Lifestyle hub at one-north could boost housing prices, retail rents

Lifestyle hub at one-north could boost housing prices, retail rents

By UMA SHANKARI

THE upcoming integrated development at one-north is expected to generate more interest in the area and drive up housing prices and retail rents there, market watchers said.
On Sunday, property giant CapitaLand and New Creation Church’s Rock Productions said they will be investing some $660 million to build a lifestyle hub in one-north, JTC Corporation’s science hub. The project will be located right next to Buona Vista MRT station.

The hub, which will be the biggest retail development by far in the area once it comes up by 2011, will push up residential prices and rents as well as rentals for retail space in the vicinity, experts said.

‘You probably will see residential and retail prices going up in the area,’ said Mavis Seow, CB Richard Ellis’ executive director for retail services.

‘The Holland area is already a very much sought after location. Once the project is developed, it will only get better.’

Rents in the Holland Village area are now between $8 and $15 per square foot per month (psf pm), she said.

CapitaLand, which will invest some $380 million, will own the retail and entertainment component of the project, which will have some 180,000-200,000 sq ft of net lettable area.
Rock Productions will invest $280 million. The company, which is the business arm of the 16,000-strong New Creation Church, will manage the hub’s civic and cultural zone, which will include a 5,000-seat state-of- the-art theatre. The civic and cultural zone will have a gross floor area of some 323,000 sq ft in all.

Pua Seck Guan, chief executive of CapitaLand’s retail arm, said that in line with the developer’s asset-light strategy, the retail and entertainment component could eventually be injected into the developer’s listed real estate investment trust (Reit) CapitaMall Trust.

‘The hub will not be a traditional shopping mall,’ he said. ‘As the developer, we will take the risk - until investors are convinced it is sustainable - before selling.’

The mall will have mostly F&B and entertainment units as is the case with Clarke Quay, Mr Pua said. The retail component will be smaller than in CapitaLand’s other malls.

Possible tenants could include a gourmet supermarket, trade services catering to people living and working in one-north, and even a dance club, he said.

The hub is however guaranteed some footfall from New Creation Church’s congregation, said Matthew Kang, director of Rock Productions.

New Creation Church will be the theatre’s ‘anchor tenant’ and will hold both its Sunday and weekday service there.

At present, the church uses the Rock Auditorium at Suntec City, which seats about 1,400 people.

‘We wanted to look for a place to move to; the congregation was getting bigger,’ Mr Kang said.

Source : Business Times - 11 sept 2007

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The green route to en bloc redevelopment

The green route to en bloc redevelopment
Demolition is wasteful and not environmentally friendly, says Hillcrest MD
By ARTHUR SIM
THE property boom here prompted Hong Kong- based Hillcrest Capital to buy the 34-unit Anderson Green in February for $112 million in February. But instead of tearing it down to build a new condo, it will gut it, then reuse the existing structure.
Going green:The concept of alteration & addition might be new to S’pore, but it’s practised widely in HK, says Hillcrest’s MD Lyon Lau
Hillcrest managing director Lyon Lau says: ‘It is not environmentally friendly to demolish a perfectly fine building only to rebuild something similar.

‘Although the concept of alteration and addition might be new to Singapore, in Hong Kong it has been practised widely.’

More than 160 residential buildings have been sold en bloc for redevelopment here in the past two years, but many are still structurally sound.

Architect Tai Lee Siang, president of the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA), says: ‘Buildings are designed to stand for as long as the materials they are built of allow them to stand. This can be hundreds of years or less than a week - think of cardboard houses.’

Most of the buildings that have been sold are about 20 years’ old, but the sites they sit on can house bigger and taller projects, so it makes business sense to demolish them.

Anderson Green, which will be relaunched for sale as 21 Anderson, is already built up to its maximum potential, so strictly speaking the decision to not demolish was not completely for the love of the environment.

But perhaps what is really not sustainable are periodic increases in plot ratios.

The National University of Singapore’s Assistant Professor Hee Limin (Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment) says: ‘In a way our planning system encourages this redevelopment.’

According to her, it’s a shame that economic forces ‘control’ the landscape. And these economic forces do not take all factors into consideration.

There is also a cost implication in the ‘embodied energy’ in buildings, she says. This refers not only to the energy it uses once it is up and running, but the resources exhausted to build and possibly recycling it.

The study of a ‘life cycle’ of a building is still relatively new. But considering US National Institute of Standards and Technology figures, which reveal that building construction consumes 40 per cent of the raw stone, gravel and sand used and 25 per cent of the virgin timber used worldwide each year, the price of a new building is actually considerably higher.

