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Oct 4, 2007

Hostile end to Horizon Towers hearing

By Fiona Chan

TENSIONS ran high at the already prickly Horizon Towers hearing yesterday, as lawyers fought over who would have the last word.

The heated exchanges lasted less than an hour but they were more hostile than any of the previous day-long sessions since last Friday.

They brought to a close the appeal over the estate's bungled collective sale - an appeal peppered by barbed comments between highly paid lawyers and regular jeers and boos from the public gallery.

The only lawyer scheduled to speak yesterday was Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah of Tan, Rajah and Cheah. He represents the condominium's majority owners, who have asked the High Court to overturn the Strata Titles Board's (STB's) dismissal of their collective sale application in August.

Mr Rajah was to reply to arguments made by the minority owners' lawyers on Tuesday. The minority owners want the STB decision upheld.

But even before he could speak, Senior Counsel K.Shanmugam - representing the Horizon Towers buyers - attempted to have the final say. He asked Justice Choo Han Teck for '10 to 15 minutes' after Mr Rajah's speech to address some of the 'new' points raised on Tuesday.

Barely had Mr Shanmugam finished his request when Senior Counsel Michael Hwang and Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah, who each represent a different group of minority owners, were on their feet to object.

Although Justice Choo stayed the conflict by asking Mr Chelva Rajah to proceed with his remarks, Mr Shanmugam rose again once Mr Rajah was finished.

His plea to be allowed a response was interrupted by Mr Hwang, who said it would be 'unfair' to allow Mr Shanmugam 'a second bite of the cherry when he should have said all this in the first place'.

Justice Choo proposed two peace options: either Mr Shanmugam got five minutes to speak, or all the lawyers were to read his new points and respond in writing within the day.

Mr Hwang opted for the second option almost at the same time that Mr Shanmugam chose the first. It all looked quite comic to the tittering public gallery but the tension in the courtroom remained high, prompting Justice Choo to close the session without allowing Mr Shanmugam's speech.

In the end, only Mr Rajah had a say yesterday. He noted that Parliament will soon formally give the STB powers to ignore technical flaws - such as the three missing pages in Horizon Towers' collective sale application - showing that the STB was always intended to have these powers.

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Oct 4, 2007

Land authority's sales soar to nine-year high

It chalks up sales revenue of $6.3b on the back of red-hot property market; rental income rises a third

By Tan Hui Yee

THE booming property market sent sales revenue at the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to a nine-year high of $6.3 billion.

Its bumper result was still well shy of the record return achieved in the 1997 financial year, when the red-hot market pushed sales revenue to $14 billion.

The SLA manages state properties and also sells them to private companies and other government agencies at market value.

Its annual report out yesterday showed that it sold $3.55 billion worth of land to the private sector in the 12 months ended March 31 - about 8 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Some of this land included plots in Lim Chu Kang, which the SLA specially designated for agricultural and entertainment use.

A further $2.75 billion came from land sold to other government agencies, such as the 21ha plot for the Marina Bay integrated resort. This was bought by the Singapore Tourism Board for $1.2 billion and later taken over by developer Las Vegas Sands.

Rental revenue grew 33 per cent to $514 million, bolstered by takings from the booming Tanglin Village food and beverage cluster and the lease of the former Pearl's Hill Primary School, which is being turned into a boutique hotel.

Tanglin Village, in the Dempsey Hill area, is a thriving development of upmarket restaurants, bars and other businesses that have sprouted on the refurbished former military buildings managed by the SLA.

The authority helped to make the cluster more appealing by adding entrance and building markers, as well as creating an outdoor space for events.

Another state property adapted for new purposes is the former Changi Hospital, which the SLA tendered for use as a spa and resort development. The 7,900 sq m property is undergoing a $20 million makeover.

The authority's recent business-friendly moves have been noticed by property consultants such as Mr Ku Swee Yong.

