlton hotel, they are not from the same owners. Both are a separate company.

Thanks kura :D

Okay. So maybe I saw the hoardings wrongly :D

The signboard shows that it will be 16 storeys with a 6 storey podium instead of 36.

The site end January 08

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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2007/2373707238_b14245decc_o.jpg

The site is located at the bottom half of this pic

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3035/2372861715_05cb1e909d_o.jpg

Sinaran Drive is going to be a really congested street with Novena Square, Square 2, TTSH, Soleil and now this new hotel..

Wholly great, that area will be more attractive then.... Novena square area is a bit dead in the evening. With all the new developments, at least there will be more action in the evening. A movie theatre would be great too. The next time, visiting TTH would not be as sad and boring anymore. There will be things to look forward too... The Exciting Novena.

There's also the new hospital site which was recently awarded at $1.2 bn

The whole Novena place can be called "Hospital Hill".. Heee...

19 October 2008

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j67/RCSSC/sinaran1910.jpg

There's also the new hospital site which was recently awarded at $1.2 bn

also near TTSH and Novena Medical Centre area? Developed by who?

The new hospital's by Parkway Healthcare Group.. They're conducting a competition on what to call the place

also near TTSH and Novena Medical Centre area?

Right beside them in fact. The hospital plot was awarded early this year.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/sales/NovenaTer/images-others/intro(L).jpg

What was on the hill last time? forest?

Yes as far as I recall it was densely vegetated. The last activity there was the extension of Irrawady Road to Thomson Rd.

20 March 2009

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