SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Lim Yew Soon, managing director of EL Development, takes calculated risks when acquiring residential development sites. When the government launched two sites for sale at one-north — namely, Slim Barracks Rise Parcels A and B — in June 2021, instead of spreading his bets across both sites, Lim banked on winning just one, Parcel A.
The 85,652 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site that Lim focused on has a plot ratio of 3.0, which al- lows EL Development to build a 27-storey, high-rise residential block. “Typically, the residential developments in the one-north area are mid-rise at 13- to 15-storey,” says Lim. Hence, at the close of the tender in September 2021, EL Development emerged at the top of 10 bidders. It was awarded the site for $320.1 million ($1,246 psf per plot ratio) in October 2021.
The new residential development at Slim Barracks Rise is named Blossoms By The Park. The condo has two basement parking levels with four strata-titled commercial units of around 4,306 sq ft on the first level.
Lim: One-north is Singapore’s Silicon Valley. Besides proximity to good schools, one-north is an ideal environment for those who aspire to work in the knowledge industries and for families (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
The commercial units flank both sides of a public plaza that provides a shortcut to the public park and the Buona Vista MRT Station (an interchange for the Circle and East-West Lines). With the shortcut through the park, it is just a three- to five-minute walk (288m) to the MRT station. (Find Singapore commercial properties with our commercial directory)
EL Development appointed ADDP Architects as the design architect for the project and Ecoplan Asia as the landscape architect. Ecoplan will be designing the neighbouring one-north park too. “Right now, it’s a rather sad-looking park,” says Lim. Upon completion, the public park will be “a seamless extension of our residents’ facilities and greenery”, he adds.
At Blossoms By The Park, residents’ facilities are on the second floor, while apartments span the third to 27th floors. There are 11 stacks or 11 units per floor. Even the units on the penthouse level (27th floor) are identical to those on the lower floors. The only difference is the ceiling height: 4.75m for the penthouses and 2.75m for the lower-floor units.
Showflat of a two-bedroom-plus-study penthouse. At Blossoms By The Park, one- and two-bedroom units make up 45% of the total unit types (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
In configuring the unit types, EL Development considered the stipulated average size of 85 sq m (914.9 sq ft) for the one-north area in the Rest of Central Region. Therefore, one-bedroom-plus- study units of 549 sq ft, two-bedroom units of 678 sq ft, and two-bedroom-plus-study units of 721 sq ft accounted for 125 out of the 275 units (45.45%).
Including the three-bedroom dual-key units, the number of one- and two-bedroom types would increase to 175 units (about 63.63%). Lim says buyers of the three-bedroom dual-key units are purchasing a two-bedroom apartment and a compact studio in one acquisition. “We realise that the one- and two-bedroom units move fast in the current market,” he adds. “Such units appeal to investors for their affordability.”
Proving the point is Tembusu Grand in the prime neighbourhood of Katong. The project saw 340 out of 638 units in the 99-year leasehold condo sold at an average price of $2,465 psf over the weekend of April 8–9. According to Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty, about 70% of the units sold were one- and two-bedroom units. While there were some owner-occupiers, the majority were investors, he adds.
Blossoms By The Park will preview on April 14, with the launch on April 29. Prices will start from $1.291 million ($2,352 psf) for a one-bedroom-plus-study unit, from $1.499 million ($2,211 psf) for a two-bedroom, and from $1.585 million ($2,198 psf) for a two- bedroom-plus-study. Three-bedroom dual-key units start from $2.082 million ($2,276 psf), while three-bedroom units are from $2.279 million ($2,183 psf). Meanwhile, four-bedroom units start at $2.921 million ($2,243 psf), and four-bedroom premium units are from $3.335 million ($2,213 psf).
Ken Low, managing partner of SRI, expects the average sale price to be in the “$2,350 to $2,400 psf range”.
PropNex’s Gafoor anticipates that the sales performance of Blossoms By The Park will be similar to that of Tembusu Grand. “Blossoms By The Park is sensitively priced,” he adds. “Sales are likely to cross the 50% mark.” With just 275 units, selling 50% means about 138 to 140 units.
