The Middle Road government land sale (GLS) site (zoned residential with first-storey commercial) received 10 bids – the highest number of contenders for a residential GLS site since the Mattar Road site (off Aljunied Road) also received 10 bids in May 2018.

Wingcharm Investment, a unit of Wing Tai Holdings, placed the top bid for the site at $492 million ($1,458 psf per plot ratio). “We are excited with the opportunity to create a quality development that integrates residential and commercial offerings in this prime location,” says a Wing Tai spokesperson.

“This would be Wing Tai’s first residential site acquisition since the Garden Residences site in August 2017,” says Tricia Song, Colliers International’s head of research for Singapore. Although the site was hotly contested, she considers the bid prices to be “fairly conservative”, with the bulk of the bids bunched below $1,300 psf ppr.

TOP 10 BIDDERS FOR THE MIDDLE ROAD SITE

The site falls within the Central Area, and hence, will not be subject to a minimum unit size. It can be built into 375 residential units, with up to 1,500 sq m of commercial space on the first floor. Colliers expects the potential selling price of the new project to be in the $2,200 to $2,300 psf range.

The second highest bid for the site came from a joint venture between Chinese property developers, MCC Land and Greatview Investment. The bid of $470 million by was 4.7% lower than the highest bid.

“The developers’ bidding behaviours are not as aggressive as observed in previous GLS tenders before the introduction of the cooling measures in last July,” notes Nicholas Mak, executive direct and head of research at ZACD Group.