Silversea at Marine Parade - Singapore - District 15

Silversea at Marine Parade - Singapore - District 15

Brand New Singapore 99 years leasehold Next to Cote d’Azul and Parkway Parade Sea View Units available! EST TOP 2012 4 towers total 383 units 21 Storeys Sky Terrace located at 11th Storeys The only plot at Singapore Marine Parade Road with unblocked Sea View! Mins drive to City and Singapore Changi Airport! Shopping Centre and well established neighborhood Amenities and East Coast Park Good for Investment Return!

Project Name   : Silversea @ Marine Parade
 
Developer  : Far East
 
Location  :Marine Parade Road
 
District 15
 
Tenure  : 99 Leasehold
 
Description  : 21 stoery
 
Numbers of unit  : 383 units
 
Types of units  : 2/3/3+1/4 bedroom penthouse
 
 
TOP  : 31/12/2012
Total 4 Tower

2 bedrooms –    947sqft - 1100sqft

3 bedrooms-     1270sqft - 1600sqft

3+1 bedrooms- 1474sqft - 1800sqft

4 bedrooms-     2120sqft-2600sqft

3 units Penthouse-      3500sqft - 4090sqft

FACILITIES • Alfresco dining pavilion with cooking facilities and outdoor lounge

• Poolside dining deck
• Leisure Pool with water deck
• Hot water Jacuzzi
• Lagoon Pool with beachfront edge
• Day Cabanas with Barbeque facilities
• Poolside Sun Deck
• Lap Pool with lap markings
• Hydro-jets seats
• Wading and Fun Pool
• Water Play area
• Game Pavilion with service/bar counter and table tennis table
• Children play area
• Tennis Pavilion with bar counter
• Outdoor Fitness area
• Tennis Court
• Wellness Pavilion with service counter, hot tub, message deck and rain shower
• Foot Reflexology path
• Tropical Coastal Garden
• Eco-pond with aquatic plants
• Dining Cabanas with Barbeque facilities
• Tea Cabana with service counter
• Lounge
• Gymnasium
• Steam room
• Indoor Dining with bar and kitchen

AMENITIES • East Coast Parkway, highway that connects city and airport

• Nearest MRT Station: Aljunied MRT Station
• East Coast Park
• Marine Parade Town Centre
• Parkway Parade Shopping Centre
• Marine Parade Community Club
• Marine Parade Community Library
• Near CHIJ (Katong) Primary
• Near Ngee Ann Primary School
• Near Tao Nan School
• Near CHIJ Katong Convent
• Near St. Patrick’s School
• Near Chung Cheng High School (Main)
• Near Tanjong Katong Secondary School
• Near Tanjong Katong Girls’ School
• Near Victoria School
• Near Victoria Junior College
 

 
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Mindy Yong

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6th Design, Build and Sell site up for sale in Singapore Toa Payoh

6th Design, Build and Sell site up for sale in Singapore Toa Payoh

30% of units built must be equivalent to 4-room or smaller HDB flats
By ARTHUR SIM
THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) is selling a site on Lorong 1A Toa Payoh by tender under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) - the sixth since the first such site was awarded in January 2006.
The latest site measures 295,790.9 square feet and has an allowable gross floor area (GFA) of 1.24 million sq ft.

HDB said that the successful tenderer has to build at least 30 per cent of the flats with a floor area of 1,022.6 sq ft or less - equivalent to 4-room or smaller flats.

Knight Frank director (research and consultancy) Nicholas Mak believes that the site could draw bids of $150-200 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

While this is lower than the $237 psf ppr that Qingdao Construction Group Corporation paid for a DBSS site in Bishan in February, Mr Mak believes that developers will have to factor in market conditions and higher construction costs.

The developer will also have to be sensitive about pricing, he said.

‘This kind of project will basically be a bread-and-butter project. The developer will need to sell at quite a fast pace.’

DBSS homes are essentially HDB homes and are not part of the Government Land Sales Programme.

 
 
So, potential DBSS units are not considered when calculating future private home supply.

‘It is more likely to affect supply and demand of HDB homes,’ Mr Mak added.

Chesterton International head of research and consultancy Colin Tan said that as with normal HDB flats, eligibility based on household income applies, so the supply of more DBSS flats should not have much of an impact on the private property market.

He added, however, that some HDB upgraders could decide to buy DBSS flats rather than upgrade to entry-level private condominiums.

