Archive for category: Executive Condo

Read also: SRI ventures into international project marketing on a two-day private event on May 18 to 19 to showcase a residential tower at White City Living

Lyf Farrer Park officially launched on May 25, which marks it as the 3rd Lyf (pronounced as “life”) space to be opened in Singapore.

Created by millennials, it is designed to announce the new ways living. Lyf Farrer Park takes in the vibrant culture and arts scene in the Farrer Park/Little Indian district. The park filled the interior with colorful murals created by local artists.

With a focus on creating an experience for the community through interactions with others and social interaction Lyf offers common spaces to provide the opportunity to build relationships and natural interactions. Residents are granted access CONNECT, a large open-plan workspace that covers the entire first floor. Fourth floor you will find an outdoor lawn with swings, a barbecue area that has barbecue pits, a communal kitchen as well as a jungle gym.

Since millennials are the primary market, neon signs and eclectic furniture are created to give off a fun and youthful feeling.

“The population of residents of Lyf generally ranges from 25 to 45years old,” states Genevieve Khua, deputy director at Lyf Singapore she adds that many of them are entrepreneurs with start-ups, and utilize Lyf as a way for networking and meeting new people. “After the outbreak tenants are looking for bigger social spaces since they aren’t looking to be too cramped in.”

There are 244 rooms at Lyf Farrer Park with three distinct room types. One hundred and eighty of rooms are “one of one unique” rooms. This is the norm across every Lyf properties and comprises of one bed and a bathroom. There are also 45 “side to side” rooms that have double beds and furniture similar to. Each room is sixteen square feet in area. Facilities for the pantry are shared in order to maximize use of space in the rooms. They are in a common space across the floors.

Furthermore there are fifteen “two of unique” rooms, which are larger with 313 square feet. They comprise two bedrooms, an open kitchen and dining space, which allows for more flexibility , and is perfect for families.

Bars and restaurants are located on the upper floors and accessible to all visitors. In the Elephant Room bar-cum-cafe uses freshly-sourced ingredients from the local Tekka Market in the neighbourhood. The new locally-owned F&B model, The East Side, will offer freshly prepared pizzas and beer brewed to order.

Events, workshops and walking tours are curated specifically for the residents of Lyf by Lyf team to increase the spirit of community. For instance, during the Lyf Farrer Park’s official opening cocktails and soap-making classes were offered as a preview of what residents can expect to enjoy during their time there.

Since its soft launch in February, the Lyf Farrer Park has surpassed 90% occupancy by June’s end as per Khua. The majority of residents are staying for long periods which comprise 65% of all residents. The long-term resident profile is comprised of executives who relocate to Singapore and couples of a younger age seeking temporary accommodations in the event of construction and BTO delays.

However, as border controls decrease, there has been an increasing trend towards short-term stays and they are expected to rise in the near future, Khua says. Short-term residents are mostly composed of singles and couples. Lyf Farrer Park also sees an increasing number of residents who are from India and who come here for business or leisure reasons. This is probably because of its proximity to Little india.

The typical daily rate is $140-$150 per night for stay of less than seven nights . The rates range from $100-$95 per night for extended stays lasting more than a full month.

Presently the occupancy rates for all Singapore’s Lyf properties are on average 85%. Lyf Funan sees a higher proportion of short-term stay stays because it is the sole property in Singapore that holds a hotel licence with the name. Lyf one-north enjoys a large share of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, and e-commerce students because of its position in the micro-market for technology and the private schools that are close by.

Lyf is a brand of co-living operated through The Ascott, CapitaLand’s serviced residential subsidiary. The Ascott also manages Citadinesand Ascott Residences and Somerset Serviced Residences. Somerset Serviced Residences, catering an array of residents from independent travelers to C-suites and millennials. Ascott hopes to have at least 150 Lyf living properties to be operational worldwide by 2030, despite the high demand for.

Lyf Funan began as the very first next-generation co-living brands to launch in 2019. It was followed by Lyf one-north that began operations in the last quarter of last year. The two brands are controlled by Ascott Residence Trust.

