This new prime area for living, working and playing will become even more vibrant once Marina Bay Sands is ready, writes HAN HUAN MEI
FOR a long time, when the question was asked, ‘where do wealthy Singaporeans live’? The answer would either be ‘the bungalows in Tanglin, Bukit Timah and Holland Road’ or ‘the luxurious apartments in Orchard, Cairnhill and Grange Road’. This is set to change.
While these prestigious addresses evolved through Singapore’s history over several decades, two new prime residential areas have emerged in recent times as a result of brilliant land use planning based on the government’s vision of lifestyles in the new millennium. These are the New Downtown and Sentosa Cove.
The properties in the traditional prime residential areas are largely freehold estates, but those in the New Downtown and Sentosa Cove are mainly 99-year leasehold estates. Not only are they among the most expensive leasehold properties, their price levels are almost on par with the new freehold projects in the Orchard area and 25-30 per cent below those of new luxury properties.
The evolution of these two new prime residential locations was partly fuelled by the sharp growth of local high net worth individuals (HNWIs) as a result of the global wealth effect in 2005-2007. Most of them would have invested in real estate in one way or another during this period.
In the past few years, not only have locals invested in property, but the Singapore property market boom has also attracted a lot of permanent residents (PRs) and foreigners as the government relaxed rules on foreign ownership. There is no restriction on the purchase of any non-landed property in Singapore but a foreigner or PR who wishes to purchase a restricted residential property still needs to obtain the approval from the Land Dealing (Approval) Unit. A restricted property refers to vacant residential land, landed property (such as a detached house, semi-detached house, terrace house and landed property in strata developments which are not approved condominium developments under the Planning Act).
However, PRs and foreigners who wish to purchase landed property on Sentosa island have been able to obtain fast track approval from the government since 2005.
Between the emerging prime areas of Sentosa and the New Downtown, the New Downtown possesses a dynamic multi-faceted character that makes it a more ‘happening’ place. This is because it is being developed into a place where living, working and playing will be blended together into an exciting mix of diverse activities. The Esplanade - Theatres By The Bay provides for the enjoyment of the arts. The Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC), the purpose-built financial district of the New Downtown, will offer nearly three million sq ft of prime Grade A office space and two residential towers comprising 649 upmarket apartments to complement the newly completed iconic skyscraper, The Sail @ Marina Bay. Both The Sail and MBFC will also provide some 20,000 sq ft and 105,000 sq ft of retail space respectively.
To top it all, the proposed Marina Bay Sands integrated resort will feature three hotel towers with 2,500 suites, over a million sq ft of space for conventions and meetings, the ArtScience Museum designed like ‘floating’ crystal pavilions, more than 800,000 sq ft of retail space known as Marina Bay Shoppes as well as a 160,000 sq ft casino. There is no doubt that Marina Bay will be a focal point of business, recreation and living for many years to come.
While the concept of in-city living has hogged the headlines in recent times, the number of residential units in the New Downtown is still rather limited. Around Marina Bay, only The Sail (1,111 units), Marina Bay Residences (428 units) and Marina Bay Suites (221 units) are available. The first two projects are fully sold while the third is not for sale yet. One Shenton (341 units) at One Shenton Way is 93 per cent sold to date while The Clift (312 units) at McCallum Street is 76 per cent sold. In the Tanjong Pagar area, Lumiere (168 units) is 58 per cent sold.
As for projects in the pipeline, 76 Shenton Way has obtained written permission to be converted into a 179-unit apartment block while the owners of 5 Shenton Way (UIC Building) are waiting for the lifting of the moratorium on the conversion of office buildings to residential use at end-2009 before they proceed. Two new projects at Enggor Street in Tanjong Pagar have also obtained written permission as at June this year.
Over at Icon in Tanjong Pagar, one-bedroom units (570-800 sq ft) were recently leased at $5-$7.50 psf while two-bedroom units (900-940 sq ft) were leased at $5.50-$7 psf. This works out to a gross yield of 4-5 per cent. Using these as a proxy for the possible rental range for the recently completed The Sail (Tower 2), it is likely that similar-sized units may be leased at $7-$8.50 psf. This would translate to a lower yield of 3-4 per cent due to their higher capital values.
For 2009, modest growth is expected as the US financial and housing slumps ripple through the rest of the world, affecting employment, business confidence, consumer spending and overall demand. The slowdown in the global economy and inflation woes are likely to curtail residential sales and cause overall home prices to dip by 10-15 per cent.
Despite the current tentative sentiment in the residential market, there are several fundamental merits for living in the new prime area of Marina Bay. And momentum should pick up again once the Marina Bay Sands commences operations at the end of next year. The lure of living, working and playing in an area that never sleeps would once again prove too attractive for home buyers to ignore.
The writer is by associate director of CBRE Research
Source : Business Times - 26 Sep 2008
23 buildings in Marina Bay, CBD submit lighting proposals to the Govt
A NEW city skyline will arise over the next couple of years when 23 buildings turn on the lights at night.
Maybank, The Sail condo and the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort are among the buildings that have sent lighting proposals to the Government. The plans include how they will illuminate their roofs or accentuate their facades.