The director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore suggested that the SLA could try extending the leases of its rental properties so that businesses would be more inclined to sink money into refurbishing state real estate.

Many of the SLA's properties are rented on three-year leases, which can be renewed up to nine years, but this may not be enough for a business to make a profit from its investment, said Mr Ku.

The SLA's operating surplus grew by 35 per cent to $17.1 million.

Meanwhile, another state agency, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), collected $2.7 billion from land sales in the financial year ended March 31.

Although the URA sold 16 sites in that period, compared with nine the year before, sales revenue dropped by 5 per cent because last year's takings were bolstered by high-value sites such as the business and financial centre in Marina Bay and the commercial plot at Orchard Turn.

The URA's operating surplus more than tripled to $14.8 million, helped by higher agency fees from selling sites and income from processing more applications for development.

tanhy@sph.com.sg

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Oct 4, 2007

New en bloc rules kick in today

Changes meant to make sale process more regulated and transparent

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

NEW collective sale regulations will kick in today - a few weeks earlier than many in the industry had expected.

The rules, which were passed in Parliament two weeks ago, were expected to take effect this month, but a date had not been specified.

The much-anticipated announcement, which came yesterday, took some en bloc players by surprise.

'We thought it was going to be later, and expected the Government to give more lead notice as well,' said Mr Jeremy Lake, executive director of investment properties at property firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

He added that 'initial indications were that they were likely to kick in only at the end of the month'.

The changes are aimed at making the sale process more regulated and transparent.

They require more conditions to be fulfilled, such as adhering to stricter requirements on setting up a sales committee and providing a five-day cooling-off period for owners to change their minds after signing the collective sale agreement.

The changes will apply to all developments that, as of today, have not obtained consent from enough owners to go en bloc - 80 per cent of owners by share value, or 90 per cent for estates less than 10 years old.

It will be back to the drawing board for the owners of these developments, who will have to start the collective sale process all over again and do so by the new rules.

Most property firms said they each had 'two or three' en-bloc estates that will be affected by today's changes.

But CBRE's Mr Lake expressed relief that there was clarity on when the rules would finally kick in.

Indeed, for the last few weeks, a few projects had been suspended because no one knew when the changes would take effect, said Mr Tan Hong Boon, executive director of Credo Real Estate.

'Most lawyers were also not prepared to quote their fees for new en-bloc projects because they didn't know how much more work they would have to do under the new rules,' added Mr Tan.

Some consultants scrambled last night to get the last one or two signatures.

Mr Steven Ming, director of investment sales at Savills Singapore, said he had expected to have 'one or two more weeks to get the last few signatures'.

'I guess I will have to work overnight,' he joked.

Other consultants, such as Jones Lang LaSalle's head of investments, Mr Lui Seng Fatt, said they have been advising would-be en-bloc sellers to follow the new rules since last month.

'Fortunately, none will have to start all over again,' he said.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Legal exchange rivets gallery

Majority owners of Horizon Towers get their day in court

Thursday • October 4, 2007

Loh Chee Kong
cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg

IN CONTRAST to the thunder and fury of the past few days, the legal dispute surrounding the botched Horizon Towers en bloc sale ended on a muted note yesterday — less than 45 minutes after it started in the High Court.

Nevertheless, it was a day the packed courtroom — comprising mainly the condo's residents — relished, going by their obvious delight when Senior Counsel K Shanmugam, who represents the prospective buyers, was repeatedly denied the chance to address the court.

The majority owners are appealing against the Strata Titles Board's decision to abort the proposed $500-million deal on technical irregularities — three pages containing the signatures of three majority owners were missing from the documents.

Yesterday, the majority owners' lawyer, Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah, was finally given the chance to respond to points raised by the lawyers for the minority owners, who hope to sink the deal for good.

But before the hearing began, Mr Shanmugam asked Justice Choo Han Teck for permission to speak after Mr Rajah. Justice Choo's response that he would decide after listening to Mr Rajah drew cheers from the gallery.

