Green Lodge asking $135m for en bloc deal

PWith a development charge of $9.5m, it costs $683 psf ppr

GREEN Lodge at Toh Tuck Road has been put up for collective sale – the second residential site to be marketed en bloc in slightly more than a week.

Owners of the freehold Green Lodge are asking for $135 million. The site has a land area of 151,075 sq ft and a plot ratio of 1.4. Adding a development charge of around $9.5 million, the price works out to $683 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr).

Newman & Goh is marketing the site and obtained consent for the sale from more than 80 per cent of the owners in April. Its investment sales head Jeffrey Goh tells BT that the absolute sum of less than $150 million is relatively affordable and he expects several developers to show interest in the parcel.

In a release, Newman & Goh notes that the site is ‘attractively priced’, given that developers have paid more than $500 psf ppr for state residential land in the last few months.

The price for Mayfair Gardens at Rifle Range Road – launched for collective sale by another agency just last Monday – is $857 psf ppr or $250 million (which includes the development charge). The 99-year leasehold site has a remaining lease of about 72 years.

Green Lodge currently comprises 80 units ranging from 1,679-2,110 sq ft in size. Mr Goh says there is potential to redevelop the site to house around 211 units with an average size of 1,000 sq ft. He expects the average selling price of the new development to be at least $1,250 psf, ‘given the demand going forward’. The tender for the site will close on Jan 13, 2010.

According to caveats lodged, a unit at Green Lodge changed hands for $643 psf or $1.08 million last month. The site is located among other private residential estates, including Rainbow Gardens which was also sold en bloc. It is also near Beauty World Plaza and Bukit Timah Plaza, and will be close to the upcoming Beauty World MRT station.

Colliers International research and advisory director Tay Huey Ying notes that the location of the site is fairly attractive. Based on the absolute price, it is also ‘one of the more palatable freehold development sites’ on the market.

She estimates that the winning developer would have to sell the units at around $1,000-$1,100 psf. Nearby, units at The Beverly went for $888-$1,130 psf or $1.35-$2.1 million in October.

The collective sales market had been quiet for most of the year given the uncertain economic outlook. It was not until early this month that the first deal of 2009 emerged, in the $100.8 million sale of Dragon Mansion.

Activity is gradually returning with the recent launch of Mayfair Gardens and now, Green Lodge. ‘It’s a reaction to improved market conditions and sentiments,’ Ms Tay says. ‘The business environment and the investment environment should all be improving next year.’