The plot for Midtown Bay was acquired by Guocoland after bidding in the auction organized by the Singapore government for the land for a lease period of 99 years, after paying 1.622 billion Singapore dollars. Since the plot was located in a very prime area of Singapore, a large number of bidders were expected. However there were only a total of five bidders for the mixed development plot. Four of these bidders for Guocoland Midtown Bay Condo were not from Singapore. Some of the more high profile developers in Singapore like Capitaland, Keppel and CDL did not bid for the plot , which most real estate experts did not expect. The Midtown plot was added to the land held by the government for auction in the year 2014.
Midtown Bay Located in Prime Area in Singapore
The bidding for Midtown Bay Guocoland opened in July 6 , and bidders could submit their bid for a period of one month .The winning bidder was a joint venture between two GLL companies GLL Prosper and GLL Thrive with their stake in the joint venture having a ratio 70 to 30. Other bidders were Kingsford Hurray, a consortium led by OUE, and Japura Development which is a property company owned by Cheung Keung Holdings. The winning bid amount is much higher than the winning bid for auctions for most other similar residential plots which are located in district nine of Singapore in the last few years.
Midtown Bay Winning Bid by Guocoland
The winning bid for the property of Guocoland has set a new record of $1706 per square feet (psf) which is far higher than the rate for similar plots in the area. According to the government conditions for the auction, a large part of the plot area has to be set aside for offices. The remaining area can be used for retail shops or residential projects. Duo Residences and South beach tower are some of the similar mixed development projects in the area. The expected price of the residential unit when these units are listed for sale is expected to be $2200-$2500 psf based on the market price in the area according to property watchers.
Midtown Bay Landmark Development in Bugis
The Midtown Bay Bugis is the latest development project of Guocoland, and it has many plans of making it their landmark construction project. Raymond Choong the chief executive of Guocoland said that his company wishes to use this particular project as an example for future projects, which integrate work, living and play. People can work in offices which are close to their home, so that they do not have to waste much time commuting and are able to spend enough time on recreational activities. Cheng Hsing Yao, the chairman of the Singapore based GLL said that a large number of amenities can be developed on the commercial cum residential plot.