Mr Rajah reiterated that the sale order application was "not invalid", since two of the missing pages were actually tendered to the STB in a separate bundle, while the third page was submitted before the board's hearing ended.

While lawyers for the minority owners had argued that the latest changes to the law for en bloc sales, which empower the STB to disregard technical or procedural irregularities, meant it lacked this authority previously, Mr Rajah argued otherwise.

He said: "The fact that Parliament is putting up the Bill doesn't mean it had a change of mind. It's far more likely that Parliament all along intended the board to have the power."

In his written submission, he said that even without the three signatures, the consent level for the sale was 82.51 per cent — above the required 80 per cent.

As soon as Mr Rajah was done, Mr Shanmugam, who is also a Member of Parliament, requested to take the judge through parliamentary reports to show that the legislative amendments "in fact show Parliament's true intentions". He also wanted to highlight an earlier court case to illustrate the STB's jurisdiction to amend applications.

But Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, who was representing a minority owner, objected to this "second bite of the cherry". If the judge allowed Mr Shanmugam's request, said Mr Hwang, the other lawyers had to be given the chance to respond as well.

Justice Choo gave them the choice of either "five minutes" each to address the court again or to respond in writing to a written submission of Mr Shanmugam's additional points.

While Mr Shanmugam wanted the first option, Mr Hwang chose the second and the other four lawyers present agreed with him. The judge went with the majority and gasps of "yes" were heard from the gallery.

Justice Choo is expected to give his ruling next week.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Industry weighs new en bloc rules

Players note changes protect minority owners, improve sales proceedings

Thursday • October 4, 2007


Esther Fung
esther@mediacorp.com.sg

Changes to regulations governing collective property sales — which take effect today — favour the minority owners, said lawyers and property experts at an en bloc property seminar yesterday.

They could get a higher sales price if their objections to the sale are valid, while the provision for a change of mind following the signing of the collective agreement is generous, they said. Lawyer Sim Bock Eng from Wong Partnership said: "This five-day cooling-off period excludes weekends and public holidays, allowing minority owners to review their decision and alleviate any pressure."

The event comes at a time when the en bloc frenzy shows little sign of easing despite government measures.

Referring to reports of souring relationships, Mr Chan Kok Hong, CKH Strata Management managing director, said: "Director Royston Tan can make a movie from this."

Ms Sim said the raft of requirements for setting up a sales committee protects minority owners. Before the changes, a one-man committee could be set up; now, at least three owners are needed. And members of the committee have to be elected at a general meeting and must declare any relationships with developers, marketing agent or legal firms that might incur a possible conflict of interest.

The new provisions also improve en bloc proceedings, which typically take 31 months to complete, noted Mr Chan.

Meanwhile, the Law Ministry has advised that ongoing en bloc sales without a majority of owners' consent — 80-per-cent (for developments 10 years old or older) or 90-per-cent (below 10 years old) — have to comply with the new provisions. Those with the majority consent are exempted.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

This story was printed from TODAYonline

SLA rides the bulls

Thursday • October 4, 2007

sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg

Sheralyn Tay

IN A testament to the bullish property sector, it has been a year of records for the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

Its latest annual report revealed that revenue collected from State land sales has reached a nine-year record high of $6.3 billion, up from $5.5 billion the previous year.

Private sales in major projects such as the Marina Integrated Resorts, Southern Sentosa Cove and the Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex at One North accounted for more than half SLA's total land proceeds, with takings totalling some $3.5 billion in the financial period ending in March. This is up from $3.3 billion previously.

The public sector too bought their fair share of state land. Sales to entities such as the Singapore Tourism Board, Sentosa Development Corporation and JTC contributed to $2.7 billion in takings, up from $2.2 billion the previous FY, marking another record high.

Analysts, such as director of Dennis Wee Properties, Mr Chris Koh, said these figures are not surprising. "The last financial year, the Government has been releasing more land for sale in light of the brighter economy, so it explains the takings," said Mr Koh.