Also, he said: ‘This Toa Payoh site will appeal to existing residents in the neighbourhood. There is already a captive market.’

Consultants agree that the launch price of the development is not likely to be more than that of the recently launched City View @ Boon Keng, a DBSS site awarded in May for $233.74 psf ppr.

The average price for City View is understood to be $520 psf.

However, in April, HDB awarded a nearby site on Lorong 2/3 Toa Payoh for a private condominium project to the highest bid of $460 psf ppr.

Analysts had estimated that based on the breakeven price, the condo could be launched at $950-1,000 psf.
 

 
Source : Business Times  - 27 Jun 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Ho Bee’s robust sales prompt more Singapore launches

Ho Bee’s robust sales prompt more Singapore launches

By KALPANA RASHIWALA

SOME developers are riding on the pick-up in home-buying mood created by Ho Bee’s Dakota Residences preview last week to launch their own projects.
 
Upbeat: Sim Lian Grp has sold about 100 units of the Clover By The Park condo since its Wednesday preview 
Mainboard-listed Sim Lian Group, for one, has sold about 100 units of its Clover By The Park condo at Bishan St 22 since it began previewing the development on Wednesday at an average price of $750 psf.

Next to Kovan MRT Station, an outfit controlled by UOB-Kay Hian star stockbroker pair Han Seng Juan and David Loh Kim Kang is getting ready to release its 512-unit condo, according to industry sources.

BT understands that Centurion Kovan, which is developing the project, plans to preview the condo soon to ‘remisier friends’ of Messrs Han and Loh. There are also plans to preview the condo overseas, including China. The average price is expected to be in the $850-900 psf range.

The duo bought the 189,812 sq ft site at a state tender in October last year for around $436 psf per plot ratio.

Over in Bishan, Sim Lian is developing two 39-storey blocks with a total of 616 units for the Clover By The Park condo. The first phase released earlier this week comprises one tower with 308 units. It is near good schools like Catholic High (within 1 km), Ai Tong Primary School and Raffles Institution. ‘Clover By The Park features three-bedroom and four-bedroom units to luxurious penthouses and suites of six bedrooms,’ Sim Lian said in a release yesterday.

Ho Bee has sold 95 units at Dakota Residences since last Friday. The average price is $976 psf. All three projects are 99-year leasehold.

 
Source : Business Times  - 27 Jun 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Frasers Commercial Trust gets listing nod - Singapore

Frasers Commercial Trust gets listing nod - Singapore

SGX has issued an eligibility-to-list for the admission of units in FCOT to the main board
By NISHA RAMCHANDANI

THE way has been paved for Fraser and Neave (F&N) to list Frasers Commercial Trust (FCOT), a real estate investment trust (Reit).
F&N said yesterday that the Singapore Exchange has issued an eligibility-to-list for the admission of units in FCOT to the main board.

FCOT will be established in Singapore and sponsored by Frasers Centrepoint, a wholly owned subsidiary of F&N. It will be managed by Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management (Commercial), a wholly owned subsidiary of the sponsor.

F&N said that, subject to market conditions, Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management intends to make an offering of units which will likely consist of, inter alia, an international placement to both institutional and other investors in Singapore as well as to the public.

In the event of an offering, the Reit intends to acquire a 99-year leasehold interest in three commercial properties - Alexandra Point, Alexandra Technopark as well as the office and retail component of Valley Point.

More details will be ’set out in the preliminary prospectus of FCOT which will be lodged with the MAS in due course, subject to market conditions,’ the statement said.

In the long term, FCOT will also own and invest in commercial real estate in the Asia-Pacific region, including office and business space.

F&N, whose activities cover food and beverage, property and publishing, reported net profits of $96.6 million for the second quarter ended March 31, 2008, down 9.8 per cent from $107.1 million in the corresponding quarter the year before. Revenue came in at $1.14 billion, up 4.7 per cent from 2Q07.

However, for 1H08, net earnings rose 11.7 per cent to $205.2 million, up from $183.7 million in the corresponding period last year. This came on the back of a 12 per cent increase in revenue for 1H08, to $2.46 billion from $2.20 billion in the year-ago period. Earnings per share for H1 2008 was 14.8 cents, up from 14.6 cents.

