No Bids Received Media Circle Parcel B Gls Site
The tender for the Media Circle (Parcel B) site, located in the one-north area and part of the Government Land Sale (GLS) program, closed on April 29 with no bids received, according to a press release from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). The 99-year leasehold site is zoned for residential use with commercial space on the first storey. It spans approximately 107,936 sq ft and has a potential yield of 500 residences.
The Media Circle (Parcel B) site was launched for tender along with its adjacent site, Media Circle (Parcel A), last November. Parcel A was awarded to a consortium comprising Qingjian Realty, Forsea Holdings, and minority investor Hoovasun Holding for $315 million ($1,037 psf ppr) in March. The site is also zoned for residential use with commercial space on the first storey and can yield approximately 325 housing units.
Before that, Qingjian Realty and Forsea Holdings had acquired another Media Circle GLS plot (which is now the site of Bloomsbury Residences) in January 2024 for $395.28 million or $1,191 psf ppr. The 358-unit Bloomsbury Residences was launched earlier this month and sold 90 units (25.1%) at an average price of $2,474 psf during the launch weekend.
Justin Quek, CEO of Orangetee & Tie, notes that there is still unsold inventory from previously launched projects in the same area, including Slim Barracks Rise and Media Circle at One-North. According to URA monthly developer sales data as of March 2025, Blossoms by the Park has 19 out of 275 units available, while The Hill @ One-North still has 80 out of 142 units available. In addition, there are still remaining units at Bloomsbury Residences.
The Media Circle (Parcel B) site is the fourth GLS site launched for sale via tender in Media Circle in recent years (see Table 1). Two of the other three plots were awarded, while the URA rejected the bid for a pure long-stay serviced apartment site (SA2) as it was deemed too low, says Wong Siew Ying, PropNex head of research and content.
Wong points out that the lack of interest in the Media Circle Parcel B plot could stem from several factors. In particular, the site attributes are less attractive than the first two Media Circle plots that were awarded, as it is further away from the MRT station and is next to a highway. In addition, developers may have been more cautious in acquiring development sites due to uncertainty caused by the US trade tariffs situation, which could have a significant impact on the global economy. She adds that developers are likely to be more selective, gravitating towards sites with excellent location attributes, such as proximity to the MRT station, amenities, and schools.
“The one-north cluster is a non-mature estate without a significant residential catchment, but is a strategic research and development hub for the biomedical science, infocomm technology, media, and engineering sectors,” says Tricia Song, CBRE head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia. “Living in such a location would appeal more to expats and young working professionals. The lack of HDB upgraders in the area and limited amenities such as schools, childcare facilities, large retail malls, hawker centres, and coffee shops make this location less attractive to local owner-occupiers.”
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The last time a GLS site had no takers during a tender was for Upper Thomson Road (Parcel A). The 99-year leasehold site, zoned for residential use with commercial space on the first storey, was launched for sale in December 2023 and the tender closed in June. The site has a potential yield of 640 units, including 100 long-stay serviced apartments.
Leonard Tay, head of research at Knight Frank Singapore, believes that the lack of bids for Media Circle (Parcel B) signals a more conservative stance among developers in light of current global uncertainty caused by US-led tariffs. “Most developers are already mindful of development costs, including land and construction costs, as well as taxes, and may have stayed away from this tender in favor of other sites in established residential areas rather than those in business zones,” he observes.
Tay adds that developers may have also decided to take a pause and re-evaluate the demand for private homes, while also considering the impact of the ongoing trade war on the domestic economy.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, has a similar view. “The current global tariffs may have made developers more cautious and selective in their site choices, even though the level of unsold units in the market has dropped to a record low of 18,270 units as of end-March 2025,” he comments.