And in a bid to alleviate the CBD crunch, the SLA released 13 landmark State properties for dedicated office space between April last year and this March for "adaptive reuse".

It's likely that more such plots will be opened up for office use in the coming months, said Mr Koh as the demand for office space is still very strong. "Lots of foreign companies are still coming in and the Government has to ensure that there is enough office space to curb soaring rentals as this will have the detrimental effect of driving business away from Singapore."

SLA last year also tendered and awarded — for $1.75 million — three plots totalling 7.8ha in Lim Chu Kang for agri-tainment purposes in a bid to create a recreational countryside featuring a mix of agriculture, recreation and entertainment elements like farm stays and fishing and rock-climbing.

Non-profit organisations were not forgotten. One beneficiary, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), got a three-month rent-free period on a 2-ha site in Sungei Tengah for its wildlife rescue centre.

According to the annual report, SLA's total income increased from $80.8 million to $88.6 million, and its agency fee incomes achieved new highs, increasing 8 per cent from $50.8 million to $54.8 million.

Major Land Sales FY 2006/2007

Marina IR (picture) ($1.2b)

One North Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex ($180m)

Private land sales proceeds

FY02 1.2b FY03 684m FY04 290m FY05 $3.3b FY06 $3.5b

Public land sales proceeds

FY02 784m FY03 $1b FY04 $1.7b FY05 $2.2b FY06 $2.7b

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Electric New Paper :

Residents may try to sell for record $1.4b

LET us sell your estate for about $1.4 billion.

04 October 2007

LET us sell your estate for about $1.4 billion.

That's what property consultancy CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) is trying to persuade Pine Grove residents to do.

If the residents agree and CBRE manages to find a buyer, it will overshadow current record-holder Farrer Court, which was sold to CapitaLand for $1.33 billion in June.

The $1.4b price tag for the 893,000sq ft estate in Ulu Pandan means an average payout of $2m per unit.

There are 660 units in this 23-year-old estate. They are of different sizes.

Residents had already rejected the $1.2m per unit price tag in February as only 50 per cent voted for the en-bloc sale - well below the required 80 per cent.

A second attempt in May, with an upped price tag of $1.75m per unit, also fell through. Only about 50percent voted for the sale.

Last Saturday, some 500 Pine Grove residents held a meeting with CBRE at NUS Cultural Centre to sign the collective sale agreement (CSA).

CBRE is still collecting signatures from owners.

Close to 50 per cent of the residents have already signed the agreement.

They hope to push for the sale before the proposed changes to the Land Titles (Strata) Act take effect this month, CBRE's executive director Jeremy Lake said.

The various safeguards in the new rules are expected to increase the time taken to get en-bloc sites ready for launch, industry watchers said.

Some of the changes include having a lawyer to be present when an owner signs the CSA.

Madam Debra Lee, who owns a unit in Pine Grove, said: 'The first offer was simply too low for me to even consider. I don't think it was enough to look for a replacement home.

'But the recent payout seems more reasonable. I like this estate but if the offer is good, why not? Who knows when the property bull-run will end?'

The last transacted price for a 1,700plus sq ft unit there was about $1.3m in April, according to recent URA figures.

Another Pine Grove resident, who only wanted to be known as Lawrence, snubbed the latest offer.

He told The New Paper: 'Even with $2m, I don't think I'll be able to find a good replacement unit in this area. Yes, it may be a bit old but the location is great.'

He wants to hold out for $3m.

But Mr Lake believes the $2m individual payout is appealing enough to push the sale through.

He said: 'We are still in the midst of collecting signatures and we believe there's a very good chance we can get the pre-requisite 80 per cent by the end of this month.

'If we don't get the 80 per cent before the new legislation kicks in, it'll be a more prolonged process.'

He said that once they get more than 50 per cent signatures, they'll do some soft marketing and sound out one or two developers to see if they're keen.