 
Source : Business Times  - 27 Jun 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Q1 growth matches estimate, but job market soft - WASHINGTON

Q1 growth matches estimate, but job market soft - WASHINGTON

1% annual pace a touch stronger than 0.9% forecast
(WASHINGTON) The US economy grew slightly faster than initially thought in the first quarter, while the job market remained sluggish last week, according to US data released yesterday.
Gross domestic product, which measures total output of goods and services within US borders, grew at a one per cent annual pace in the first three months of 2008, matching economists’ forecasts and a touch stronger than the 0.9 per cent growth estimated by the Commerce Department last month.

The figure was initially reported in April at an anaemic 0.6 per cent, fuelling concerns that the US economy may be slipping into recession. However, those concerns have subsided as fresh data showed healthier growth, particularly in consumer spending and exports.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of national economic activity, rose at a 1.1 per cent rate in the quarter, slightly ahead of the preliminary estimate of one per cent last month. Despite that upward revision, consumer spending posted its smallest gain since the second quarter of 2001, which was during the last recession.

The US Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting committee pointed to stronger consumer spending as a sign that the economy was hanging on despite the housing sector slump and subsequent credit contraction. The central bank left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and signalled that it may soon be ready to raise borrowing costs if inflation keeps building.

 
 
Yesterday’s Commerce Department report showed that prices continued to rise in the first quarter. The price index for gross domestic purchases, a closely watched measure of inflation, rose at a 3.6 per cent rate, up 0.1 of a percentage point from the preliminary estimate. Excluding food and energy, the price index was up 2.3 per cent.

The report also showed that exports, which have been among the few bright spots in the economy, rose 5.4 per cent, which was much better than the estimate of 2.8 per cent in May.

Imports of goods and services fell 0.7 per cent, a more modest decline than the 2.6 per cent drop estimated last month.

Separately, the Labour Department reported that the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits was unchanged last week, although a separate gauge that irons out volatility rose to the highest since 2005.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits stood at a seasonally adjusted 384,000 last week, matching the revised level in the previous week. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 380,000 new claims.

There has been a lot of talk about whether the country has fallen into a recession. The new GDP statistics did not meet what analysts consider one definition of a recession - two straight quarters of shrinking economic activity. But that didn’t happen in the last recession in 2001, either. And other barometers - nationwide job losses and shrivelling paychecks - have pointed to a possible downturn.

One bright spot keeping the economy going in the first quarter was export growth. Exports grew much stronger than previously estimated, but down from a 6.5 per cent growth rate in the prior quarter. — Reuters, AP

Source : Business Times  - 27 Jun 2008

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Flight to quality may cool Singapore office rents in places

Flight to quality may cool Singapore office rents in places

Spiralling rentals almost ground to a halt in Q2 with more cautious economic climate
By KALPANA RASHIWALA

(SINGAPORE) For office tenants in Singapore wearied by steep rental hikes in the past couple of years, some relief is at hand.
The sharp escalation in office rents screeched almost to a halt in the second quarter of this year as a more cautious economic outlook became widespread. Average prime and Grade A office rents edged up just 0.8 and 0.6 per cent respectively in Q2 over the preceding three months, according to latest figures from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

‘We may see on an average basis, marginal advancement in rentals in second-half 2008 beyond current levels. 2009 will probably be flat, and for 2010 and 2011, we may see office rents easing’ as new supply is completed, says CBRE executive director (office services) Moray Armstrong.

Last year, prime and Grade A office rents nearly doubled and that came on top of the 50-plus per cent gains they posted in 2006, on the back of tight office space and strong demand from occupiers including global financial institutions expanding their operations in Singapore.

Alarmed that spikes in office rents in the past two years may threaten Singapore’s business competitiveness, the government has been boosting supply.

 
 
While new office developments being built are not expected to face difficulty pulling in tenants, vacancies created in older properties from a departure of tenants in a ‘flight to quality’ will create downward pressure on rents, market watchers say. A lot will also depend on how demand pans out.

CBRE noted yesterday that ‘it was evident that the volume of leasing transactions driven by expansion was lower in the past two quarters’. The pace of leasing pre-commitments in new prime office developments has slowed but negotiations are still progressing, the property consultancy said.

‘A couple of large occupiers have identified excess space which can be made available for subletting, but at this stage, this has not become a notable trend,’ it added.

Mr Armstrong says that the significant number of new developments being built in the central business district (CBD) is likely to lead to a more competitive environment for pre-letting. ‘Existing landlords can be expected to adopt more defensive positions, with tenant retention being given greater priority as the completion of new supply is now more imminent.

