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[SINGAPORE] Bukit Timah condominium Hillcrest Arcadia is going on the market at a guide price of S$920 million, in a collective sale that will release a sprawling 4-hectare District 11 site for redevelopment.

The 99-year leasehold property sits on 442,162 square feet (sq ft) of land currently housing 272 residential units and one retail unit.

At S$920 million, Hillcrest Arcadia is being marketed at about S$1,519 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), taking into account 10 per cent bonus gross floor area in the rebuild and a premium of about S$262 million to upgrade the title to a fresh 99-year lease, according to marketing agent Huttons.

The development has about 50 years left on its lease which dates back to 1975. 

Owners of the ageing 99-year development stand to receive between S$945,000 and over S$5.7 million if the collective sale is successful. Since 2024, eight units at Hillcrest Arcadia changed hands on the market. The most recent unit sold was a 699.7 sq ft unit transacted at S$850,000 or S$1,215 psf. 

The Arcadia Road plot, close to the Watten Estate neighbourhood in the prime Bukit Timah area, is zoned for residential use with a gross plot ratio of 1.6. 

Up to 773 new homes can be built on the site, Huttons estimated. No land betterment charge is payable due to the site’s approved use and intensity. 

Terence Lian, head of investment sales at Huttons Asia, said: “Bukit Timah is a district rich in heritage … we believe the luxury residential market here holds immense potential.”

“Hillcrest Arcadia enjoys a prime location surrounded by a predominantly low-rise landed housing estate on one side, and the Central Catchment Nature Reserve on the other. The future development will offer residents unobstructed views of lush greenery.” 

Nearby Watten Estate Condominium, on a site about half the size of Hillcrest Arcadia, was sold in 2021 to the UOL group for S$550.8 million.

UOL and Singapore Land are building their 180-unit Watten House on the freehold site. The luxury project, first marketed in November 2023 – some seven months after fresh market cooling measures kicked in – sold 102 units at launch priced on average at S$3,230 psf.

UOL, SingLand and CapitaLand Development also picked up the 5 ha Thomson View site in November 2024 via a collective sale. The deal, which was the most recent successful residential en bloc sale of a similar scale, was done at S$810 million, about 12 per cent under the owners’ original reserve price.

In 2018, the owners of Hillcrest Arcadia formed a collective sales committee but did not achieve the 80 per cent consensus required to proceed with a sale.  

Hazel Tan, Hillcrest Arcadia’s collective sales committee chairwoman, said: “The owners have embarked on a collective sale now as we believe this is the ideal timing with interest rates coming down and with property market sentiment continuing to be bullish. 

“In addition, we are confident that the recent extension of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty remission deadline for developers rebuilding large en bloc sites such as ours, will further encourage developers’ keen interest in our development.”

From Mar 6, complex projects including large en bloc redevelopments that will have at least 700 units and at least 1.5 times the number of homes of the existing development will qualify for the extension of the sales deadline.

The tender for Hillcrest Arcadia will be launched on Thursday (Apr 3), and closes on May 22.