'The general view is that the mass market is moving, so there should be no problems finding a buyer,' he said.

But if the estate's reserve price is not met, it could potentially mean going back to the drawing board to get the requisite 80 per cent approval for a lower price, industry watchers said.

Chesterton International's head of research and consultancy Colin Tan said that the increased price is not surprising.

He explained: 'In this instance, holding out for more may have benefited the residents.

'But it remains to be seen if they will really achieve that price. When the market moves, the en-bloc sellers may get more but prices of replacement units will also go up.'

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Sep 27, 2007

Sentosa Cove puts last site up for sale

Bids of up to $144m are expected for Pearl Island, which can host up to 19 waterfront villas

By Fiona Chan

DEVELOPERS who want a slice of the Sentosa Cove pie will have to act fast - the enclave's final development site was put on sale yesterday.

Up for grabs is Pearl Island, the last of five islands zoned for landed homes. The 159,740 sq ft site can host up to 19 waterfront villas with private berths.

Property consultancy CB Richard Ellis expects offers of $127 million to $144 million for the plot, which works out to $800 to $900 per sq ft (psf).

Pearl Island was originally packaged with another parcel, Sandy Island, which has since been sold at $617 psf.

The most recent bungalow sale at Sentosa Cove saw seven offers for three individual plots. A new benchmark price was set at $1,527 psf.

Pearl Island is located near the Tanjong Beach and Tanjong Golf Course and has a maximum gross floor area of 127,792 sq ft. The plot is being marketed through an expressions of interest exercise that will close on Oct 25.

Sentosa Cove's last condominium site, The Pinnacle, was also recently launched for sale in a tender that will close in December. The only land still unsold in the enclave are four seafront bungalow plots for individual buyers.

Pearl Island was not the only plot put on the market yesterday. Four sites were put up for collective sales, ahead of new rules on such sales which are expected to kick in next month.

One estate, Chateau Eliza at Mount Elizabeth, has an indicative price of $115 million to $120 million, said marketing agent Credo Real Estate.

This works out to $2,130 to $2,222 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) - just shy of the record $2,338 psf ppr paid for The Ardmore in June.

Chateau Eliza sits on a 17,997 sq ft plot with a possible gross floor area of close to 54,000 sq ft. No development charge is payable for the site.

A 36-storey condominium with 20 units of about 2,500 sq ft each can be built on the plot, said Credo.

Meanwhile, property firm Newman & Goh put up two estates for sale: Toho Garden in Yio Chu Kang and Vista Park in South Buona Vista Road.

The owners of freehold Toho Garden are asking $60.8 million, or $580 psf ppr. The 86,881 sq ft site has a 1.4 plot ratio and can host 80 new units.

Vista Park, a 99-year leasehold site, is priced at around $300 million, or $680 psf ppr, including an estimated upgrading premium of $37.3 million. About 300 new units can be built on the 319,248 sq ft plot.

The fourth site put on sale yesterday was a vacant plot in River Valley Road, between River Valley Grove and St Thomas Walk. It is 28,798 sq ft in size, can be built up to 36 storeys and has 80,634 sq ft of gross floor area, said marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

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Sep 27, 2007

JULY TO SEPTEMBER PERIOD

Private home rents jump by 8% to 10%

RENTS of private homes continued to rise strongly between July and September.

They jumped 8 per cent to 10 per cent islandwide over the previous three months, estimated property consultancy Knight Frank.

This was on top of a record 10.4 per cent growth in the second quarter, added Mr Nicholas Mak, Knight Frank's director of research and consultancy.

Rents in the Woodlands and Mandai area saw some of the highest growth rates in the third quarter. They surged between 25 per cent and 30 per cent, largely because of the draw of the Singapore American School in the area, said Mr Mak.

'This is an indication that although expatriates are concerned with rising housing rentals and costs, they are still willing to pay a premium to stay near international schools in Singapore,' he added.