‘Increasing competition from higher-quality new buildings should serve to cap rental appreciation from today’s levels,’ he adds.

CBRE’s figures show that about 10.2 million square feet of new office space will be completed between 2008 and 2012, the bulk of which (6.7 million sq ft) is targeted to be ready in 2010-2011.

Key projects slated for completion in 2010 include Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Phase 1 and 50 Collyer Quay. The following year will see the completion of MBFC Phase 2, Ocean Financial Centre, OUB Centre Phase 2, Marina View (North Tower) - all in the financial district - and Mapletree Business City in the Alexandra Road area.

To redress the office shortage, the government has not only been selling more sites for development into Grade A projects in the CBD but is also seeking to resolve the short-term supply shortage by releasing 15-year leasehold ‘transitional’ office sites outside the financial district that can be developed into low-rise projects within a year.

These will cater to tenants that don’t need premium office space. As well, vacant state properties are being leased to the private sector for conversion into offices.

Putting the supply numbers in perspective, CBRE says: ‘At face value, potential confirmed supply seems abundant, but it should be viewed in context with strong take-up. Some 22 per cent of known supply from Q3 2008 to 2012 is pre-committed, with around 9 per cent under offer.’

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) managing director (South-east Asia) Chris Fossick says: ‘We expect very strong interest in the new office developments completing over the next few years from tenants wishing to relocate and expand into new high-quality office stock and to meet their corporate social responsibility goal of occupying ‘Green Mark’ buildings.’

JLL expects prime and Grade A office rents to increase 18 per cent for full-year 2008 but to grow more moderately next year. ‘We expect strong take-up of office space over the coming three years due to pent-up demand that has accumulated because of the tight supply over the past couple of years,’ Mr Fossick adds.

Office landlord Hongkong Land director (commercial property, South Asia) Robert Garman says that occupier demand for offices on the island has been holding up well against the backdrop of an uncertain global economic environment. ‘Commitment levels for MBFC have exceeded our expectations and we feel confident moving forward,’ he adds.

CBRE data shows the average monthly prime office rental in Singapore as at Q2 this year was $16.10 psf, just 10 cents higher than the Q1 figure and reflecting a 7.3 per cent increase in the first half of this year (against the end-2007 level). For the whole of last year, the increase was 92.3 per cent.

CBRE’s data also showed that the average Grade A office rental stood at $18.80 psf a month in Q2 this year, up 15 cents from the preceding quarter and a 9.6 per cent appreciation for the first half. This is more moderate than the 96.4 per cent hike seen for the whole of 2007.

‘Grade A vacancy also remained very tight at 0.6 per cent. No new development will be completed before H2 2009,’ CBRE notes.

 
Source : Business Times  - 27 Jun 2008

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Singapore SLA to auction off eight vacant plots for homes

Singapore SLA to auction off eight vacant plots for homes 

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent 
 
THE Government has put a further eight small plots of vacant land on sale, some in prime districts like Ridout Road, near Peirce Road.
These infill sites have been popular with buyers who want to build their homes from scratch - but the catch is that the sites are on 99-year leases, and some of them are oddly shaped.

They are either in landed estates that have been left untouched by nearby developments, or are plots once used for public purposes, housing possibly parks, sub-stations or even septic tanks.

The plot in Ridout Road would be ideal for a good-class bungalow. These large bungalows have a minimum land area of 15,070 sq ft.

Another site is in Upper East Coast Road, near Woo Mon Chew Road in the Siglap area.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) will auction the eight sites at M Hotel on Aug 21.

Mr Simon Ong, the SLA’s assistant chief executive of the land operations group, said: ‘The appeal of such sites is that they can be customised to suit the buyers’ needs.’

Mr Teo Jing Kok, the SLA’s deputy director of land sales, said that normally, a family that wants to design and build a home would have to buy a piece of land along with the existing building, which they have to demolish before they can redevelop the site.

‘Often, after paying so much for the building, most landowners are tempted to keep the existing building or parts of it and retrofit their dream design into the existing form.’

But with a vacant infill site, they would be able to freely customise the design of the entire home, said Mr Teo.

He added that some bidders of previous infill sites were experienced investors who said the sites made good investment properties as the land cost was lower.

‘Since the upfront investment is lower, the yield of the investment is higher for such 99-year properties,’ said Mr Teo.

An auction for six infill sites late last year attracted fairly brisk bidding and ended with sale prices ranging from $1.3 million to $12.1 million.