City Developments Ltd (CDL) recently won the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum award and is probably the greenest developer in Singapore. Its general manager Eddie Wong concedes: ‘While there are negative environmental and social impacts from en bloc redevelopment, we must also be mindful of the tremendous positive effects of such redevelopment’.

He highlights a reduction in long-term energy consumption through more energy-efficient buildings.

CDL does recycle some building debris, but recycling or reusing a whole building is a different matter.

The most environmentally friendly solution would be to not demolish buildings at all, but ‘economic forces’ are not likely to support this.

Pioneer architect Tay Kheng Soon of Akitek Tenggara says the simplest solution would be to allow the transfer of development rights.

‘Owners of a site that has been given increased plot ratio should be able to sell to a developer who wants higher plot ratio on another site. This would also require a masterplan that allows for plot ratio increases above those pegged at a certain level. All in all, it requires a more sophisticated planning process than the present one.’

Other ways suggested by Mr Tay include rating existing buildings based on heritage. ‘The lower the rating, the more demolition is permitted. Correspondingly, a higher-rated property will enjoy a property tax rebate to balance out the benefits.’

SIA’s Mr Tai adds: ‘The attitude of keeping and maximising the value of old buildings for urban renewal requires a complete change of mindset. This is not always possible as it is human nature to yearn for growth, change and improvement.’

The Building and Construction Authority is encouraging the use of recycled materials in construction.

It promotes the use of Eco-concrete made from recycled material used in pilot projects for non-structural works such as pavement slabs in housing estates, linkways and park connectors.
Source : Business Times - 11 sept 2007

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Pinetree condo put up for sale

Pinetree condo put up for sale

Indicative price for the 12-year-old freehold site in Balmoral Park is $140m to $150m
By ARTHUR SIM

PINETREE Condominium in Balmoral Park has been put up for sale by tender with an indicative price of $140 million to $150 million.

Pinetree Condominium: Based on a sale at $140 million, the 41,361-square-foot property will cost about $2,100 per square foot per plot ratio
The freehold residential redevelopment site in district 10, which is about 12 years old, was put up for sale through an expression-of-interest exercise in April last year.

The indicative price then was about $59 million. This represents an increase in price by about 11/2 times.

More than 80 per cent of the owners have now agreed to the collective sale.

The block is being marketed by Jones Lang LaSalle, whose regional director and head of investments Lui Seng Fatt said: ‘There have not been many collective sale sites in the exclusive Balmoral Park area and with the recent hike in development charge, Pinetree Condominium, which has no development charge, will be an attractive site for developers to consider.’

Mr Lui said there would be no development charge payable as the current gross floor area is maximised.

Based on a sale at $140 million, the 41,361-square-foot property, which can have an estimated gross floor area of up to 66,178 square feet, will cost about $2,100 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Mr Lui added that the site can be combined with the adjoining landed properties to form a total potential land area of approximately 68,633 sq ft, which would yield a total combined gross floor area of 109,800 sq ft.

Based on this size, a developer could build a new development consisting of 70 to 80 luxury apartment units. Mr Lui estimates a break-even price of about $3,100 psf.

Some benchmark prices in the same area include those of The Solitaire, which has had a few transactions done above $2,200 psf, and Orange Grove Residences, which had transactions ranging from $2,100 to $2,350 psf.

Source : Business Times - 11 sept 2007

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Horizon Towers canvassing for sales committee

Horizon Towers canvassing for sales committee

By WEE LI-EN
(SINGAPORE) Some majority sellers of Horizon Towers who have been trying to find volunteers to form a new sales committee are understood to have found five - just enough to meet the quorum needed.

Third time lucky? If the majority sellers succeed in getting a new committee, it will be the third for the Horizon Towers sale
With a handful of willing candidates, they are trying to arrange for a meeting to be held on Sunday to discuss the election of a new committee, a source said.

The remaining three members of the previous sales committee of nine quit in a meeting last Friday. The others quit in the days leading up to the meeting as pressure mounted, along with threats of legal suits. If the majority sellers succeed in getting a new committee together, it will be the third for the Horizon Towers sale.

At the meeting on Friday, the majority sellers were supposed to decide on how to respond to a lawsuit brought by Hotel Property Ltd (HPL) and its partners after the en bloc sale of their Leonie Hill property fell through last month.

The Strata Titles Board (STB) refused to grant a collective sale order, saying that Horizon Towers had filed a defective application.

HPL and its partners are suing the majority sellers for failing to file properly.

However, sellers that BT spoke to said that the meeting was more focused on the issue of finding enough volunteers to form a sales committee, rather than deciding on the next course of action.

