Daily Archives: 7 Nov 2009

Ogilvy Centre to become a hotel

Posted on 7 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Ogilvy Centre to become a hotel

AN 82-YEAR-OLD colonial office building next to the famous Lau Pa Sat hawker centre has been earmarked as a hotel site and will be sold next year.

The curved four-storey Ogilvy Centre at the junction of Robinson Road and Boon Tat Street has been added to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) list of government land sites for sale.

The building was given conservation status in 2000, so the developer who buys the site must retain its facade and part of the interior.

Its neo-classical style, with large decorative ionic columns and recessed balconies with cast-iron balustrades, was the design of F.G. Lundon of Swan and Maclaren, the oldest architectural firm in Singapore.

As a hotel, it will be able to host 70 guest rooms, said the URA yesterday.

Property consultants said the hotel could prove to be popular among business travellers, like the luxury 17-room Klapsons, The Boutique Hotel that opened on Hoe Chiang Road this year. Continue reading →

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Govt to offer slew of sites for homes

Posted on 7 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Govt to offer slew of sites for homes

THE Government acted ahead of schedule yesterday in following through on its pledge to release plenty of land sites to meet strong demand for mass market homes outside the city centre.

In the first half of next year, at least eight residential sites – and as many as 26 sites – will be offered to developers.

The move is being seen as a bid to allay fears of a shortage of these homes – often bought by HDB upgraders – which may have sent prices surging.

The 26 sites could produce 10,550 private homes – the highest number from any half-yearly government land sales since the second half of 2001, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

In an announcement that came a few weeks earlier than usual, the Government said it would put eight residential sites, including two executive condominium (EC) sites, on the confirmed list. This is where sites are put up for sale regardless of developers’ prior expressions of interest.

These sites could boast about 2,925 new homes, close to the boom time 3,000 in the second half of 2007.

‘There’s some anxiety about housing supply, so its better to tell people that there will be adequate supply,’ said URA senior group director of land sales and administration Choy Chan Pong.

‘The private residential market has seen very strong demand in the past eight months, so we want to ensure there is enough supply to meet demand, so that prices can move more in sync with economic fundamentals,’ he said. Continue reading →

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