 
Source : Straits Times  - 27 Jun 2008

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Mindy Yong

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Singapore Office rents nearing peak as supply increases: Report

Singapore Office rents nearing peak as supply increases: Report 

Impact of US sub-prime crisis, Singapore’s rising inflation and weaker growth curbing rentals

By Joyce Teo, Property Correspondent 
 
AFTER more than two years of relentless rises, Singapore’s office rents look to be finally peaking as more supply comes on stream.
A CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) report said the impact of the United States sub-prime crisis, rising inflation in Singapore and more modest economic growth have dampened the office sector and slowed rent rises.

Prime office rents edged up 10 cents - just 0.6 per cent - in the second quarter to $16.10 per sq ft (psf) a month on average. The rise over the first half has been 7.3 per cent, way below the ‘astounding 92.3 per cent’ for the whole of last year, said CBRE.

CBRE executive director office services Moray Armstrong said: ‘Our sense is that the natural ceiling is close at hand.’

While there is resistance over rents from a number of occupiers, an encouraging sign is that there are still many ongoing negotiations, he said.

‘Selected buildings may achieve higher rents but across the board, rentals are as high as they can go.’ These are top-grade properties with rents of over $20 psf - though it is believed they are mostly for small offices.

Rents of top office buildings rose 9.6 per cent in the first half compared with 96.5 per cent in the whole of last year. Such Grade A rents averaged $18.80 psf a month in the second quarter, up from $18.65 in the first period.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han said it was only a matter of time before rents peaked as they rose too fast and too soon last year.

‘However, while office rents may have peaked, they will probably stay at the current levels for the next 12 months given tight supply,’ he said.

A supply shortage over the past two years has prompted firms to try various means to save space or costs.

Some companies, facing a doubling or tripling of rent when leases were due for renewal, moved out to more affordable spaces in suburban areas or industrial locations.

And the search for lower-cost space continues. There is, for example, said Mr Armstrong, heightened interest for upcoming space in the Alexandra and Harbourfront areas.

Mr Han added that rents are also facing limited upside as many companies already made expansion plans and arranged for extra space last year.

Citigroup agreed in a recent report, saying that slowing demand and decentralisation are likely to start putting downward pressure on both rental and capital values. It tipped office rents to fall 30 to 35 per cent.

According to CBRE, the vacancy of Grade A space - now 0.6 per cent - will remain tight as no new top-grade office developments will be completed before the second half of next year.

But there is some relief in sight.

The vacancy rate for fringe areas rose from 4.6 per cent to 7 per cent in the April to June quarter because of new completions such as VisionCrest and the refurbished 111 Somerset in the Orchard Road area.

The Government has also introduced transitional office sites to help ease the shortage.

There will be about 10.2 million sq ft of new space coming on stream between now and 2012, with the bulk likely to be ready in 2010 to 2011, said CBRE. About 63 per cent of this will be in Grade A properties in the core downtown area.

Still, the supply should be viewed in context with the strong take-up rate, said CBRE. About 22 per cent of known supply from now to 2012 has already been pre-committed.

Source : Straits Times  - 27 Jun 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

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mindy@mindyyong.com

Illegal storey in Singapore house: Buyers lose case

Illegal storey in Singapore house: Buyers lose case 

Sellers had built extra storey, but the BCA had not issued any notice on the unauthorised addition at the time of sale

By Elena Chong, Court Correspondent 
 
A YOUNG couple who put down a deposit on what they thought was a 1-1/2-storey dream house now feel like the transaction is turning into a nightmare.
While paperwork for the sale was being done, Mr Mervyn Lim We-Jin and his wife, Ms Jessie Tham Yi Min, found out that the extra storey in the house was an unauthorised structure.

They went back to the sellers to push them to put it right and pay for the alterations.

The sale of the house in Lorong 105 Changi Road never went through.

As the dispute could not be resolved, it was taken to the High Court, which on Wednesday threw out the couple’s application for damages with costs.

Mr Lim and Ms Tham now have a month to decide between abandoning the purchase - which means they lose the 5 per cent deposit on the $1.18 million property - and seeing the sale through and paying interest for the delayed completion.

The sellers - civil servants Jason Teo Shen Yuan and Chan Sue Li - had, through their agent, put out an advertisement for the sale of the house last November.

Their lawyer, Ms Foo Soon Yien from Harry Elias Partnership, argued that at the time of the sale and purchase contract, there was no notice or order from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) about the unauthorised addition.