JTC estimates that there are about 50,000 knowledge workers at one-north (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
SRI’s Low points to the last three launches at one-north, which garnered “a strong track record in sales”. In particular, the first condo project at one-north, the 405-unit One-North Residences, debuted in March 2007 and was 80% sold within three days. The next launch, in July 2007, was the 334-unit The Roches- ter Residences. “It sold out in less than a month,” says Low.
Located diagonally opposite Blossoms By The Park is the 165-unit One-North Eden, launched in April 2021 — a good 14 years after The Rochester Residences’ launch. On the first weekend, 140 units (85%) at One-North Eden were snapped up, notes SRI’s Low. The project was sold out by March 2022 — less than a year after launch — at an average price of $1,965 psf, based on caveats lodged with URA Realis.
The next launch at one-north will likely be The Hill @ One-North, a 142-unit residential project by Kingsford Development. The Slim Barracks Rise Parcel B project is separated from Blossoms By The Park by the Nan- yang Technological University Alumni House and Executive Centre.
“The primary draw of one-north is the fact that it’s a business hub,” says Marcus Chu, CEO of ERA Realty Network. One-north covers a 200ha site master-planned by JTC Corp, and houses 400 multinational companies, 15 public research institutions, five institutions of higher learning such as Insead and Essec Business School, and corporate campuses, for instance, Unilever’s global campus, Unilever Campus @ one-north.
JTC estimates that there are about 50,000 knowledge workers at one-north. ERA’s Chu highlights other knowledge workers in the vicinity, for instance, the National University Hospital (NUH), the National University of Singapore (NUS), and Science Parks 1 and 2. “Many of them want to live within a short commute from work,” he says.
Given the lack of new residential supply in one-north, other private condos launched in District 5 have also seen “strong and consistent demand” from owner-occupiers and investors over the years, says Chu. “We see pent-up demand for projects at one-north.”
Residential rental rates at one-north have been holding up well owing to a lack of new supply, says ERA's Chu.
Mark Yip, CEO of Huttons Asia, says there are only two completed private residential de- developments with 739 units in one-north: The Rochester Residences and One-North Residences. In 2023, a two-bedroom unit at One-North Residences was rented for an average of $5,551 a month, while a two-bedroom unit at The Rochester Residences was rented for an average of $6,550 a month. “The rents are much higher than nearby non-landed projects like Dover Parkview and Heritage View, and are likely to outperform given the limited supply,” he adds.
According to Yip, the two residential parcels at Slim Barracks Rise are the only sites zoned for residential use in the vicinity of Biopolis and Fusionopolis.
One-north traditionally sees “robust rental transactions and median rents”, says SRI’s Low. “The one-north area in District 5 can fetch higher rental rates than some developments in District 3, which includes Alexandra, Bukit Merah, Queenstown and Tiong Bahru,” he adds.
While one-north attracts investors, ERA’s Chu sees “a fair mix of owner-occupiers” as well. He expects Singapore citizens and permanent residents to form the majority of buyers at new project launches, including Blossoms By The Park.
Owner-occupiers, especially families with children of school-going age, will also be drawn to the location. Situated 1km away on Dover Road are Fairfield Methodist School (Primary and Secondary) and ACS (Independent), notes SRI’s Low. He highlights that the project is within a three-minute walk to Buona Vista MRT Interchange Station and a five-minute walk to Star Vista Mall.
EL Development is enhancing one-north Park and creating a public plaza to create access to both the park and the Bouna Vista MRT interchange station (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Still, Low expects investors to account for a more significant proportion of buyers at Blossoms By The Park. He sees one-north benefiting from the government’s plans for Greater One North, an extension of the existing R&D and high-tech ecosystem. This includes the future Dover Knowledge District, NUH Campus, NUS and Science Parks 1 and 2.
Low points out that one north is “a five-minute drive or three MRT stops from the future Greater Southern Waterfront”.
EL Development’s Lim is convinced that “Blossoms By The Park” is an apt name for the development. “‘By The Park’ refers to it being next door to a park; ‘Blossoms’ because we wanted a name related to the garden theme. We thought ‘Blossoms’ sounds good in Chinese too, as it symbolises growth and abundance,” he notes.
Lim continues: “One-north is Singapore’s Silicon Valley.” Besides proximity to good schools, one-north is an ideal environment for those who aspire to work in the knowledge industries, he adds. Lim sees one-north providing “an excellent environment” for families too.
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