For the last three months of the year, Mr Mak expects rents to rise slightly less, by 5 per cent to 10 per cent. This would bring full-year rental growth to between 30 per cent and 40 per cent, he said.

Knight Frank added that market activity is expected to pick up in the last quarter, as developers step up launches to meet year-end targets.

Another 3,500 to 4,500 units are likely to be launched for sale, and home prices for the whole year are expected to grow by up to 25 per cent.

FIONA CHAN

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Sep 28, 2007

Katong Mall goes on sale amid controversy

Minority owners say process to sell en bloc too fast; no chance to air views

By Jessica Cheam

KATONG Mall is up for a collective sale but angry minority owners claim they have been left out of the process.

More than 35 disgruntled owners said the sale agreement was drawn up so fast that they did not get a chance to air their views.

They are also upset that the sale process was conducted under the old rules and not the stricter ones due to kick in next month.

Owner Jeannette Aruldoss, 44, a lawyer, told The Straits Times that the process was 'done too quickly. We welcome the idea of the sale, but we want it done by the new rules'.

The revised law requires sale committee members to be elected at a general meeting and allows a five-day cooling off period for owners after signing a sale deal.

Three firms own 72 per cent of the 258-unit mall at the junction of East Coast and Joo Chiat Roads - Elysium, a holding company, and property developers Nustavino and Habitat Properties. The three have common investors. The rest of the mall is divided among about 100 owners.

The majority owners backed a sale and needed only a further 8 per cent for the required 80 per cent. This was confirmed on Wednesday.

The first time minority owners heard of a sale initiative was in a July 6 letter from property firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) stating that five owners, holding about 74 per cent of the shares, had already volunteered for a sale committee.

At an Aug 6 meeting to discuss the sale, JLL said a process for collecting signatures would start the next day.

Minority owners met JLL on Sept 6 to express their concerns and to set up a meeting with the sale committee.

They did not hear from JLL until Sept 11, when it told them that the required 80 per cent level had been reached.

They were unconvinced and tried repeatedly to arrange a meeting with the sale committee - personally and through JLL - but to no avail.

JLL marketing agent Stella Hoh told The Straits Times yesterday that she did tell minority owners on Sept 11 that they had achieved the 80 per cent 'subject to lawyer's verification of signatures'.

Confirmation came only on Wednesday.

Owner Lim Earn San, 60, said he was shocked at the speed of the sale, adding that the minority owners were not given any room for negotiations over the terms of the sale agreement.

The appointment of the marketing agent and lawyers was also done by the majority owners without consulting the minority owners, he said.

Mr Lim, who also owns a unit at Katong Shopping Centre, said the approach to the sale of the two malls, 'couldn't be more different'.

Owners at Katong Shopping Centre are following the new rules, having known of the changes since March, he said, adding: 'Why can't Katong Mall do the same?'

Some minority owners also fear a conflict of interest as two majority owners are in the property industry. But Ms Hoh said JLL had told the owners that the sale will be done by public tender and that any interested buyers related to the collective sale agreement 'are required by law to declare their interests'.

Three sale committee members declined to comment.

The 99-year leasehold mall has a plot ratio of 3.6 and a site area of 78,158 sq ft. An independent expert estimated its sale price to be between $600 per sq ft (psf) and $650 psf, valuing the mall at about $175 million.

JLL figures show that units have sold at a range of $300 psf to $800 psf this year.

All eyes are now on its upcoming sale launch. 'We'll see how it goes, but if we're not convinced the sale was done in good faith, we'll take our concerns to the Strata Titles Board,' said minority owner Robert Ong.

'LESS STRINGENT': Minority owners of Katong Mall are upset that the collective sale process was conducted under the old rules and not the stricter ones due to kick in next month. -- ST PHOTO: FRANCIS ONG

Looking back

KATONG Mall is a building with a beleaguered past.

Built in 1983, the former Katong People's Complex was known as the 'prison with pipes' due to its exterior of gigantic pipes and steel structures.

