The Holland Road government land tender has been awarded to a consortium of Far East Organization’s subsidiaries. The Far East consortium submitted the winning bid of $1.213 billion or $1,888 psf per plot ratio for the 247,214 sq ft site. Other shortlisted bids submitted land prices from $950 million to $1.06 billion.
The last time Far East Organization won a government land tender was four years ago, with Woodlands Square, says Desmond Sim, CBRE’s head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia. The group has also been relatively quiet amid the collective sales frenzy, he adds.
The commercial and residential mixed-use site was hotly contested and attracted a total of 15 concept proposals when the tender closed on March 20. Some tenderers, like Far East, submitted multiple proposals. The 99-year leasehold site was launched for sale under the Concept and Price revenue tender system, where the various concept proposals were first evaluated. Only five bids were shortlisted and the successful proposals were then evaluated based on the highest bid price.
The winning design was deemed to be sensitively-scaled and complements the existing built environment around Holland Village. The award of this site is well-suited to Far East’s extensive experience in the residential, retail, and hospitality sectors, notes Sim.