Owners of freehold Balestier Centre launch first collective sale bid at $180 mil
The full redevelopment potential and absence of a land betterment charge may strengthen developer interest in this city-fringe mixed-use site despite its substantial acquisition price.
Freehold Balestier Centre launched its first collective sale tender at $180 million, equivalent to $1,495 psf ppr, with no land betterment charge payable.
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Balestier Centre, a freehold mixed-use development at 560–568 Balestier Road, has been launched for collective sale via public tender with a guide price of $180 million. Huttons Asia is the exclusive marketing agent.
This marks the first collective sale attempt by the owners of Balestier Centre, says Stephen Tan, senior group district director at Huttons Asia. The collective sale committee has secured the consent of owners representing 86.66% of the share value and 86.73% of the strata area, exceeding the 80% threshold required to launch a collective sale.
The property occupies a regular-shaped freehold site of 40,133 sq ft with an 81m frontage along Balestier Road. It is zoned "Commercial & Residential" with a gross plot ratio of 3.0 under the URA Master Plan, allowing a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of about 120,400 sq ft.
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The guide price translates to a land rate of $1,495 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). No land betterment charge is payable as the site's existing development baseline already reflects the maximum gross plot ratio of 3.0, allowing redevelopment to its full permitted intensity, says Tan.
Based on the estimated land rate, Tan expects the new development on the site to achieve selling prices of about $2,300 to $2,500 psf for residential units, while new strata commercial units could fetch between $3,500 and $4,500 psf.
Under the URA preliminary planning guidelines, the site could be redeveloped into a 14-storey mixed-use development. The proposed scheme features a two-storey commercial podium fronting Balestier Road, stepping up to five storeys at the rear.
Above the commercial podium, the residential component would begin with communal facilities on a landscaped roof terrace at the sixth level. An 8m-high transfer structure would then support an eight-storey residential block above, says Lim Tong Kay, development consultant at Land Potential Pte Ltd.
The existing Balestier Centre comprises commercial units on the ground floor and 20 residential apartments across the second and third storeys, with a built-up area of about 47,400 sq ft.
According to Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, the Balestier precinct is undergoing significant rejuvenation, anchored by the revamped Shaw Plaza, Zhongshan Mall and the expanding HealthCity Novena medical hub.
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"A future development here would benefit from the precinct's ongoing transformation, established amenities and excellent connectivity, making the site attractive to developers seeking a well-located freehold mixed-use site of meaningful scale," says Yip.
The site is on the city fringe in District 12, about a 5- to 10-minute drive from Orchard Road and within a 12- to 20-minute drive of Marina Bay and the CBD. It is also well served by public transport, with Novena and Toa Payoh MRT stations on the North–South Line, and Caldecott MRT station on the Circle and Thomson–East Coast lines, all located nearby.
Further along Balestier Road, Balestier Regency — a 72-unit freehold apartment block behind Shaw Plaza — was launched for collective sale at $255 million in May. The tender, handled by marketing agent SRI, closes on July 9. The exercise marks the owners' fourth attempt at a collective sale.
The tender for Balestier Centre closes on July 28.