Evia Real Estate Led Consortium Submits Top Bid 980 Psf Ppr First Mixed Use Site Chencharu Close
The first Government Land Sales (GLS) for a 99-year leasehold mixed-use commercial and residential site in the newly developed Chencharu Town closed on September 11, receiving three bids. Evia Real Estate, in collaboration with joint venture partners Gamuda Land and Ho Lee Group, placed the highest bid of $1.012 billion, translating to $980 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). The second-highest bid of $845 million ($818 psf ppr) was submitted by a consortium led by Frasers Property, together with Mitsubishi Estate and Lum Chang Building Contractors. Following closely behind was Sim Lian Group with a bid of $692.4 million ($670 psf ppr).
According to Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content, the top bid is 19.8% higher than the next bid at $818 psf ppr, and 46.2% higher than the third bid at $670 psf ppr. “The bid price gap may be due to varying assessments of the plot’s prospects among developers, as it is a new housing area and relatively untested, given that there are few private condos nearby,” she says. She adds that the number of bids received is within their expectations, given the size of the plot and the significant investment required.
The estimated average selling price for the project is expected be above $2,300 psf at a top bid land rate of $980 psf ppr. While this is slightly below recent land bids in the Outside Central Region (OCR), Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Singapore, notes that the top bid of $980 psf ppr “is reflective of the more complex site-specific requirements, including the need to build a hawker centre and bus interchange, when compared to other attractive GLS sites, rather than a broader shift in developer sentiment.”
Huttons Asia CEO Mark Yip points out that Evia Real Estate and Gamuda Land have previously collaborated on two other projects – the 578-unit Gem Residences in Toa Payoh, launched in 2016; and the 548-unit executive condo, Ola in Sengkang, which was launched in 2020. The Chencharu Close GLS site will mark their first mixed-use project, with Ho Lee Group joining as the third joint venture partner.
The GLS site is the first mixed-use development in Chencharu Town – a new 70ha HDB housing estate within Yishun Town. The location also boasts a variety of amenities such as sports and recreational facilities including Yishun Stadium, Yishun Sports Centre, and Lower Seletar Reservoir Park. The site, which spans approximately 317,000 sq ft, has a plot ratio of 3.26 and can accommodate around 875 private residential units and 135,627 sq ft of commercial space. Out of the commercial space, 37,674 sq ft will be designated as a hawker centre, while another 58,125 sq ft will be allocated for a bus interchange that will be integrated with the development – located just a five-minute walk away from the Khatib MRT Station on the North-South Line.
Mohan Sandrasegeran, head of research and data analytics at SRI, notes that the last mixed-use development in the vicinity was the one at Yishun Avenue 4, which was awarded in 2015. The site has since been developed into Wisteria Mall and The Wisteria residential units. However, he adds that the new Chencharu Close GLS site has the advantage of being closer to the Khatib MRT Station. According to Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia, the top bid price of $980 psf ppr is also 10.7% higher than the most recent comparable mixed-use site with similar scale and requirements at Tampines Avenue 11.
On this note, the top bid at the site, which received three bids and was awarded for $885 psf ppr to a JV between UOL Group & CapitaLand in July 2023, was weaker prior to the interest rate cuts, says Song. The site was later launched in February 2025 as the 1,193-unit Parktown Residences and saw robust take-up amid lower interest rates, with 1,041 units, or 87% of the total, sold at an average price of $2,360 psf over its launch weekend. Other more recent mixed-use comparables include Tampines Street 94 (585 units), which received six bids and was awarded for $1,004 psf ppr in September 2024 to a joint venture between Hoi Hup Realty and Sunway Developments. However, the site is smaller and does not require integration with a bus interchange and hawker centre, notes Song.
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