News Releases

18 December 2008

URA announces the release of the sale site at Stamford Road / North Bridge Road on the reserve list & the deferment of the release of the Kallang River sale site

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) today released the detailed sales conditions for the Reserve List commercial site at Stamford Road / North Bridge Road and announced the deferment of the release of the hotel site at Kallang River.

Land Parcel at Stamford Road / North Bridge Road

The 1.46 ha Land Parcel located at Stamford Road / North Bridge Road is now available for sale on the Reserve List of the second half 2008 Government Land Sale (GLS) Programme.

The Land Parcel is prominently located fronting the key road junction at Stamford Road and North Bridge Road. Occupying a prime location in the heart of the city, the site is also strategically located along the commercial and mixed use corridor at North Bridge Road that extends through the Civic District. This corridor plays a vital role in providing a critical mass of retail, commercial and hotel uses that inject vibrancy into the area.

The Land Parcel also contains a cluster of three historically and architecturally significant buildings – Capitol Theatre, Capitol Building and Stamford House – that are to be retained and restored for adaptive reuse. The Capitol Theatre, which was a purpose-built performance facility, is required to be restored into an arts or entertainment-related performance venue. The integration of a performance venue within the development will enhance the vibrancy and attractiveness of the project and strengthen the arts and cultural positioning for the Civic District and the nearby Bras Basah.Bugis area.

There are existing hotels such as Swissotel The Stamford, The Fairmont, Grand Plaza Park Hotel and Peninsula·Excelsior Hotel located in the vicinity. As such, development on the Land Parcel is to include a hotel component which will synergise with the existing hotels to strengthen the hotel cluster in the area.

In line with this objective, the developer of the Stamford Road / North Bridge Road site will be required to develop a minimum of 40% of the total gross floor area (GFA) for hotel use. The remaining GFA can be for more hotel use or other commercial uses such as retail, food & beverage, entertainment and other uses to add to the diversity of amenities and vibrancy of the surrounding area.

With a maximum permissible gross floor area of 51,359 sqm, the Land Parcel thus offers a unique opportunity to create a distinctive development that features a mix of conservation and new buildings. The vision is also for the Land Parcel to be developed into a high quality development that will contribute positively to the built environment and the lifestyle and entertainment offerings within the city. Please see Annex A -1 for an artist impression.

Concept and Price Revenue Tender System

In line with the vision to create a distinctive development that commensurates with the strategic location of the site, a Concept and Price revenue tender system will be adopted to evaluate the tenders for the site.

Under this system, tenderers are required to submit their concept proposals and tender prices in two separate envelopes. The concept proposals will be first evaluated against a set of criteria which include overall development concept and composition of uses as specified in the tender (as shown in Annex A-2). Only tenders that meet the criteria will be considered for award. At the second stage, the price envelopes of the proposals with acceptable concepts will be opened for consideration. The site will then be awarded to the tender with the highest price bid among those with acceptable concept proposals.

Sale via the Reserve List System

The Land Parcel at Stamford Road / North Bridge Road is a complex sale site that involves the restoration and adaptive reuse of three conservation buildings as well as a Concept and Price Revenue tender approach. As such, the site is released for sale through the Reserve List to provide potential investors more time to study the site and its detailed tender requirements.

The Reserve list is a market-led system whereby the government will only release a site for sale if an interested party submits an application with a minimum price that is acceptable to the government. As such, by placing the Stamford Road / North Bridge Road site on the Reserve List, potential investors will have more time to assess and respond to the current dynamic economic situation, and consider triggering the site for sale when the time is right.

Land Parcel at Kallang River

The hotel site at Kallang River is part of Government's plans to transform the Kallang Riverside into a waterfront lifestyle precinct by the edge of the city. The site was originally scheduled to be made available on the Reserve List in December 2008 under the second half 2008 GLS Programme.

URA is currently working with other agencies to finalise the detailed planning and development conditions of the Kallang River site to relate to the broader plans for Kallang Riverside and, as more time is needed, the release of this site at Kallang River on the Reserve List will be deferred to June 2009.

Details of the Land Parcels

Details of the Land Parcel at Stamford Road including its location plan are given in Annex A-3 and A-4. More information on the Land Parcel can be found on URA’s website: http://www.ura.gov.sg/sales/Stamford/MA/NBRSR-intro(MA).html Details and location of the Land Parcel at Kallang River are given in Annex B-1.