The existing skyline of the CBD will be illuminated with new lights. — GRAPHIC: URA PHOTO: URA
This light-up is part of Singapore’s plan to create a night buzz for a distinctive city, said Mrs Cheong Hoon Kean, chief executive officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
Speaking to The Straits Times ahead of the Formula One night race next week, she said: ‘We can look forward to a signature night skyline in the next couple of years, when the buildings in Marina Bay and Central Business District (CBD) are completed and external lighting is installed.’ Beautiful lighting will create ‘a captivating night scene that enhances our city’s appeal’, she added.
An artist’s rendering of the reborn skyline was completed yesterday, piecing together the 23 lighting proposals.
The buildings appear subtly illuminated, not flooded with light.
Good lighting, Mrs Cheong said, is not about being the brightest or flashiest. Asian cities tend to be over-lit, she added, but this is not Singapore’s ethos.
The underlying principle is to stay ‘elegant and tasteful, and sensitive to a building’s architecture’, she said. ‘Look at Paris, the romantic City of Lights.’
According to URA officials, elegant lighting should bring out the architectural design elements of a building. So, the emphasis includes illumination of the roof or crown of the building, and lighting walkways on the first storey to create spaces ideal for outdoor activities.
Lights can also be programmable. Day-to-day lighting can be ‘a little bit more calm’, Mrs Cheong said. The look can be ‘celebratory’ for festive seasons.
Building owners are hiring lighting experts like Mr Bo Steiber to give their properties a glow at night. The founder of Bo Steiber Lighting Design is lighting up the new tower of OUB Centre at 1, Raffles Place.
His earlier work includes illuminating Shanghai’s Xintiandi lifestyle and nightlife district, and the Esplanade’s Theatres on the Bay.
The Swede, a Singapore permanent resident, said his energy-efficient lighting of OUB Centre will ‘accentuate the tower’s angular, linear, diamond features’. He lauded the URA’s ‘good initiative’ to beautify the skyline.
The URA’s Lighting Masterplan was introduced in 2006. To encourage more buildings in Marina Bay and the CBD to light up, incentives were rolled out. New developments and buildings being revamped can get as much as 2 per cent additional gross floor area if they light up.
Cash incentives from a $10 million fund to offset the capital costs of new lighting are also granted, particularly for existing structures.
The URA also had a night lighting plan in 1995 for the civic district, the cultural and historical heart of the city. Some 90 per cent of the buildings, bridges and public spaces there were lit.
Source : Straits Times - 19 Sep 2008
Plans for two promenades unveiled which will complete waterfront loop, linking bay attractions
PLANS for the last two links of the Marina Bay chain have been laid down, completing a 3.5km waterfront loop joining up the necklace of attractions in the bay area.
They are:
~ An 800m water-misted stretch along Bayfront, adjacent to Bayfront Avenue. ~ A 400m shady walk through pavilions under large solar-powered fans along Marina Boulevard.
The links were announced by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday.
The uninterrupted waterfront promenade designed by Australian architects Cox Group in collaboration with local firm Architects 61, will cost $35 million to build.
When ready around the end of next year, visitors will be able to walk a loop linking the Merlion Park, Esplanade Theatres, the ArtScience museum and integrated resort (IR), Marina Bay Financial Centre and The Fullerton Heritage.
Ultimately, the plan is to create a vibrant waterfront area, drawing visitors to shop, eat, play or simply take in the view of the bay from any spot on the promenade.
The Bayfront stretch will be a two-tier promenade with a granite-paved upper-level and a lower-level timber boardwalk to allow visitors to go right down to the water’s edge.
The main attraction is a 300m-long stainless steel tube-like structure, which can be as high as 10m, equipped with audio speakers, night-lighting and spray misters to bring temperatures down a notch.
The promenade will widen at the southern corner of the Bay into an open space with water features such as dancing water jets. Next to that will be a visitor centre showing developments in the area, a cafe and an information booth.
The lively, pumping ambience of the Bayfront stretch will give way to a shadier, more tranquil gander along Marina Boulevard.
There, visitors can rest their feet and sit on the seawall among flowering shrubs and shady trees, and be cooled by solar-powered fans.
The announcement for the final two links has come 18 months after URA unveiled its plans for the first, a double-helix bridge linking the IR site with the Singapore Flyer ferris wheel. The Flyer opened officially in March, and the bridge will be up around the end of next year.
Said URA’s chief planner Koh-Lim Wen Gin: ‘These constructions help us to take full advantage of the waterfront. It allows people to enjoy this reservoir in the heart of our city and allows lots of events to take place next to and on the water.’
The URA is now calling for tenders for the promenades’ construction.
The Marina Bay loop will be part of a longer 11.7km waterfront route around the Marina Reservoir, linking the Gardens by the Bay, the Marina Barrage and the new Sports Hub. These are in the midst of construction.
The designer, renowned Australian architect Philip Cox, hailed the Marina Bay area as the ‘new focus of the city’ and a way for Singapore to become ‘the most successful maritime city in the world’.
He said: ‘Every part of Singapore offers a different experience. This one will lead to a refocus, a shift of the centre of the city to this area and away from Orchard Road.’
WATERFRONT LIFESTYLE
‘These constructions help us to take full advantage of the waterfront. It allows people to enjoy this reservoir in the heart of our city and allows lots of events to take place next to and on the water.’ - URA chief planner Koh-Lim Wen Gin
Source : Straits Times - 17 Sep 2008
