URA launches tenders for two GLS sites at Media Circle
The most latest GLS site around to be awarded was a 114,462 sq ft site on Media Circle. The site was awarded in January to a mutual enterprise including Qingjian Real estate and China Communications Construction Corporation, also called Forsea Holdings, which submitted the leading bid of $395.29 million ($1,191 psf ppr). The site could be developed into a 355-unit project.
The sites are located at the southerly end of the one-north part. “Media Circle was mainly created as a business and technology park,” says Marcus Chu, Chief Executive Officer of ERA Singapore. “As such, the immediate vicinity may not be sufficiently set up with facilities to sustain a non commercial enclave.”
The tenders for two sites situated along Media Circle under the 2H2024 Government Land Sale (GLS) Program were started on Nov 26. Both 99-year leasehold sites within the Confirmed Selection are zoned non commercial with retail use at the 1st floor.
The tenders for Media Circles (Parcels A and B) will close next year on March 4 and April 29, each. Yip believes that the staggered termination dates will enable builders to keep track of interest in the area and allow them to formulate tender bids. He prepares for each spot could draw in up to 3 bids, with the top bid of approximately $494 million or between $1,000 to $1,100 psf ppr.
Chu predicts a “lukewarm reaction” to both latest Media Circle plots. “With a smaller purchaser pool than the majority of house sites to leverage on, property developers might not be as interested to rival for the Media Circle sites.” He adds that developers might be much more considering some other GLS spots in the Confirmed List, including the sites at Bayshore Road and Chuan Grove.
The future plan may be a welcome inclusion to the currently minimal housing choices for professionals doing work in one-north. “Existing housing choices in the one-north location mostly depend on co-living spaces, serviced apartments and hotels,” says Chu.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, adds that the future work at the site might be well-positioned to tap into the tenant pool consisted of workers in one-north, Science Park, and the National University of Singapore. “Family members with children studying in the nearby Tanglin Trust School might be potential renters too,” he adds.
Another tender for a nearby 62,046 sq ft residential site fully zoned for long-stay serviced apartments closed in September. However, URA rejected the sole bid of $120.09 million ($461 psf pprt) sent by a consortium led by Frasers Property, considering it “way too low”.
Media Circle (Parcel A) rises at the crossroads of Media Walk and Media Circle. Estimating 82,125 sq ft, it has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 303,865 sq ft and can potentially generate around 325 housing units. The nearby Media Circle (Parcel B) measures approximately 107,936 sq ft and has a total GFA of 464,129 sq ft. It can possibly produce about 500 homes.
ERA’s Chu gets a much more careful viewpoint, considering that Media Circle (Parcels A and B) have a much less enticing place matched up to previous one-north location GLS spots, such as Slim Barracks Rise (Parcel A) (now the 275-unit Blossom by the Park) that is near to the Buona Vista MRT Station.