The surburban mall struggled initially with poor traffic and flagging businesses and in 1994, a woman, Madam Mona Koh, was shot there by an unknown gunman. She became paralysed after the incident.

A year later, the complex underwent a $12 million revamp and became Katong Mall.

Its flamboyant developer was Mr Ho Kok Cheong - who was also behind People's Park Complex.

He was declared bankrupt in the 1990s and was infamously involved in a massive corporate fraud in 2005.

jcheam@sph.com.sg

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Sep 28, 2007

Little India site fetches $265m top bid

By Fiona Chan

A PLOT in Little India drew two bids when its tender closed yesterday.

Singapore HealthPartners put in the higher offer for the 1.36ha site at $265.3 million.

This works out to $431 per sq ft (psf) of gross floor area and is 11 per cent more than the other bid submitted by Hiap Hoe Superbowl, which offered $238 million, or $386.40 psf of gross floor area.

The Government firmly pushed out the site - located at the junction of Rangoon and Race Course Roads - earlier this year after it received little interest from developers.

It was first offered as a 'white' site in August last year, which meant it could be used to build homes, shops, offices or hotels.

The site, however, failed to attract takers eight months after it was first offered, prompting the Government to extend its use to hospital development.

The Government stipulated that 40 per cent of the site's total floor area - potentially 615,965 sq ft - should still be given over to hotel rooms.

Even then, no developers came forward. This prompted the Government to offer the site for sale outright in July.

Property consultants said yesterday it is likely that the winning bidder will build a development with both hotel rooms and hospital rooms or medical suites on the site.

At least 550 hotel rooms can be built on it, estimated Mr Li Hiaw Ho of property consultancy CB Richard Ellis.

These rooms can 'complement the hospital or medical suites' by serving medical tourists, foreign medical consultants or family members accompanying patients, he said.

Mr Li added that this hospital-hotel hybrid model is likely to prove successful, given Singapore's twin aims of boosting tourism and health care.

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Sep 28, 2007

Hearing for Horizon Towers lawsuit adjourned

By Tan Hui Yee

THE lawsuit against the owners of Horizon Towers has been put on the backburner for now, after they extended the deadline for the estate's collective sale.

The consortium behind the suit, led by developer Hotel Properties (HPL), had the High Court hearing adjourned yesterday.

Its move followed a decision by the owners last week to extend the sale deadline until Dec 11 - a move that has taken some of the heat out of the stand-off, although another legal challenge looms today based on the initial sale process.

The consortium - comprising HPL, Morgan Stanley Real Estate-managed funds and Qatar Investment Authority - signed a deal in February to buy the 99-year leasehold Leonie Hill estate for $500 million. But some owners complained that the price was too low, and their mounting opposition culminated in the Strata Titles Board (STB) throwing out the sale deal, albeit over procedural errors, on Aug 3.

That decision comes under scrutiny today, with the owners asking the High Court to overturn the STB ruling.

The consortium has also filed an affidavit asking that it be allowed to participate in the appeal hearing.

If the appeal succeeds, the STB might have to reassess the Horizon Towers deal. If the STB's original decision is allowed to stand, it could spell the end of the sale.

The stakes are high. The HPL-led group, represented by law firm Allen & Gledhill, claims that the owners of 177 units who backed the deal have breached the sale contract. It has sued the sellers for $800 million to $1 billion in lost profits arising from the alleged breach. This means that if a sale is not eventually completed - under the original terms - the owners of each unit would have to cough up more than $5 million.

The consortium had indicated that it would drop the case once the sale goes through at the $500 million price. The deadline extension has raised hopes that this might be achieved as it would allow any errors to be corrected and a fresh application to be filed.

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Sep 29, 2007

My HDB flat's a condo

Dawson Estate in Queenstown will be the new face of public housing - flats done condo-style by top home-grown architects

By Tan Hui Yee

GROUND-LEVEL parks extend to the doorsteps of residents' homes and flats come with ceilings tall enough for lofts to be built.

