SINGAPORE — Touted to encompass more than 1,700 residential units and more than 146,000 sqm of office space, a large site next to Jurong East MRT Station has been put up for sale to prospective master developers.

Set to complete in 10 to 15 years, the 6.5ha plot, which is the size of around nine football pitches, is the largest master developer site within the Jurong Lake District to be launched to date. 

Master developers are individual private developers that are given the freedom to create a master plan and urban design plan for a district, subject to broad planning parameters set by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Announcing the launch on Thursday (June 22), URA said that should there be a successful bidder, the site may also hold retail shops, restaurants, entertainment and community facilities, and hotels.  

Most of the newly launched Jurong site, or about 3.7ha, will lie within a new 120ha precinct that will encompass offices, retail businesses, residences and green spaces, URA added.

This development will be located south of Jurong Town Hall Road, and bounded by the Ayer Rajah Expressway, taking up the site last occupied by Jurong Country Club. 

The site comprises three adjacent plots of land that will be developed in multiple phases, with the first phase to be completed within seven years after the site is sold.

The proposed integrated development will be progressively completed over the next 10 to 15 years and provide the "critical mass to propel the development of this future business district", URA said.

The tender for the Jurong Lake District master developer site will close at noon on March 26 next year.

WHY IT MATTERS 

URA said that the site at Jurong is the second of such sites to be launched under the master developer approach.

The site is almost twice the land size of the first master developer site at Marina Bay Financial Centre, which was also launched in phases back in 2005. 

Other sites yet to be launched include a proposed master developer site for Kampong Bugis, which is still being reviewed by the Government. 

Such sites allow large integrated projects to be built by master developers, for them to plan a relatively large area in order to achieve certain developmental objectives.

Thursday's launch of the site also marks the first time a plot of land from the 120ha Jurong Lake District development is put up for sale, with other sites likely to come in the future. 

The 120ha integrated development includes the site of a train terminal that was planned for now-scrapped High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, which was supposed to link Singapore to Kuala Lumpur via a high-speed rail line before the project was terminated in 2021. 

However, the land area for the latest site to launch does not include the area where the HSR terminal was planned. 

Ms Yvonne Lim, group director of physical planning at URA, said that it is important for the site to be a master developer sale site.

“It is important for us... to ensure that there is enough flexibility for the master developer to be able to master-plan three plots that will interlink Jurong East MRT Station to the future district within the Jurong Lake District.

“By giving them the flexibility, they will be able to master-plan a mix of uses, not just one use, and they can also consider the timing of how they want to launch and phase some of these uses.” 

WHERE IS THE SITE? 

The site will spread over three adjacent plots of land: 

• A 3.7ha vacant plot south of Jurong Town Hall Road, part of which was previously occupied by Jurong Country Club
• A 1.7ha plot, which will be vacant from 2028 or 2029, which is now occupied by the holding area for the Jurong East Bus Interchange
• A 1.1ha plot of land adjacent to Jurong East MRT Station, which will be vacant from June 2026, and is now on the construction site for the Jurong Region Line of the MRT network

WHAT WILL BE ON THE SITE? 

The master developer will be able to comprehensively plan the entire site to "adopt district-level urban solutions" such as having a district cooling system and district pneumatic waste conveyancing system, URA said.

The authority will use a “concept and price revenue tender" approach to ensure that the selected concept proposal will be aligned with the vision for the Jurong Lake District.

To be shortlisted, concept proposals have to be compelling and feature "a distinctive, highly sustainable mixed-use development with well-designed people-friendly public spaces and amenities to serve the needs of the business and local communities", URA added.

The first phase of development, which can begin as soon as any part of the site is sold, will need to fulfil the various requirements such as: 

• Having a minimum of 70,000 sqm of office gross floor area (GFA)
• A minimum of 51,000 sqm GFA for residential purposes, which will be about 600 units
• A minimum of 700 sqm for an early childhood education development centre 
• A supermarket of at least 1,000 sqm 
• A food court of at least 1,000 sqm

The entire project must encompass: 

• A maximum of 166,000 sqm of residential units, with a maximum of 146,000 sqm of condominium units, which is about 1,700 units
• A minimum of 146,000 sqm GFA of offices
• A minimum of 1,200 sqm of GFA for an early childhood development centre 

The total estimated GFA of the entire project is 365,000 sqm. 

WHAT PROPERTY ANALYSTS SAY

Property analysts said that the Jurong Lake District site is an attractive one given its potential to be a major commercial mode outside of the Central Business District. However, there are factors that may make developers think twice. 

Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior director of research at real estate firm Huttons, estimated that the total development costs of the project could be S$5.89 to S$8.84 billion. 

“Only well-established and capitalised developers will be able to participate... There are probably not more than three developers locally who can undertake such scale and complexity of development.”

Ms Tay Huey Ying from investment management company JLL said that given that the region is far from fully developed, first movers may be reluctant to step in. 

The head of research and consultancy for Singapore at the JLL added: “In the short term, before critical mass can be attained and infrastructural works completed — particularly those affecting connectivity such as the Jurong Region Line and Cross Island Line stations — there will be challenges in attracting office occupiers to the location.”

The various requirements set by URA for the site may add another hurdle for developers and moderate bid prices for the site, Ms Tay said.

These requirements include lower provisions for car parking, a need for all developments to have a central courtyard where at least 20 per cent of the site must be open-to-sky at the first storey and green building conditions.

The stringent requirements are another reason why only a few bidders could qualify, the analysts said.

Mr Lam Chern Woon from real estate consulting firm Edmund Tie said that one of the requirements laid out by URA for tenderers to be accepted is that of their track record in master-planning sustainable and mixed-use projects of a similar scale.

The head of research and consulting added: “On this basis, we do not expect more than three to four bids for the site, and consortiums or joint ventures are likely (to find) a way to pool expertise and mitigate development risk.”

Some limiting factors aside, the master developer approach will accord some flexibility to successful bidders, the analysts said.

Ms Wong Siew Ying, head of research and content at real estate firm PropNex Realty, said that with this approach, there is an option for the master developer to choose the duration in which to complete the purchase of the entire site.

The developer may buy part of the site first to develop under a first phase, and exercise the option to buy part of or the rest of the site, pending economic conditions in the following years.

“(This) will help to mitigate risks for the successful tenderer amid the cautious market sentiment,” Ms Wong said.