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[COMPLETED] D9 | Centennia Suites | 36 Floors

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#1 ·
Commercial/residential site next to S'pore River could go for $128m

17 Oct 06


KIM Seng Plaza, a freehold commercial and residential site on Kim Seng Road and next to the Singapore River, is up for collective sale by tender, and market observers said that the site should be able to fetch at least $128 million.


The 60,400 sq ft site, zoned for 'commercial/residential' use, has a 3.1 plot ratio, giving it a maximum floor area of 187,200 sq ft. The maximum building height is 35 storeys. Including an estimated development charge (DC) of about $14 million for a residential development, the price for any developer will work out to about $760 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

However, the DC payable will depend on the mix of the development. For example, if the buyer intends to build a project that is 40 per cent commercial and 60 per cent residential, the DC payable will be substantially less and is estimated at about $6 million. The psf ppr price will, therefore, be a slightly lower $716.

In comparison, the Lippo Group bought an adjacent site for $739 psf ppr early this year from OCBC Bank and is expected to launch a condominium there at between $1,500 and $1,600 psf.

For the Kim Seng Plaza site, an upcoming development could house 95 apartments with an average size of 1,500 sq ft each and some 88 retail units with an average size of 300 sq ft each, said Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), which is marketing the property.

'To capitalise on its central area location, the other viable redevelopment options include a luxurious condominium or small office home office (soho) units, subject to the relevant authorities' approval,' said JLL. 'The latter would appeal to those who prefer to work from home and live in a neighbourhood that offers a host of leisure, recreational and entertainment activities at their doorstep.'

Right now, the 18-storey Kim Seng Plaza comprises a 4-storey podium with shops located on the first and second storeys, a 28-lane bowling alley on the fourth storey and residential apartments from the 6th to 18th storeys in the tower block. Prominent developments such as Great World City and the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel are located near Kim Seng Plaza. The tender will close at 3pm on Nov 15.


By UMA SHANKARI
 
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#3 ·
yah...well I guess with the redevelopment of Kim Seng Plaza...the whole stretch of Kim Seng Rd will boast a lineup of brand new highrises all at least 30-storeys.

Other projects to complete the lineup would be Lippo's residential site, Pharos, RiverGate, Cosmopolitan etc
 
#4 ·
ST : Ageing malls in prime spots head for collective sale

ST : Ageing malls in prime spots head for collective sale

Ageing malls in prime spots head for collective sale
Kim Seng Plaza is latest one on the block; more incentives will hasten process, say observers



A NEW wave of urban renewal may be on the cards, as ageing strata-titled malls in prime locations jump on the collective sale bandwagon.

Kim Seng Plaza was put up for collective sale yesterday, on the heels of similar plans by Golden Mile Complex in Beach Road and Ming Arcade in Cuscaden Road.

But property players say more government incentives may be needed to kick-start the process as any sale of these buildings requires many individual owners to give the nod.

To encourage quicker redevelopment of such ageing buildings, the Government might need to change the rules governing collective sales or make it more lucrative for the owners to bow out, they say.

The owners of Kim Seng Plaza said yesterday they were inviting bids for the 18-storey, freehold mixed development which has 91 shop units, a bowling alley and 37 residential apartments.

The shops are worth about $700 to $750 per sq ft while the apartments are valued at around $650 psf, if they are sold individually. Market watchers say the property may attract bids of about $105 million to $128 million.

The site can be put to better use: It has a height limit of 35 storeys and can be redeveloped into a residential and commercial project with a gross floor area of up to 187,218 sq ft, said property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), the firm marketing the site.

Besides Kim Seng Plaza, malls that have the potential for collective sale and redevelopment include Orchard Shopping Centre, Singapore Shopping Centre, Far East Shopping Centre, Orchard Towers and Tong Building.

Most of these are in Orchard Road so redeveloping them will help speed up the rejuvenation of Singapore's key shopping belt, property experts said.

Outside of Orchard Road, malls such as Riverwalk, Peace Centre and Parklane Shopping Centre are also said to be considering collective sales.

The problem, however, is that strata-titled malls are notoriously hard to handle in any collective sale.

With so many individual owners, the distribution of proceeds is bound to be controversial, with owners arguing over whose shop is better located and hence, more valuable.

'A successful retailer would be reluctant to move unless the price is so attractive that it compensates for the disruption and loss of goodwill,'' said Credo Real Estate managing director Karamjit Singh.

To help speed things up, the Government could look into lowering the minimum 80 per cent agreement threshold to, say, 70 per cent, said Knight Frank executive director Danny Yeo.

It could also identify certain properties in need of redevelopment by age or location, and provide these sites with special concessions such as a discounted development charge, he said.

Development charges are what a developer must pay to enhance the use of a site. The lower the charge, the more the developer is willing to pay for the site.

The Government could also increase the plot ratios of these sites to allow developers to build higher and bigger buildings.