A lawyer that BT spoke to said that under the current Land Titles (Strata) Act, which governs en bloc sales, there is no mention of needing a sales committee for a collective sale to go through.

He said that having a sales committee is more of a practical issue, as it would be impossible to manage such a big en bloc sale without one.

However, under proposed new rules, an en bloc sales committee must be set up and its members elected at an extraordinary general meeting convened by the estate’s management corporation.

This will apply to all projects which have yet to obtain the required majority consent from owners at the time the amendments are passed by Parliament, most likely this quarter.

HPL and its partners have given the majority sellers up to today to extend the en bloc sale completion deadline to Dec 11 and ‘do everything necessary to obtain the collective sales order’.

Should they lose their case, each of the 255 owners of 173 units who signed off on the en bloc sale may be liable for about $4 million.

Source : Business Times - 11 sept 2007

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Fund flows into Asia now outpace redemptions: Citi

Fund flows into Asia now outpace redemptions: Citi
Bulk of inflows in past 2 weeks goes to North Asian funds
By CHOW PENN NEE

(SINGAPORE) Funds flowing into the Asian region in the past two weeks have surpassed redemptions in late July and August period, when equity markets suffered sharp losses on concerns of a global credit crunch, according to a Citigroup report yesterday.
Inflows totalled US$2.9 billion in the past two weeks, while year-to-date, net inflows to Asian funds, which are long strategy, came to US$4.7 billion. This is less than half the amount taken in over the same period last year.

Investors, spooked by sub-prime fears in the US, redeemed their investments into funds, leading to the carnage in stock markets.

Some market watchers speculate that inflows into Asia are coming back due to weak prospects in the US, so most of the funds are flowing into Asia. Others believe that the selling in the recent months has been overdone.

The bulk of the inflows went to country and regional funds in North Asia, accounting for 67 per cent of the total inflows. This compares with 56 per cent the week before, said the report.

Hong Kong funds garnered the most proceeds, US$343 million, among all the country funds in terms of dollars and a proportion of asset size.

For the week of Aug 30, inflows to Singapore country funds were US$1.9 million. This compares to the past four-week total of outflows of US$131.5 million.
The report highlighted that foreign investors were net buyers in most markets except Korea. Foreign net sell of Korean equities came up to US$18.4 billion over the past three months, the biggest in history. ‘The good news is that selling pressure seems to be subsiding. In the week ended last Wednesday, net sell decreased for the second week to US$426 million from US$3.2 billion at the peak three weeks ago,’ noted Citigroup analyst Elaine Chu in the report.

Foreign investors resumed buying last week in countries such as the Philippines, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and Thailand.

Even though strong inflows in the past two weeks have helped restore the uptrend of Asian fund flows, given the increasing volatility of Asian markets, flows are likely to become more volatile as well, said the report.

The report also noted that inflows to Global Emerging Market funds finally resumed after six weeks of redemptions. Year-to-date, net outflows are down to US$367 million, compared with US$4.7 billion inflows a year ago.

International funds, unlike their Asian and GEM counterparts, recorded net redemptions in the week starting Aug 30. ‘From a short-term perspective, flows are still heading south,’ noted Ms Chu in the report.

Source : Business Times - 11 sept 2007

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Eco-friendly project for iconic site in Beach Road

Eco-friendly project for iconic site in Beach Road

CDL-led consortium wins tender for hotly contested site with $1.68b bid
By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent

SINGAPORE’S fast changing city skyline is set for an eye-catching addition after a consortium was awarded a large, hotly contested Beach Road site, with a winning bid of $1.689 billion.
The new development, called South Beach, features two striking towers, 45 storeys and 42 storeys tall, plus the original conserved military buildings of the old Beach Road Camp which will be restored.

The project will boast premium office space, two hotels, shops and city residences.

Competition to develop the 3.5ha site - seen by some as the last major iconic site in town - was fierce but was won by a consortium led by City Developments (CDL).

The futuristic design, with environmentally friendly features, is by renowned British architects Foster & Partners.

The winning bid works out to $1,068.6 per square foot of potential gross floor area and was the higher of two tender submissions earlier shortlisted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for their acceptable concept proposals.

Keppel Land and partner Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Holdings lost out with their bid of $1.386 billion.

CDL, which tendered via Scottsdale Properties, tied up with Dubai World’s Istithmar Beach Road FZE and Elad Group Singapore, with equal stakes. US-based El-Ad Group, which bought New York’s landmark Plaza Hotel from CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and his partner in 2004, is owned by Israeli billionaire Yitzhak Tshuva.

