CAIRNHILL ROAD


 

 

 

 



A piece of local history:
Mr Tan  and his Cairnhill bungalow. He had bought the 36,568 sq ft freehold site in the 1930

Former OCBC chairman Tan Chin Tuan is developing a 20-storey block of apartments behind his bungalow in Cairnhill Road. And he plans to occupy the 8,435 sq ft penthouse when work is completed in about 18 months.

Mr Tan, 95, now lives with his family in Grange Court. He bought the eight-unit apartment block in Grange Road in 2001 because he wanted to move out from his Cairnhill bungalow to escape construction activity nearby.

Property Enterprises Development's Cairnhill Crest condo, which is almost completed, is next door to Mr Tan's bungalow.

A property analyst estimated yesterday that it will cost Mr Tan $20-odd million to conserve his Cairnhill bungalow and develop the adjacent apartment block. Work is slated to finish around March 2006.

Construction of the apartments began six months ago.

Besides the double-storey penthouse, there will be 15 apartments in the block averaging about 4,590 sq ft each. The plan is to have one unit per floor.

There will be a sky terrace garden on the 12th floor, a lap pool on the ground floor, a gym and a steam-bath/sauna.

BT understands that that neither the 16-unit apartment block nor the bungalow are for sale, as the land has been with the family for decades.

Mr Tan bought the 36,568 sq ft freehold site on elevated ground in Cairnhill Road in the 1930s. 'Interestingly, the broker who handled the transaction was David Marshall's father,' said a source. The late David Marshall was Singapore's first chief minister.

The current plan is for Mr Tan's family to occupy some of the units and lease out the rest.

But not just anyone will be able to rent an apartment from Mr Tan, who also used to be chairman of bluechip retailer Robinson.

'The building is special to the family and they would like to find like-minded people who appreciate the history and sentiment behind the land and enjoy the neighbourliness of living with an extended family,' said the source. The two-storey bungalow, with a strata area of 7,371 sq ft, will be used for entertaining and special functions.

'It will be suitably refurbished to retain its history and the charm of a bygone era,' the source added.

The family has no immediate plans for its present home, Grange Court.

It will depend on market conditions, investment and familial considerations, the source said - By Rashwana Kalpana      SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    9 Sept 2004

Developer believes Cairnhill Crest units will fetch better prices next year

Talk about confidence. Property Enterprises Development (PED), Li Ka-shing's Singapore unit, has rejected a $40 million offer for eight penthouses at Cairnhill Crest - because it thinks the units will fetch a better rate by early next year.

Objects of desire: The $40 million offer for eight of Cairnhill Crest's 10 remaining duplex penthouses came from a China-based firm

The Cheung Kong subsidiary's faith is also driven by plans to hold roadshows in China, Canada and Australia starting next month for the 248-unit freehold condominium.

'Usually, the prices will go up after roadshows, so we will hold out and wait,' said Cheung Kong executive director Justin Chiu. 'Right now, we are not going to hardsell and are promoting the development through word of mouth.'

PED general manager Annie Loke said the $40 million offer for eight of Cairnhill Crest's 10 remaining duplex penthouses came from a China-based firm. The penthouses range from 2,422 square feet to 3,057 sq ft, and the offer works out to be about $1,825 per square foot.

'The property market is just bottoming out and we are pretty confident that by the end of the year, we can get 10 to 20 per cent more,' she said.

Property analysts say that prices in Singapore have bottomed out after recent dips but may take a while to pick up because of uncertainty over the economy.

Cairnhill Crest is selling at about $1,888 psf, and Ms Loke expects that by January, it could fetch about $2,000 psf.

Ten units have been sold so far for between $1,200 and $1,700 psf, or for $2.7-5.8 million.

Other freehold developments in the area such as The Edge On Cairnhill by SembCorp Properties' Pyramid Hill Properties, is going at $1,200-1,500 psf, and Wing Tai Holdings' The Light at Cairnhill is selling at about $1,400 psf.

Far East Organization's Vida is going at $1,200-1,600 psf.   - by Jean Chua    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     23 Sept 2004

 


Copyright ©  2009
By opening this page you accept our
Privacy and Terms & Conditions