In the post-pandemic era, even though there is a boost in economic growth however, the rise in inflation and the increase in rates of interest is a major concern due to the increased chance of being in a global recession. The bright side is that recessions are good investments According to Francis Tan, investment strategist at UOB Private Banking, at EdgeProp Singapore’s Mid-Year Property Market Outlook on May 21.

The Reserve Residences enbloc which includes 700 homes as well as 150 service apartments and 220,000 square meters in retail.

Singapore’s interest rates are increasing with the rises in US Federal Reserve rates, but at a slower rate, Tan notes. But Singapore’s inflation rate stands at the highest for 10 years. “In the current high inflation environment investors are seeking strategies to invest in assets that protect themselves against inflation” He says.

In Singapore the Singaporean household is in possession of $1.16 trillion in residential property assets on their balance sheet overallfar ahead of the deposits of other investment classes (see the chart below) “Singapore household balance sheet” (assets )”).

Despite the uncertainty in global markets as well as the rising interest rates and property cooling measures taken in December however, there was no cooling of the property market in December. Singapore property market is shown resilience according to Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex. In the last eight quarters, starting from 1Q2020 until 1Q2022, the URA Private residential property price index (PPI) has increased by 14.1%.

In the 1Q2022 period, while the private price index for residential properties was in the upwards of 0.7% q-o-q, the land-based property value index was increasing 4.2%. In the non-landed section, suburban condos located in the Outside Central Region (OCR) nevertheless showed an increase of 2.2% increase q-o-q, and the city-fringe, (also known as Rest of Central Region (RCR) and prime condos (Core Central Region or CCR) decreased by 2.7% and 0.1% and 0.1% respectively.

Private property that is not landed property sale in CCR was recorded at 2,466 units in 2021the highest level for more than 8 years as per PropNex. For the initial four months in 2022 approximately 551 units of units in the CCR were sold, according to Gafoor. Singaporeans as well as permanent residents (PRs) constitute the largest buyer group in the CCR with 89.9% of buyers in 2021 in 2022, and 88.5% in the first four months of 2022. In 2011, a decade earlier, Singaporeans and PRs accounted for 61.1% of buyers in the CCR.

The latest wave of property cooling measures, which took effect on December 16, notably thirty% extra buyer’s stamp tax (ABSD) for foreign buyers may have dampened the demand, says Gafoor.

The rising rental rates, which have reached a record high of $4.45 per month per sq ft in the 1Q2022 quarter — the highest rate in more than a decade have also sparked interest from investors towards the CCR as Gafoor says.

The gap between prices for new homes that are not landed for the CCR and the average price of the RCR has also decreased in the last year. In the 1Q2022, prices in the CCR were up 3.4% y-o-y, while prices in the RCR and OCR increased by 7% or 9.2% respectively over the same time frame as he explains.

Two prime locations for a residential public housing (PLH) projects have been announced in the current month of Build-To-Order (BTO) along with Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises. Flats for sale are currently open and are open up to June 2.

The Reserve Residences condo price currently available are revealed by URA in the form of an opening tender.

These two PLH project comprise Bukit Merah Ridge as well as Ghim Moh Ascent. They are the fourth and third projects to launch within the framework of. In a statement on May 27 the Housing and Development Board (HDB) declared that the sales exercise for May comprises 6,535 flats. It has 4,83 BTO flats scattered across five projects , which encompass both mature and non-mature estates. The estates include Bukit Merah Queenstown, Toa Payoh, Jurong West and Yishun. In addition, 1,952 flats were offered as part of the SBF sale exercise.

HDB declares that the projects located in Jurong West and Yishun come with waiting times that are significantly shorter of approximately 3.8 years. Additionally, they are located in non-mature estates that tend to have lower applications rates.

“The high demand for HDB flats for resales and the skyrocketing HDB price for resales led to the Singapore government to substantially increase the number of flats that are being built. This has resulted in the amount of BTO flats being launched in May 2022 is 13.8% higher than that of February 2022.” states Nicholas Mak, head of research and consulting for ERA Realty.

