Two commercial sites in Jurong, Cecil St released

Cecil St / Telok Ayer Site

The government has released the final two commercial sites for the second half 2012 Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

One is a confirmed list site near Jurong East MRT Station that has been launched for sale by public tender, while the other is a plot at Cecil Street/Telok Ayer Street that is available for application for sale under the reserve list.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said yesterday that the bulk of the space developed on both sites has to be set aside for office use. In addition, it is allowing strata sub-division of offices for the Jurong plot but not for the Cecil Street site.

On Venture Avenue in Jurong East, URA's 1.1-hectare confirmed list plot will be the site of the third major office development in the Jurong Gateway location to be released since 2010. This is part of URA's plan to create the biggest commercial hub outside the CBD.

The latest site can yield a 25-storey project with a maximum gross floor area of 694,939 square feet, of which at least 90 per cent must be for office use.

Property consultants expect the site to draw five to eight bids.

In June 2010, LendLease clinched a nearby white site for $650 psf ppr on which it is now developing Jem. In May 2011, CapitaMalls Asia (CMA), CapitaMalls Trust and CapitaLand teamed up to bag another white site nearby for $1,012 psf ppr, on which it is developing the Westgate project. Both projects are mixed office and retail developments.

For the Westgate and Jem sites, URA specified minimum office components of 40 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.

URA said the latest site will contribute to the development of more affordable office spaces in Jurong to cater to users who do not need a central business district location.

However, market watchers expect moderate demand for the subject site owing to its less-than-optimum location and high quantum for commercial space.

A URA spokesman said the planning authority is allowing the flexibility to strata sub-divide for sale the future development on the Venture Avenue site to ensure there is a variety of office space available outside the CBD to meet different business needs.

"This will provide SMEs the opportunity to purchase their own office space to better manage operating costs," URA said.

It said that while there is no minimum office unit size control for the Venture Avenue site, the proposed office layout will be evaluated to ensure that it is in line with the typical quality office layout that meets the needs of genuine office end users at the development application stage.

URA also noted that the two earlier developments in the Jurong Gateway area, Jem and Westgate, will 

provide office space that will cater mainly to tenants with large space requirements.

However, URA is not allowing strata sub-division of individual units within the future project at the Cecil Street site.

Noting that the site is zoned for commercial and open space use, URA said a single owner can better integrate and manage the future commercial building with the public open space fronting the prominent Cecil Street/Telok Ayer Street junction.

The 0.8-ha plot, which can generate a 50-storey development with a maximum GFA of 830,510 sq ft, is situated just across the road from SBF Center (formerly known as The Index), which was sold in September 2011 for $882 psf ppr.

Within the CBD, an estimated 7.6 million sq ft of office space is expected to be completed from 2013 to 2017, she pointed out. M+S Pte Ltd, a consortium of Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings, has committed to developing some 2.9 million sq ft of office space in Marina One (situated in Marina Way/Straits View) and Duo 2 (located in Ophir Road/Rochor Road), which are envisaged to be ready by H1 2017.

Source: Business Times –20 December 2012