Maxwell House goes en bloc again, reserve price lowered to $268mil

Located at 20 Maxwell Road, the 13-storey commercial building occupies a 3,883.3 sq m (41,799 sq ft) trapezoidal island plot that comes with views from all four sides of the building.

Maxwell House is up for sale via a second public tender, with the reserve price lowered to $268 million from $295 million during its first launch, said appointed property consultants Cushman & Wakefield.

Located at 20 Maxwell Road, the 13-storey commercial building occupies a 3,883.3 sq m (41,799 sq ft) trapezoidal island plot that comes with views from all four sides of the building.

The site is zoned for “Commercial” use under the 2019 Master Plan with a plot ratio of 4.3. It is situated at the fringe of the CBD near Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar.

Cushman & Wakefield noted that the site’s connectivity and accessibility are expected to be enhanced by the upcoming Maxwell MRT Station.

It added that URA had also given advice on 30 September 2020 supporting a mixed-use commercial and residential development for the site, with a 5.6 plot ratio and a gross floor area of 21,746.48 sq m (234,077 sq ft).

“This results in an uplift of the plot ratio by some 30%, subject to a successful rezoning,” it said.

“Assuming 80% of the total GFA is for residential use and the remaining 20% GFA is for commercial use, the blended land rate works out to approximately $1,565 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), after factoring in the 7% bonus balcony for the residential component plus the differential premium and an estimated lease upgrading premium for the site to a fresh 99 years.”

Cushman & Wakefield revealed that the allowable building height for the site has also been increased to 75 metres SHD or about 21 storeys high for the tower block.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Director of Capital Markets Christina Sim expects the site to receive robust interest.

“The launch of the earlier tender in September 2020 was uneventful as the market was still reeling from the economic fallout due to COVID-19. The progressive roll-out of vaccines and the gradual return to business normalcy has sparked hopes for 2021 and much brighter days ahead,” she said.

“Furthermore, the real estate market is now embarking on a path of recovery with developers looking at land banking again. Investors are coming back into action and confidence is returning to the market.”

The tender for Maxwell House closes on 6 May.

Source: CommercialGuru, 8 April 2021