Research conducted by PropNex Realty expects the two PLH projects to have a waiting period of 60 months in contrast, others BTO projects have waiting times between 55 and 39 months.

Upcoming projects
HDB states that it will be able to offer it could be able to offer up to 20% of its PLH plans — the future HDB flats that are constructed in prime areas to be subject to a 10-year minimum occupancy duration (MOP) and in which additional subsidies are to be recouped by the government on their resales the funds offered by the current exercise will be put aside for families who are first timers and the maximum of 2% will be reserved for families with second-time children under the Married Child Priority Scheme. The allocations are equivalent to two-thirds of what is the normal quota.

The typical preferred quotas of other BTO apartments in estates that are mature can be as high as 30% for families who are first-time buyers and three% for second-time families. The lower quoted, according to HDB it will open up greater opportunities for Singaporeans who don’t have relatives in the area to settle in these areas.

Bukit Merah Ridge will be renamed. Bukit Merah project will be known as Bukit Merah Ridge. It is one of the 1,669 developments that will comprise of four and three-room flats. HDB declares that the sale cost (excluding the grant) of a three-room apartment there will be $377,000 and four-room apartments will cost $540,000.

Second PLH project, Ghim Moh Ascent, is situated within Queenstown. The development of 867 units will consist of two- and three-room apartments. The price (excluding grants) of a three-room apartment will be $369,000 . A four-room apartment will cost $511,000. Ghim Moh Ascent will also be located in The Health District @ Queenstown, which HDB claims is an “first-of-its-kind” initiative aimed to improve “the well-being and health of the residents throughout their life phases.”

Huttons Asia expects that the total number of applicants for the two PLH projects could be higher than 10 percent, based on the two earlier launched PLH projects that showed that the subsidy recoveries and the longer timeframe for MOP “are not deterrents… The additional subsidies will make purchasing an apartment in a mature estate simpler. The lengthy completion time is not likely to discourage prospective buyers,” the real estate agency states.

Million-dollar flats located in the area
The most recent PLH projects are situated in estates which have seen multiple million-dollar HDB sales recently. According to the data of ERA in January of this year, there have been 34 HDB flats that were resold in Bukit Merah as well as 52 flats resold in Queenstown which have been sold at a price of one million, or even more. By contrast the era of 28 million dollars, just 28 million HDB flats for resale were sold at Kallang and Whampoa in the area which is where the second PLH project is situated.

“New BTO flats in prime locations are extremely difficult to come across and their long-term potential for investment far exceeds the strict criteria that must be met by the owners of PLH model flats,” says Christine Sun who is the senior vice-president of analysis and research of OrangeTee & Tie. She also says that unsuccessful applicants in the last two PLH model flats could try this time, given that the dates for the launch are fairly close.

In the meantime, ERA Realty’s Mak believes that the government might be attempting to draw buyers to the resales market through the strategically placed BTO plans (in this sales campaign). “Each household who decides to purchase a BTO flat will mean that one less households that will purchase the resale flat. If more buyers are attracted by these BTO developments, this can slow down the HDB price and demand for resales until they reach a more manageable pace of growth.” He says.

Two additional BTO exercises are scheduled to be completed later in the year. This August HDB is expected to offer around 4,900 flats within estates like Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East, Tampines and Woodlands.

In November, an additional 9500 flats will be made available in estates like Bukit Batok Kallang as well as Whampoa, Queenstown and Yishun. But, the amount of flats available in the November sale may change prior to the official launch date. All in all, HDB says it is in the process of launching as many as 23,000 new flats this year.

SRI as well as UK property developer St James, Lamborghini Singapore and real estate agent Downtown International, held a two-day exclusive event from May 18-19, to present Cassini, a brand new property in the London’s White City Living.

The Reserve Residences by Far East has awarded a tender for the development of the site to a partnership with Sino Group.

