Friday, September 22, 2006
[RealEdge] BT : Pontiac Land Group buys Pin Tjoe Court for $201m
| Published September 22, 2006  | |||
| Pontiac Land Group buys Pin Tjoe Court for $201m Its bid of $1,358 psf ppr including DC sets new record for residential land
By KALPANA RASHIWALA
(SINGAPORE) In its first residential land acquisition here in at least a decade, Pontiac Land Group has bought the freehold Pin Tjoe Court at Ardmore Park through a collective sale for $201 million or $1,358 per square foot of potential gross floor area.
The latter price includes an estimated $28 million development charge (DC) based on the latest Sept 1, 2006 DC rates and sets a new record for residential land in Singapore, toppling the $1,228 psf per plot ratio set for Habitat One, across the road, in July. Pontiac Land was the highest of three bidders for Pin Tjoe Court when the tender for the 60,224 sq ft site closed on Wednesday, said CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) executive director Jeremy Lake, whose firm brokered the deal. He declined to identify the other bidders. Sources suggest SC Global Developments was among them. The second-highest bid is understood to have been about $4-5 million below Pontiac's winning bid. The sale of Pin Tjoe Court should clear the way for that of Ardmore Point next door. This is also being marketed by CBRE, through a tender that closed on Aug 8. Market watchers believe Pontiac itself could be a prime candidate to buy the freehold Ardmore Point, as the combined land area of 120,757 sq ft could yield a more substantial project of about 165 units averaging 2,000 sq ft in a prime location. Both sites are zoned for residential use with a 2.8 plot ratio - the ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area - and a 36-storey height limit. 'We will study it (the Ardmore Point site),' a spokesman for Pontiac Land Group told BT yesterday. The Pontiac name is synonymous with aesthetic developments designed by renowned architects - for instance, The Colonnade in Grange Road and the Millenia Singapore development. The Pontiac spokesman said the plan for the Pin Tjoe Court site is to create a 'premium development' While the group is yet to determine the configuration of the project, 'the concept is to create a luxurious condominium for the new generation of premium buyers'. Pontiac estimates the breakeven cost for the project to be around $1,700-1,750 psf. Some market watchers suggest the figure may be higher, at $1,800 psf or more, but Pontiac should still be able to make a profit given the buoyant luxury residential market. 'With the stronger outlook on the economy, we believe there is a sustainable interest in residential properties, especially in the prime area,' the Pontiac spokesman said. Market watchers say the Pin Tjoe site on its own can be redeveloped into a new 36-storey condo with slightly over 80 units averaging 2,000 sq ft. Pontiac is expected to sell some of the new apartments and keep the rest for investment. 'In addition to our hotels, commercial and retail properties, the group has a portfolio of residential properties with a gross area of 500,000 sq ft,' the spokesman said. 'The Ardmore Park property will be a good addition to the portfolio.' The group has retained all the apartments in The Colonnade and some units at Villa Delle Rose in the Holland Road area, which it developed jointly with Keck Seng. After Pin Tjoe Court and Habitat One, the next highest prices fetched for residential land this year were for the collective sales of Eng Lok Mansion in Napier Road ($1,218 psf ppr) and Grange Tower in Grange Road ($1,207 psf ppr). Three of the four deals - the exception is Habitat One - were brokered by CBRE. The existing Pin Tjoe Court comprises 32 apartments and two penthouses. The apartment owners will receive $5.5 million per unit and the penthouse owners $11 million per unit. These sums are about 75 per cent more than the units could fetch had they been sold individually. | |||
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