'Once you move up the development quantum of a site in terms of usage, there will be an incentive for developers to buy it,' said JLL's regional director and head of investments, Mr Lui Seng Fatt.

Consultants cited the Government's success in transforming the Hillview area from an industrial strip to a residential area in the early 90s, through providing incentives and rezoning the area.

'The intention is not to make everyone a millionaire but to work towards urban renewal,'' said Mr Lui. 'We can't afford to have slum areas.''
 
#7 ·
yup...I find the building to look like an eyesore

Lippo pays $132m for Kim Seng Plaza

16 Nov 06

Site is next to plot Lippo bought earlier from OCBC

LIPPO Group has expanded its presence in the River Valley/Kim Seng area, clinching the freehold Kim Seng Plaza for $132 million in the latest collective sale, BT understands.



It emerged as the highest bidder at the close of a tender yesterday. The tender, handled by Jones Lang LaSalle, is said to have attracted eight bids. Lippo is understood to have pipped City Developments.

The price Lippo is paying reflects a unit land price of $737 per square foot of potential gross floor area (psf ppr), including an estimated $6 million development charge.

This almost matches the $739 psf ppr that Lippo paid for an adjacent freehold site it bought from OCBC early this year. Lippo plans to develop the earlier site into a 230-unit condo, slated for launch in January or February next year.

Lippo is expected to redevelop the Kim Seng Plaza site into a new project with apartments rising from a retail podium block. The development will offer views of the Singapore River.

The 60,400 sq ft Kim Seng Plaza site is zoned for commercial/residential use and has a 3.1 plot ratio, giving it a maximum floor area of 187,200 sq ft. The maximum building height is 35 storeys.

The existing 18-storey Kim Seng Plaza comprises a four-storey podium with shops on the first and second storeys, a 28-lane bowling alley on the fourth storey and apartments from the sixth to 18th storeys of the tower block.

When it launched the tender last month, Jones Lang LaSalle suggested the site could be redeveloped into small office home office (Soho) units, subject to official approval, to capitalise on its central location.

Such a concept would appeal to people who want to work from home and live in a lively neighbourhood with plenty of leisure, recreational and entertainment activities on the doorstep. Kim Seng Plaza is diagonally opposite Allgreen Properties' Great World City mall and near CityDev's Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

CityDev is expected to begin previews this weekend of its 175-unit Tribeca freehold condo next to Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.


By KALPANA RASHIWALA
 
#10 ·
It would be interesting to see how Lippo is going to design this ...

Will this be redeveloped with the current east-west facing, same as Tribeca ? Or will it change itself into the Cosmopolitan's North-South facing ?

We will wait and see ... personally dont like the east-west facing ... but with Tirbeca facing the main road ... it would be nice if both Lippo's plots are "line-up" ... haha ...
 
#13 ·
or maybe it might be amalgamate into one very huge plot. lippo current owns the plot ajacent to cosmopolitian (also ajacent to kim seng plaza). they may apply to the authorities to make it happen. it will then be interesting to watch out for what lippo will come up with.

that stretch of road will maybe become ...... another up-and-coming area for high-end housing (maybe luxary).

cosmopolitian - wheelock
un-named project - lippo
kim seng plaza - lippo
tribeca (formerly phyros) - cdl
grand copthorne waterfron hotel - millennium group (cdl)

it will be interesting in the coming months ..... as they each try to "out-do" one another to "lure-in" buyers with deep pockets.

i've seen cosmopolitian prices inch up over the past 6 or 9 months. its now already commanding > S$1,200. tribeca which will preview and soft-launch this week (18Nov) will probably go for an average of $1,400 psf as reported.

its getting exciting .... i'm keenly watching this one

ps: cdl stock traded reached $12.40 today (17nov)
 
#14 ·
As I drove past this stretch of road (kim seng) today, it just occured to me that maybe Lippo could build a property similar to Great World City with a mix of service apartments, shopping complex, cinema and office towers. Or they could build a hotel cum service apartment mix.

The empty plot of land if amalgamated with kim seng plaza will become a considerable size that is probably as large or even larger than the existing Great World City site. I believe the owners of Great World City is Mid-Point properties part of the Allgreen group.

Not sure if the authorities would give Lippo the green light given the current situation of ..... S'pore having a hotel crunch .... office space crunch, etc.

It will be interesting to watch what will become of the 2 sites. I believe that it won't be too long before Lippo announce their plans.

It seems that Lippo is up-and-coming .... another developer that is raising up the ladder pretty quickly riding on the property/construction boom.

Do share your thoughts .... and do correct me I'm wrong here.

Just my 2 cents.
 
#19 ·
Centennia Suites

Indulge in the ultimate appreciation of life

Freehold

 
#26 ·
better launch now than later half of the year when things could become more uncertain.

further... Urban Suites seem to sell very well in Indonesia early part of this year, so Lippo might want to take the opportunity to launch it in Indonesia as well to catch the buying wave back home

anybody want to throw a guess on the psf??!

i reckon ard $1800psf
 
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