URA launches tenders for two GLS sites at Media Circle
Media Circle (Parcel A) is located at the crossroads of Media Walk and Media Circle. Estimating 82,125 sq ft, it has a highest gross floor area (GFA) of 303,865 sq ft and can potentially generate about 325 real estate units. The adjacent Media Circle (Parcel B) sizes up about 107,936 sq ft and has a max GFA of 464,129 sq ft. It can potentially produce about 500 houses.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, adds that the future work at the site would be well-positioned to tap into the tenant pool comprised of employees in one-north, Science Park, and the National University of Singapore. “Family members with children learning in the nearby Tanglin Trust School may be potential tenants as well,” he adds.
The tenders for Media Circles (Parcels A and B) are going to close next year on March 4 and April 29, specifically. Yip thinks that the staggered closing dates will let builders to check interest in the area and help them develop tender proposals. He expects each spot could draw in up to three quotes, with the leading bid of approximately $494 million or between $1,000 to $1,100 psf ppr.
Chu predicts a “warm response” to the two most current Media Circle plots. “With a smaller purchaser pool than many house sites to leverage on, developers might not be as eager to rival for the Media Circle sites.” He adds that developers might be a lot more interested in other GLS sites in the Confirmed List, including the sites at Bayshore Road and Chuan Grove.
Another tender for an adjacent 62,046 sq ft household site entirely zoned for long-stay serviced apartments closed in September. However, URA rejected the only bid of $120.09 million ($461 psf pprt) sent by a consortium led by Frasers Property, considering it “far too low”.
The tenders for 2 sites positioned around Media Circle under the 2H2024 Government Land Sale (GLS) Program were started on Nov 26. Both 99-year leasehold sites within the Confirmed List are zoned residential with commercial use at the first storey.
ERA’s Chu gets a more cautious view, considering that Media Circle (Parcels A and B) have a less attractive area contrasted to previous one-north area GLS locations, like Slim Barracks Rise (Parcel A) (now the 275-unit Blossom by the Park) that is near to the Buona Vista MRT Terminal.
The most recent GLS site around to be granted was a 114,462 sq ft site on Media Circle. The site was granted in January to a mutual enterprise including Qingjian Realty and China Communications Construction Corporation, also called Forsea Holdings, which sent the leading quote of $395.29 million ($1,191 psf ppr). The site can be created into a 355-unit property.
The sites are located at the southerly end of the one-north area. “Media Circle was primarily established as a company and technology park,” mentions Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore. “As such, the immediate vicinity may not be completely set up with services to sustain a residential enclave.”
The future work may be a welcome inclusion to the currently limited real estate alternatives for professionals working in one-north. “Current housing options in the one-north area primarily depend on co-living spaces, serviced apartments and hotels,” states Chu.