According to a press release issued by SRI the event is SRI’s first venture into marketing international projects. “We are thrilled about the future and look forward to continuing collaborations with other highly regarded international developers including St James,” says Tony Koe, CEO of SRI. “We are determined to build an expert team that can handle the sale of investment properties particularly in the Australian, UK and the USA market”, Koe adds.

White City Living is a development of St James, a member of The Berkeley Group. The development is located within West London, in the northern portion of Shepherd’s Bush, the development includes more than 2,300 houses. The development will also contain commercial properties as well as eight acres of open green landscape as well as a brand-new five-acre park for the public.

In the private event, more than 60 guests were offered an inside look at Cassini the 35-storey residential tower in White City Living offering a variety of one three-, two- and three-bedroom units which range from 549 square feet. The apartments on the lower levels will enjoy an enviable view of the White City Living’s Central Gardens and Water Gardens and those on the higher levels will be able to enjoy stunning views of the city. The guests also had the chance to drive the Huracan STO, the latest Lamborghini model, at the time of the event.

Read more: The existing two-storey shophouses in Geylang for sale at $50 mil

Designing display units for some of the most exclusive condominiums in Singapore including Swire Properties’ Eden at 2 Draycott Park and Shun Tak Holdings’ Park Nova located at Tomlinson Road — Robert Cheng is the design director at Brewin Design Office is now a part of the development in the CBD and is giving old offices a fresh lease on new life.

One of the buildings is the 61 Robinson. It was constructed in the past by First Capital Corp (now GuocoLand) as their headquarters, the 20-storey structure located at the 61 Robinson Road was called Robinson Centre, and it was completed in 2000.

In September of 2019 the building was acquired from ARA Real Estate Partners Asia II which is a value add fund of ARA Asset Management, for $340 million. ARA then began an asset enhancement of $25 million program that included a minor revamp of the lobby and public areas and the lobby. The asset enhancements were not completed however, ARA sold the property to Singapore-based private equity firm Rivulets Investments, for $422 million in September.

Brewin Design was commissioned to manage the design and redesign of the layout inside the 61 Robinson. The renovations began in December of this year and were scheduled to be completed by the end of 2H2021. But, Covid delayed the completion by around eight months until February this year.

‘Hospitality-inspired environment’
The design in the first Robinson Centre is reminiscent of the Art Deco period, notes Cheng. The new interiors “we have taken inspiration from contemporary elements of a period dating back to the 1920s in New York”, he declares. “Through making use of detail and materials, including a beige color palette of limestone, marble and bronze, we’ve created a warm, welcoming space.”

The post-modern style for the structure was inspired by GuocoLand’s style of development in the construction of large-scale projects Cheng says. The building’s exterior is completely covered in granite The interiors feature a mixture of limestone and onyx and dark marbling.
The ceiling that was originally built for the main lobby was raised to fifteen meters (equivalent to five floors) in the middle, and dropped down to 10m (three levels) to the sides. “Standing at the center of the lobby felt like sitting in the cathedral,”” Cheng explains. Cheng.

The original layout of the principal lobby inspired by the feng shui principle that included a 15m-long water fountain made of yellow onyx marble either side. The retail units at both sides of the lobby looked “disparate and uninspiring”, Cheng adds.

Interior and exterior changes as well as facades
ARA was appointed by ARA Forum Architects as the submission architect, and they were also commissioned to design and build the podium part of the facade. Forum Architects therefore demolished a set of glass panes that were tinted on the façade and replaced them with steel louvers in the shape of angle-shaped facets. They drew inspiration from the geometrical forms seen in the facade of the house.

The whole five-floor car park floor was converted into commercial space with a leaseable area that ranges from 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. The restructuring of the interior space as well as the demolition of parking floor slabs to allow for the construction of a commercial space that could be let on the fourth floor along with the remainder of the interiors and exteriors, was carried out through Brewin Design.

The lobby was given a massive remodel, which saw the previously opaque entryway transformed to completely transparent high-quality glass that measures 4m that runs across the entire 60m of the frontage, with both retail spaces that are on either side.

