dollar landed homes. The site near MacRitchie Reservoir could accommodate up to 40 or 45 good class bungalows (GCBs) or be used for condominiums. About 1,200 apartments could be built on the site.
Property consultants have started weighing up the possibilities after MediaCorp said yesterday that it would move out of the site to a new $300 million complex in Bukit Batok.
This complex will be built on leasehold land owned by the company and should be ready in about five years, it said.
Its 70,000 sq m Caldecott Hill site is a 99-year leasehold block owned by the Government. The land could be returned to the Government once MediaCorp vacates it.
But in a statement yesterday, the company said: 'Details of the move are being worked out, including the future of the land at Caldecott Hill.''
Property consultants said the site will attract keen interest from developers if it does go up for sale because it is a large, elevated block in a prestigious residential area.
Also, sites for landed homes are rare, said Mr Nicholas Mak of property consultancy Knight Frank.
The area comprises mainly GCBs - Singapore's most coveted style of landed homes.
Building more of these bungalows, which must be on at least 1,400 sq m or 15,070 sq ft of land, would not alter the character of the neighbourhood, said Mr Ho Eng Joo of property consultancy Colliers International.
Mr Steven Ming of Savills Singapore added: 'There have been cases in Hong Kong, where TV stations were relocated from prime land to the suburbs, and the vacated sites were redeveloped into high-end residential properties.'' The Caldecott Hill site is zoned for civic and community institution use, but as it is within an area of mainly GCBs it may be slated for such use, said Mr Ming.
A freehold bungalow site of 56,700 sq ft in the area was sold last May for $353 per sq ft or about $20 million, though some smaller GCBs in ultra-prime areas such as Nassim Road can sell for as much as $500 psf to $600 psf.
But a sticking point could be the site's leasehold status, as freehold bungalows command better values.
Mr Mak suggested that the site could be carved into three or four smaller plots to fit a range of homes, from cluster housing to condominium units. Alternatively, a new class of leasehold bungalows could be created, he said.
'If the site is sold on a 99-year leasehold basis, it becomes highly probable that it will be slated for a residential development comprising cluster housing and/or low-rise condominiums,'' said Mr Ming. The leasehold condominium units could sell for $600 psf to $650 psf given that units in freehold Thomson 800, the closest condominium in the area, currently sell for $600 psf to $700 psf, he said.
The site could cost between $266 million and $276 million, Mr Ming added .
joyceteo@sph.com.sg
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