AN UPMARKET freehold condo in the Novena area, that has been adapted to create smaller units than first planned, will have a soft launch tomorrow.

Lincoln Suites is being developed by a consortium comprising Koh Brothers Group, Heeton Holdings, KSH Holdings and Lian Beng Group.

The first phase consists of 56 units located on the 6th to 12th floors at an average price of $1,680 per sq ft. Most of the lower floors are for the project's 190 car park lots.

As with many developments these days, Lincoln Suites was reconfigured to fit a number of small units - 44 studio units and 22 one-bedders. Prices start at over $800,000 for a small unit.

'When we got the site, the trend was for big units. We had to come up with something that the market wants because the market has changed,' said Koh Brothers' CEO and managing director Francis Koh at a media briefing yesterday.

The development, of 175 units, is on Khiang Guan Avenue, next to United Square Shopping Mall.

Its 'upcoming debut' was flagged by Koh Brothers as early as September last year but the market was not in its favour.

The consortium bought the site back in 2007 and made the headlines for reaching a record price of nearly $1,450 psf per plot ratio for the Newton area.

But yesterday, Mr Koh said they had a better baseline than thought, which resulted in a lower land cost of $1,280 psf per plot ratio. It will continue to lease out Lincoln Lodge - the building now on the Lincoln Suites sites - until May next year.

Lincoln Suites will boast a gym sitting on the sky bridge that connects its twin towers on the 24th level. One tower will have three and four-bedders, each with a private lift while the other tower will have smaller units.

Other launches planned for this weekend include the 33-unit Wembley Residences at Yio Chu Kang Road and the freehold 278-unit Cyan in Bukit Timah Road, which is understood to have started its preview. The 248-unit Parvis at Holland Hill is set to be released for sale in the next month.

Many developers have taken advantage of the momentum in the past two quarters and are not rushing to launch their existing units or new projects, if any, said Mr Mohamed Ismail, chief executive of PropNex, one of two marketing agents of Lincoln Suites.

Some developers feel there is no need to rush as their landbank is running low, he added.

JOYCE TEO

This article was first published in The Straits Times.