Said Mr Kwek: ‘We are confident that South Beach will elevate Singapore’s branding as a global city and help attract more prominent investors all over the world.’

CDL said the 99-year leasehold development, which has a gross floor area of 146,827 sq m, will be built by 2012.

The office space will be substantial as URA requires the developers to set aside at least 40 per cent of the space for office use. At least 30 per cent of the space must be for hotel rooms.

‘Given its strategic location, South Beach is designed with a clear intent to bring economic benefits to complement the rapid growth of our city-state,’ said CDL’s managing director Kwek Leng Joo.

The consortium’s proposal adopted environmental design and green technology to create a distinctive, high-quality development that fits in well with the tropical climate and the urban context.

A key feature of the winning design is a large ‘environmental filter’ canopy that covers the open spaces and ties together the new and conservation buildings within the site.

The first storey is laid out with a series of internal streets, which will enhance street level vibrancy and allow pedestrians to move about easily.

‘The concept is a big step forward in strengthening Singapore’s stand as an environmentally friendly city,’ said Singapore Institute of Architects’ president Tai Lee Siang.

When the Beach Road tender closed in July, the URA received seven submissions from major developers and firms. Five were rejected even though some of them came with higher bids.

For instance, the Lippo Group, which had tendered through Overseas Union Enterprise, submitted two bids above the winner’s price.

‘It’s a good price for the CDL consortium because this is the last iconic site in Singapore,’ said Mr Ku Swee Yong of property consultancy Savills Singapore. ‘And hotel room rates and office leasing rates have been showing strong growth.’

Mr Li Hiaw Ho, executive director of CBRE research, said the site will add at least 500,000 sq ft of new office space and about 700 to 800 hotel rooms. It would relieve an office space shortage and offer rooms for visistors to the Formula One race, he said.
Source : Straits Times - 11 sept 2007

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Keppel Land in $760m venture to build luxury Saudi homes

Keppel Land in $760m venture to build luxury Saudi homes

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

KEPPEL Land is making its first foray into Saudi Arabia by inking a $760 million joint-venture deal to develop luxury homes in the city of Jeddah.
It will tie up with the Saudi Economic and Development Co (Sedco) to develop the project, which is expected to be launched next year, the property developer said yesterday.

The development will be built on a 3.6ha site along Jeddah’s Corniche waterfront. It will comprise three high-rise towers with a total of about 1,000 seafront apartments, Keppel Land said in a statement.

The developer aims to cater to the high-end market with this project, which will be undertaken in phases according to market demand.

Keppel Land will take a 51 per cent stake in the venture, with Sedco holding the rest.

Jeddah, a regional hub for commerce and recreation, has a population of 3.4 million and is located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia by the Red Sea. Keppel Land’s entry into this city will enable it to ‘quickly establish its track record’, said managing director Kevin Wong.

It will also ‘open us to other opportunities both in Saudi Arabia, as well as in other fast-growing markets in the Middle East’, he added.

Keppel Land’s director for regional investments, Mr Ang Wee Gee, noted that Jeddah has enjoyed a real estate boom recently, due to Saudi Arabia’s strong economic growth and accelerated reforms in the economy.

‘In particular, Jeddah’s North Corniche precinct is a prime real estate location,’ he said. ‘In Jeddah, there is also a growing trend towards high-rise luxury apartments designed and developed by reputable developers.’

Apart from this project, most of Keppel Land’s overseas ventures have been within Asia.

But this is not the first time a Keppel Group unit is entering the Middle East, with Keppel Offshore & Marine establishing a foothold in the United Arab Emirates way back in 1995.

Source : Straits Times - 11 sept 2007

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50 watch groups for commercial areas in the south

50 watch groups for commercial areas in the south

JUST as residential areas have neighbourhood watch groups, so too do commercial areas.
But instead of guarding against burglars, they look out for possible terrorist and safety threats. Over 50 security watch groups have been set up in commercial areas in southern Singapore.

Typically, the management committees and security managers of four to five buildings sited near each other form a group.

Till now, these groups have worked with the police on security issues. Such tie-ins, however, will henceforth also include other Home Team agencies, like the Singapore Civil Defence Force.

They have also been renamed safety and security watch groups. About 30 such groups are already in force in the northern part of the island.

Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Ho Peng Kee explained yesterday that these groups will have to come up with ‘robust and holistic plans to defend against safety and security threats’.

These groups were first set up in November 2003, following the Sept 11 attacks in the United States. Over 100 watch group members sprang into action during preparations for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings last year.

They worked together with the police in exercises to test their readiness in an emergency, he said.

Source : Straits Times - 11 sept 2007

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