Roxy Square, a freehold mixed-use development located in Katong, is set to be relaunched for collective sale. This news was announced by the marketing agent JLL through a press release.
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The development, which comprises 296 shops, 26 apartments, and the 576-room Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel, was previously launched for tender in July last year with a minimum price of $1.25 billion. However, the tender closed in September without any successful bids.
According to JLL, the owners of Roxy Square are currently in the process of signing a supplemental agreement to lower the collective sale price by 10.8% to $1.115 billion. This reduction in price would require at least 80% of the owners’ support to take effect, and currently, more than 70% of the owners are in favour.
Under the new price, the development is expected to have a unit land rate of $1,852 psf per plot ratio (ppr), which includes a Land Betterment Charge (LBC) at the gross plot ratio of about 3.86. If an additional 10% bonus gross floor area (GFA) for the residential component and the LBC are taken into account, the land rate would be $1,804 psf ppr, according to JLL.
Tan Hong Boon, JLL Singapore’s executive director of capital markets, says that the private residential market in Katong has strong underlying support. He points to recent successful launches in the area, such as Meyer Blue and Emerald of Katong, which have boosted developers’ confidence in Roxy Square’s potential.
Roxy Square is situated between Holiday Inn Express Singapore Katong and Katong Plaza. Tan adds that the development’s appeal is further enhanced by its prime location next to Marine Parade MRT Station (Thomson-East Coast Line), with a direct underground connection. The freehold tenure and well-loved heritage locale, along with excellent connectivity to amenities, make it a highly sought-after development.
Completed in 1996, Roxy Square has a gross floor area (GFA) of 668,000 sq ft. Under the 2019 Master Plan, the development is partially zoned for commercial and residential use, with a gross plot ratio of 3.0, along East Coast Road. The portion of the development that fronts Marine Parade Road is zoned for hotel use.
However, based on recent planning advice from URA, the entire Roxy Square site can be rezoned for commercial and residential use, allowing for the redevelopment of a high-rise mixed-use development with a height of up to 75m, according to JLL.
The marketing agent also states that redeveloping the site could potentially yield over 350 residential units, approximately 80,000 sq ft of retail and F&B space, and an additional 172,000 sq ft for office, hotel, or other commercial uses. The development also offers excellent accessibility to East Coast Parkway (ECP) and Nicoll Highway and forms part of the Round-Island Route and Park Connector Network.
Tan is optimistic about the site’s potential and says that the proposed reduction in reserve price, if supported by the majority owners, would enhance its appeal. He believes that this collective sale is an opportunity to shape a key part of Singapore’s East Coast for the future.
The tender for Roxy Square will close on Feb 18 at 3pm. Interested buyers can view the latest listings for Roxy Square properties on Ask Buddy, compare price trends of new sale condo against resale condo or condo new sale against EC new sale, and take a look at landed transactions with the highest profits in the past year or the most unprofitable landed transactions in the past year, and condo projects with the most expensive average PSF.