The 58,885 sq ft private industrial site in Mandai Estate has been launched for sale by expression of interest (Photo: AlpsEdge)
A 58,885 sq ft private industrial site in Mandai Estate has been launched for sale by expression of interest (EOI), but beyond its Business 2 (B2) zoning, the real interest may lie in its potential change of use to a workers’ dormitory.
Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Master Plan 2025, the site is zoned “Business 2” with a gross plot ratio of 2.5. It is offered on a 33-year leasehold tenure and is located within a well-established industrial cluster off Woodlands Road, with access via Mandai Road, the Kranji Expressway (KJE) and the Bukit Timah Expressway (BKE). It is also near Woodlands Checkpoint and amenities at Woodlands Central and Yew Tee Town Centre.
However, market watchers say the site’s appeal may hinge less on conventional industrial use and more on optionality.
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Tan Hong Boon, executive director of AlpsEdge Real Estate, which is marketing the property, notes that while the 33-year lease aligns with tenures commonly seen in government land tenders, it is also long enough for capital recovery in dormitory operations.
“The 33-year lease is sufficiently long for most industrial uses, including worker dormitory operations, allowing investors to recover their capital and achieve a reasonable return,” he says.
Tan points out that development parameters remain subject to approval. While the site currently carries a plot ratio of 2.5 under B2 zoning, a workers’ dormitory use could potentially be approved at a higher plot ratio — possibly up to 5.0.
If such an uplift is granted, the land’s redevelopment intensity — and by extension, its residual land value — could change significantly.
Recent transactions provide pricing benchmarks across different use cases. For instance, a 33-year leasehold B2 site at Seletar West Road 3 was sold last August at $250 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr).
In February 2023, a 30-year leasehold workers’ dormitory site at Ubi Avenue 3 — approved for up to 1,650 beds — was transacted at $267 psf ppr, or $24,634 per bed. It has since been developed into Westlite Ubi.
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Meanwhile, a freehold B2 site in Mandai Estate for food factory use was sold at $611 psf ppr in May 2024.
The divergence in pricing underscores how use, tenure and development intensity can materially affect valuations.
Mandai Estate has evolved into a recognised B2 industrial cluster, particularly for high-specification, multi-user food factory developments such as CT Foodnex, Foodfab @ Mandai, Food Vision @ Mandai, Mandai Food Link and Smart Food. These projects cater to central kitchens and food production operators, offering high ceilings, heavy-duty floor loading, exhaust systems and ramp-up access.
The estate is also home to purpose-built migrant worker accommodation, including Westlite Mandai and Westlite Juniper.
Against a backdrop of ongoing scrutiny over foreign workforce housing standards and capacity, private-sector dormitory sites with redevelopment potential are relatively limited. A vacant, privately owned plot with possible plot ratio uplift may therefore attract specialist dormitory operators, industrial developers or investors seeking alternative yield plays.
Ultimately, the EOI will test whether bidders underwrite the site as a conventional B2 asset — or price in the upside of a higher-intensity dormitory scheme.
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The EOI closes on April 10.