Tuesday, October 10, 2006
[RealEdge] TodayOnline : Seeking the simple life
 This story was printed from TODAYonline | |
 | |
| Seeking the simple life Tuesday ? October 10, 2006 Tor Ching Li chingli@mediacorp. LAWYERS, engineers and former bankers are among some of the city slickers who are now thinking of leaving the concrete jungle for the rustic charm of Lim Chu Kang, where they hope to build nature retreats, meditation centres, restaurants, spas, chalets, fish, prawn and vegetable farms, and even an Indian village recreating life in the 1950s. These were some of the ideas expressed in 37 enquiries received by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) regarding agricultural land parcels in Lim Chu Kang, where three plots of land, totalling 78,329 sq m, are open for tender until Dec 5. This is the first time the SLA is selling land based on a broad range of allowable "agri-tainment" uses ? such as agricultural farming, artist studios, rock climbing ? with bidders free to suggest alternative and innovative land uses. Said SLA's director of land operations division Simon Ong: "The Government's vision is to transform the Lim Chu Kang area into a recreational countryside ? a destination within easy reach of urban dwellers where we can enjoy rustic scenery, see livestock up close and take part in exciting adventure and outdoor activities." However, a new condition requiring the successful bidders of the plots ? which range from 12,000 sq m to 50,000 sq m ? to pay 20 years' lease upfront is nipping some "farmpreneurs" in the bud. Existing "farmpreneurs" like pioneer Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim, 57, who spent $2 million developing her educational farm and Poison Ivy restaurant in Lim Chu Kang in 2001, pay their rent annually for a 20-year lease. Although the land price, which will be determined by market competition, is as yet unknown, Mrs Singh-Lim pays $60,000 a year for a 40,500 sq m plot of land. Based on this rate, aspiring farmpreneurs may have to fork up almost $1.5 million upfront for the biggest plot of land. Engineer Adrian Tan, 33, who spent his childhood in Lim Chu Kang where his parents ran a pig farm, said he probably can't "fight with the big fish" for the three plots of land. He was going to set aside $200,000 to start a fish and prawn farm. "But now, with the huge capital outlay, I think I will have to reconsider my plans," he said. Ditto for lawyer Kertar Singh, 58, who had planned, with his partners, to spend up to $2 million to recreate an Indian village of the 1950s as a retirement project. He is now considering scaling down the concept to a showfarm with chalet, spa and gym facilities. While Mrs Singh-Lim rooted for lowering start-up costs to hothouse enterprising young people, such as chefs or artistes, an SLA spokesperson said that paying an upfront premium was standard for all land sales in the market, and makes it easier for the landowner to borrow money from the bank for development. | |
| Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved. | |
Real Estate News Provided Freely
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
SPONSORED LINKS
.
__,_._,___
// posted by Shajahan @ 10:44 AM 