Even if there had been one, it would have been irrelevant as it was, at best, a potential liability, said Ms Foo.

She noted that the BCA’s reply to the buyers’ lawyers about the status of the structure came only after the contract of sale and purchase.

In a somewhat similar case in 1993, which Ms Foo also handled, the Court of Appeal held that unauthorised works did not in themselves constitute defects in title as long as the BCA had not issued a notice.

Ms Foo said that Mr Lim and Ms Tham’s claims for her clients to rectify the unauthorised works and for compensation were thus misconceived, as was their claim that the unauthorised structures were an encumbrance.

Also, she argued that the plaintiffs had not inserted a special clause to cancel the contract if any unauthorised structure was found. Such a clause would have protected them.

Counsel submitted that once the option was exercised, the risk of the property passed to the buyer.

The buyers were represented by Mr Khoo Boo Jin.
 

 
Source : Straits Times  - 27 Jun 2008

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Mindy Yong

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55-year-old hotel to make way for Singapore MRT

55-year-old hotel to make way for Singapore MRT 

Backpacker haven New 7th Storey Hotel site acquired for Downtown Line station

By Yeo Ghim Lay 
OLD-TIMER: The hotel’s chief concierge Lee Chong Hock, 75. — ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
 
THE New 7th Storey Hotel, a 55-year-old landmark in Rochor Road, will check out its last guest by the end of the year.
It will then have to make way for the construction of the new Bugis MRT station for the upcoming Downtown Line.

Government agencies said yesterday that the plot of land housing the hotel will be needed to build parts of the new station, such as the entrance and lifts.

The new Bugis station is one of six that will form Downtown Line Stage 1, to open in 2013.

Constraints in the area have left the authorities no choice but to build the new station under the hotel popular with budget travellers and backpackers.

The hotel’s operations manager Shirley Fong, 32, said that the management heard the news only yesterday afternoon.
Government officers had showed up with notices of the land acquisition.

‘We had no advance notice at all. All our staff were taken aback,’ said Ms Fong.

Explaining this, a Singapore Land Authority (SLA) spokesman said that registered land owners were notified immediately only after the land acquisition was announced on the same day in the Government Gazette.

This is because information on land acquisition is kept confidential, to ensure that no one has an advantage over others.

Ms Fong said that the hotel management will have a meeting soon to decide on its plans. It will also have to deal with about 30 guests who have made advance reservations for early next year.

The hotel, which actually has nine storeys despite its name, was opened in 1953 by the late property magnate Wee Thiam Siew. It has largely remained in the Wee family since then.

In its early days, the then-five-star hotel was popular with politicians and businessmen visiting Singapore.

It now caters more to backpackers but retains an air of old-world charm. It still uses a manually operated ‘cage’ lift, reportedly the last of its kind here.

Although neighbouring shophouses have been torn down over the years, the hotel has stayed intact. It stands out now as the lone building on a plot of land close to Bugis Junction.

‘We sort of knew that the land might be acquired some day for development, but we did not see this coming at all,’ said Ms Fong, who added that the hotel had recently spent $100,000 on new furniture and carpeting.

The SLA said that the compensation awarded to the hotel owners will be pegged at market value and take into account renovations, among other factors.

Ms Fong’s top concern now is her 20 staff members, whose morale has been hit by the news.

One of them, lift operator Francis Poh, 66, said: ‘We are very close here, like a family. It would be a pity to leave.’

Next to the hotel lobby in the same building is a Hainanese steamboat restaurant, which will also have to pack its bags by the end of the year.

Staff there told reporters that they had not heard of the news and declined to comment further. Their boss, who is renting the restaurant space from the hotel, was overseas.

Doctor Chan Shijie, 26, who dines at the restaurant twice a month, was sad to hear that it would have to go.

‘The food here is really good and it’s affordable. I hope they move somewhere else,’ he said.

Balloon to go too

THE DHL balloon, operating on a plot of state land next to the hotel, will also have to find a new home.

Its lease expires at the end of August, but the Singapore Land Authority has offered it a two-month extension.

Singapore Ducktours, which runs the balloon, said it is considering the offer. In the meantime, it has identified two sites to relocate the balloon: Merchant Loop opposite Clarke Quay or the upcoming Gardens by the Bay in Marina Bay.

 
Source : Straits Times  - 27 Jun 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com