www.shaproperty.com

THIS could be the largest ever collective sale here.

Gillman Heights, a privatised HUDC estate comprising high-rise and low-rise blocks, sits on a sprawling 836,425 sq ft plot of land. --MOHD ISHAK

Owners of the 99-year-leasehold Gillman Heights condo are now one step closer to that en-bloc dream.

The National University of Singapore (NUS), which owns 305 of the 608 units there, told The New Paper that it intends to sign a collective sale agreement.

With that, those in favour of the sale are likely to secure the 80 per cent of owners' votes needed to put the site on the market.

It has 78 years left on its lease.

Now, they must apply to the Singapore Land Authority for in-principle approval to top up the lease to 99 years.

Then, they need approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority to proceed with the en bloc sale.

The sale will also depend on the approval of the Strata Titles Board.

Gillman Heights, a privatised HUDC estate located off Depot Road/Alexandra Road, comprises four high-rise blocks with 455 apartments and six low-rise blocks of 152 maisonettes.

There is also a shop unit, bringing the total number of units to 608.

The NUS apartments there provide off-campus accommodation for some of its staff and graduate students.

NEW RECORD

If the sale goes through, the 836,425 sq ft site (about the size of eight football fields) looks set to topple the record held by Waterfront View at Bedok Reservoir Road.

Last month, the 809,037 sq ft leasehold Waterfront View project was sold for $385 million.

The 583 units were was sold to FCL Peak, a joint venture between Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization.

NUS had been facing pressure from some of the other apartment owners to finalise the en-bloc agreement, according to a report in The Business Times in April.

NUS was then studying the terms of the sale.

Some residents felt the university was taking too long and they could miss the en-bloc boat if developers decide to slow down on landbanking - picking up key collective sale sites.

The new development almost certainly means the owners have hit the jackpot.

With an asking price of about $528 million, on average, each owner can get about $870,000 per unit, reported The Business Times.

That is 50 to 60 per cent more than what their units would fetch if sold individually.

One resident there, who wanted to be known only as Su-Ann, said she's both relieved and sad that the condo will be put up for sale soon.

She lives in a 1,900 sq ft maisonette with her husband and two children.

The couple paid about $500,000 for the unit a year ago.

Said the 43-year-old hotel employee: 'I feel relieved now that they can actually go ahead with it.

'It's been hanging in the air for too long.

'People kept talking about the en-bloc thing but nothing seemed to be happening.'

If all goes according to plan, her family will get a windfall of a few hundred thousand dollars from the sale.

'I'll be happy with the money but it's also sad because we just moved in last May.

'We've been looking around, but it's hard to find a big apartment in such a large estate in this neighbourhood,' she said.

Now the big question for the owners is what kind of response there will be from developers, the potential buyers.

Knight Frank research director Nicholas Mak figures the site can have around 1,300 apartments.

The developers' response will depend very much on the asking price, he said.

There are few residential projects in Singapore that are so big.

Said Mr Mak: 'Having big sites for leasehold projects can be a challenge for developers because they have to put all their eggs in one basket.

'Can you imagine how long it'll take the developer to sell the 1,300 units? How many tennis courts, swimming pools or carparks will they need?'

Mr Mak said one option for the developer will be to divide the site and market each project individually.