In order to expand the narrow entrance lobby, the inside flooring was integrated with the public passageway or five-foot path outside, by the flooring material and finishes in receding patterns. “Blending public circulation spaces together with the offices’ private space creates an openness feeling in a place that was previously closed off,” says Cheng.

“New and improved proportions”
Brewin Design redesigned the walls and ceilings in the lobby, creating “new and more proportionate spaces” according to Cheng. The ceiling’s height was reduced down to 10m over the entire 6,000 square feet space for the lobby. “The space did not just become more proportional, it also became more relatable, but it managed to preserve its grandeur and grandeur,” he adds.

The cladding used on the walls inside the lobby was also altered. The lower part of walls (4m) are now completely coated with white Iranian limestone, which is laid out as six horizontal bands of around 80mm thickness. The 10m-high part is an etched copper wall with a vaulted ceiling made of copper.
The lobby’s front is completely covered in glass, the sculpted perimeter wall is now wrapping around the interior of the lobby as well as the exterior wall of the five-foot wide. “The stone wall serves as an anchor to this lobby” claims Cheng. In order to further link the lobby with that five-foot walkway, the floor made of metal with a ripple on it on the entrance of the lobby was recreated as that of the five-foot-wide way to the outside.

Partitioned walls which formerly separated retail spaces from the lobby have been removed. “Instead of segregating these two areas our lobby was designed to allow an increased visual as well as physical link between future F&B or retail F&B operator and the lobby” claims Cheng. “Having Two F&B or retail units open onto the lobby could increase the amount of activity.”

‘Good bones’
ARA bought the building 61 Robinson because they believed it was a good investment because it had “good bones” Cheng says. Cheng. But, ARA wanted to transform the 61 Robinson into a better office building that would give a greater impression of its location and also to distinguish its location from the other structures located on Robinson Road in the CBD. As opposed to the typical Grade A office tower, this building is only 20 stories and floor plates ranging from between 8,000 and 10,000 square feet. Tenants who choose to lease the building include funds, family offices, and small-scale businesses with around 10 employees.

Brewin Design has refreshed the common areas on each floor, including common restrooms. Other renovations within the building include the electrical and mechanical systems, as well as mechanical ventilation and air conditioning systems in order to improve energy efficiency. These conform to the environment as well as BCA Green Mark ratings.
Working on the 61 Robinson, Brewin Design has been approached by “quite some homeowners” across Robinson Road to remodel their properties. Discussions are in progress as per Cheng.

Brewin Design has also been selected by ARA to design the main lobby of the Capital Square office building as well as the quadrangle that is that is in its front. The office building, which is 16 stories tall, was designed through Keppel Land and completed in 1998. ARA acquired the 50% part of the property by acquiring it from Alpha Investment Partners in September 2016.

Improvement of the public square
in February SMFL MIRAI Partners, an affiliate of Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing as well as Kenedix which is an affiliate of SMFL and an investment fund that is operated by ARA declared that they’d made an investment of $297 million into Capital Square.

In the square that is directly to the left of Capital Square is a 6m-tall rectangular water feature. Brewin Design will be enhancing the area and transform it into a 12m-long water feature that has a slight curvature.

“The area has always been scorching and barren,” relates Cheng. “We are planning to plant trees and greenery to decrease the amount of hard surface.” The current waterfall includes a small reflecting pool that Cheng plans to expand. “Hopefully the increased water surface will assist in cooling the area,” he adds.

The gazebo on the corner, that only covered the pedestrian walkway, is now going to be extended. Cheng plans to put in benches in the area. Cheng hopes that with more shade, greenery and seating the public will be more eager to visit the area. He hopes to finish the improvements to the square and main lobby by the end of December.

In conjunction with the CBD Incentive Scheme introduced in 2019 as part of the URA Master Plan, Cheng expects to see the CBD experiencing a dramatic change in the coming 5 to 8 years. The renovation of the 8 Shenton Way (former AXA Tower), Fuji Xerox Towers and Maxwell House into new mixed-use developments, in addition to the IOI Properties Group’s forthcoming hotel and residential development at Marina View, “will bring new vitality in the CBD” Cheng adds.