These perks are not the latest offerings of swanky condo projects but new ideas for public housing in Queenstown.

Conceived by top local architects and unveiled at the Housing Board's (HDB) ongoing Remaking Our Heartland exhibition, the new concepts also promise to bring high-rise communities closer and promote an environmentally sustainable lifestyle.

At the heart of all this future action is Dawson Estate, a 60ha district in Queenstown bounded by Margaret Drive, Tanglin Road, Alexandra Road, Commonwealth Avenue and Queensway.

This former housing and entertainment hot spot was developed in the 1950s by the HDB's predecessor, the Singapore Improvement Trust.

It now has just 3,000 flats and tracts of land ripe for redevelopment after blocks of flats were cleared in the 1980s and 1990s.

It is expected to house about 10,000 more apartments in the future.

To bring a fresh spin to public housing, the HDB took the unprecedented step of commissioning Surbana International Consultants, Woha Architects and SCDA Architects earlier this year to conceptualise three separate precincts comprising 3,100 homes.

The brief: to introduce flats with seamless access to greenery, waterscapes and surrounding facilities, and promote closer ties, all on a tight budget.

While the HDB was tight-lipped about the construction budget it gave the architects to work with, SCDA's design principal Chan Soo Khian estimated that he had to design flats that could be built with roughly half of what it would cost to put up luxury condos fully fitted with items like wardrobes and cabinets.

Most HDB flats do not come with fittings.

The HDB said it will work closely with the private architects to develop a cost-effective design.

Each firm had its own ideas: Surbana extended a future linear park into a winding landscaped path around the blocks; SCDA gave the bigger flats enough vertical space for lofts; and Woha envisioned a block facade reflecting individual home owners' tastes.

Said Mr Chan: 'Doing a public-housing project means you have to work within tighter constraints. It means, in a modern way, your design is purer.

'You don't depend on embellishments to make it a good project. You're not worried about the inside, what kind of fitting is going where. In some (private) projects, you spend so much time just worrying about the kitchens and fittings.'

But certain private-housing elements are likely to pop up in the Dawson projects.

Woha, which recently won a prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture for its private project 1 Moulmein Rise, wants to offer the monsoon window it introduced there as one of the options for Dawson home buyers.

This contraption is a bay window with a horizontal opening that lets the breeze in but keeps out the rain.

Woha's founding director Richard Hassell said: 'It's not going to be expensive housing, just smarter in design.'

Work on the first of these Dawson flats is expected to begin in the next three to four years.

The upcoming estates will give new families a higher chance of living near the city centre, said head of HDB's urban design unit Kathleen Goh.

Currently, new flats near the central areas tend to be built only when existing residents in the vicinity are being resettled, leaving a limited number for newcomers.

The upcoming 3,100 homes in Dawson are likely to be fully available to new families.

Ms Goh revealed that families buying separate homes in the same housing estate would be able to buy adjoining units.

These units could also be combined sideways or even vertically to encourage different generations to live together. Their layouts will be flexible so that families can make adjustments if their needs change.

So far, the exhibition has drawn 62,000 visitors. One of them is architect Khoo Peng Beng, who designed the first 50-storey public-housing blocks here, now under construction in Tanjong Pagar.

Back in 2002, when his firm ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism proposed having high-rise gardens and sky bridges link seven towers for the international design competition for that project, such ideas were still relatively novel.

He said: 'HDB has come a long way. For a long time, the evolution of HDB design was very functional. This time, I think there is a more emotional and integrated approach to how we look at public housing.'

If the Dawson proposals are well-received, the HDB will consider inviting private architects again to conceptualise future public-housing projects.

tanhy@sph.com.sg

·  The Remaking Our Heartland exhibition is held at various housing districts until Oct 3. Check out http://heartland.hdb.gov.sg/ for details.

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