Tunku Ismail, who is also the Regent of Johor, recently applied to develop 16.6 hectares of freehold land he owns in Singapore into low-rise, low-density housing, including good-class bungalows—the most coveted form of landed housing in the city-state, which can only be built in designated areas.

The site, located between Holland Road and Tyersall Avenue, lies within an exclusive residential enclave in a prime district where landed housing is scarce, The Edge Singapore reported.

The regent’s land was originally a 21.1-hectare tract owned by the Johor royal family for generations. Last year, about 13 hectares closest to the Singapore Botanic Gardens were swapped for 8.5 hectares of nearby state land, resulting in the current…