Panoramic view from the rooftop of the 10-storey block at The Beaumont on Devonshire Road (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
The Beaumont, a 64-unit boutique development on Devonshire Road in the prime Somerset area of Orchard Road, will be launched for collective sale on Dec 10. The project is located at a quiet cul-de-sac, off the main Exeter Road, and is just a 150m or a two-minute walk to Somerset MRT Station. Malls along Orchard Road such as 313@Somerset, Mandarin Gallery, Ngee Ann City and Paragon are also nearby.
“The proximity to these amenities — from the MRT station to the shopping malls, as well as a short drive to the CBD — is a huge attraction,” says Galven Tan, deputy managing director, investment sales and capital markets at Savills Singapore, the sole marketing agent for The Beaumont.
The existing development has two blocks of up to 10 storeys, with a mix of one-bedroom units from 775 sq ft to three-bedroom units of 1,948 sq ft. Developed by Malaysian-listed conglomerate Keck Seng, the project was completed in 1985. Keck Seng is understood to continue to hold a significant interest in the development.
“Given the orientation of the site, the views of Orchard Boulevard and Orchard Road from the rooftop of the existing 10-storey block are unparalleled,” says Jeremy Lake, Savills Singapore managing director of investment sales and capital markets. “In the future, the views will be even more spectacular when the new towers can go up to 36 storeys.”
The Beaumont sits on a 74,739 sq ft freehold site with a plot ratio of 2.8, hence it has a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of about 209,269 sq ft. It can therefore be developed into a new 36-storey condominium project with 277 units, assuming average unit size of 70 sq m (753 sq ft), according to Savills. Based on the guide price of $478 million and development charge of $44.36 million, the land rate works out to $2,496 psf per plot ratio (ppr).
If the 7% bonus GFA for balconies is included, and the additional development charge of $17.3 million is factored in, the land rate translates to $2,410 psf ppr.
Based on the land rate of $2,410 psf ppr, the selling price of the new luxury condo is likely to be about $3,800 psf, estimates Savills’ Tan. He points to the 54-unit luxury condo, Park Nova, where all three houses on the 20th floor have been sold at prices ranging from $17.18 million ($5,320 psf) to $34.44 million ($5,838 psf) when it was launched in May. Prices for the units on the 18th and 19th floors directly below the penthouse level have crossed $5,000 psf too.
Typical units at Park Nova were sold at prices from $4,540 psf. The latest transactions were for two 2,207 sq ft, three-bedroom units sitting on top of each other — on the ninth and 10th floors — that were sold for $10.614 million ($4,810 psf) and $10.686 million ($4,843 psf) respectively, according to caveats lodged in November.
Park Nova is a redevelopment of the former Park House by Hong Kong-listed Shun Tak Holdings, which purchased the latter en bloc for $375.5 million or a record $2,910 psf ppr in June 2018. The en bloc deal was brokered by Lake when he was managing director of capital markets at CBRE.
Nearby is also New Futura on Leonie Hill Road, a 124-unit, 36-storey twin tower development by City Developments. Launched in March 2018, units in the first phase were sold at an average price of $3,350 psf, with the penthouse fetching $36.28 million ($4,630 psf).
A redevelopment of the former Futura condominium, New Futura was completed in 2017 and fully sold. The latest transactions at New Futura were for a 2,691 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the 13th floor that changed hands for $11 million ($4,088 psf) in June, and a 2,250 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the 22nd storey that was traded for $8.9 million ($3,956 psf) in July, according to caveats lodged.
Lake and Tan, who was also formerly with CBRE, had brokered a number of collective sale deals in the prime District 9 neighbourhood over the last two collective sale waves in 2006/2007 and 2017/2018. The deals include the former Grangeford that was sold to OUE in 2007 and has since been redeveloped into the 462-unit OUE Twin Peaks; the collective sale site that has been redeveloped into the 84-unit Devonshire Residences by Oxley Holdings; and the former Ming Apartments that was sold to TG Development and redeveloped into the 76-unit Lloyd Sixty-Five.
Also in prime District 9 is the former Pacific Mansion that was sold en bloc to GuocoLand and Hong Leong for $980 million, making it the biggest collective sale deal of 2017/2018. The site was launched in January 2020 as the 376-unit luxury condo The Avenir. The former Riviera Point, which was sold to Macly Group in 2018, has since been launched as the 51-unit The Iveria.
The owners at The Beaumont first attempted a collective sale in 2004. Hence, this is their second attempt. The asking price of $2,410 psf ppr is attractive to developers today, given the strength in demand for luxury projects with large units and the premium they are able to command, says Savills’ Tan. Collective sale sites like The Beaumont with price tags of “sub-$500 million” hit the sweet spot for developers, adds Lake.
The tender for The Beaumont will close on Jan 20, 2022.