The double-volume ceiling height of the living room of the house at 26 Jalan Bahasa designed by Aamer Architects
SINGAPORE: Seven newly completed bungalows on Jalan Bahasa by niche developer AN Developments are only available for lease, at rents ranging from $25,000 to $40,000.
The streetscape along Jalan Bahasa, off University Road, has been dramatically transformed with the completion of a stretch of nine contemporary-style bungalows occupying a total area of 88,000 sq ft.
“This is equivalent to a brand new bungalow estate on Jalan Bahasa,” says Shelley Han, associate director of Colossians Real Estate, which is marketing the houses.
“It’s similar to Sentosa Cove, where you have bungalows designed by luminary architects like Aamer Architects, K2LD Architects and Guz Wilkinson.”
While each of the detached houses on Jalan Bahasa has a unique, modern tropical design, three bear the hallmarks of Ko Shiou Hee, principal of K2LD Architects.
Another three, including the biggest house on that plot (26 Jalan Bahasa), are designed by Aamer Taher of Aamer Architects, while the house at the end of the row was designed by Kian Chong of boutique firm TAKE Architects.
The houses on Jalan Bahasa are the flagship project of privately held niche developer AN Developments, whose owner prefers to remain under the radar and let his properties speak for themselves.
He is said to come from a storied family in Singapore that has investments in a variety of businesses, ranging from food to oil and gas.
The family is also said to have a penchant for luxury homes and have invested largely in Good Class Bungalows (GCBs), espe cially in the prestigious Dalvey Estate and Queen Astrid Park.
The nine houses on Jalan Bahasa are a redevelopment of a former condominium block built in 1978 called Hills Park, which the dev e loper purchased en bloc in 2007 for $90 million.
Given that the surrounding area is a landed housing estate, the developer decided to build a series of conventional bungalows instead of a cluster housing project.
Han: It's about wealth preservation, and the family is not ready to sell. The houses are only for lease.
Preserving the overall look and feel
While two of the detached house sites were presold prior to construction, the developer had recommended that the owners use the same architects and contractor to preserve the overall look and feel of the houses.
The contractor is Daiya Engineering & Construction, one of the leading contractors for landed homes in Singapore.
The remaining seven houses on Jalan Bahasa will only be available for lease, says Han, because AN Development is currently unwilling to put them up for sale.
“It’s about wealth preservation, and they are not in a hurry to sell.
The family is positive about the landed housing segment, having held on to its GCB portfolio for decades and seen how the values have appreciated.”
Most owners would generally have an asking price of about $2,300 psf to $2,500 psf for newly completed bungalows of such size and quality, she notes.
That would tag the price of the biggest house, No 26 Jalan Bahasa, at about $28 million to $30 million.
Meanwhile, it has an asking rent of $40,000 a month.
No 26 Jalan Bahasa, designed by Aamer Architects, has a built-up area of 14,383 sq ft on an elevated site of 12,149 sq ft.
There is a master suite with its own sitting room, walk-in wardrobe and master bathroom, five en suite bedrooms, two family rooms, a theatre and entertainment room, double-volume ceiling in the main living area and dining room, as well as a rooftop entertainment deck with views of the neighbourhood.
The house has a driveway that can fit six cars.
Meanwhile, the house at No 56, designed by K2LD, has an asking rent of $35,000.
It has a built-up area of 9,671 sq ft and sits on a freehold land site of 9,262 sq ft.
It has a regular-shaped living and dining room with views of the swimming pool, master suite with a spacious walkin wardrobe and double-sink vanity top in the master bathroom, four additional en suite bedrooms, two family rooms, wet and dry kitchens, outdoor terraces and a garage for three cars.
The other two houses designed by K2LD are located at No 58 and No 68 Jalan Bahasa.
They are also almost similar in size to No 56, with a land area of close to 10,000 sq ft each, and builtup areas of over 10,000 sq ft.
While the design of each house may vary, they all contain two family rooms, a palatial master suite and four en suite bedrooms, as well as a 15m lap pool and garage for three cars.
No 58 and No 68 have asking rents of $36,000 to $38,000 a month.
Aerial view of the bungalows on Jalan Bahasa developed by AN Developments. All the houses are on the right side of the road
Vertical garden
While No 26 marks the start of the houses on Jalan Bahasa, No 70 marks the end.
The bungalow development is bookended by a pebblewashed retaining wall that is said to have cost $10 million to erect.
The wall has become a design feature of the house at No 70 and is in the midst of being transformed into a vertical garden, Han says.
The house sits on a land area of 8,907 sq ft and has a built-up area of 8,264 sq ft.
It also comes with two family rooms, a master suite and four en suite bedrooms, a study and a 17m lap pool.
Its asking rent is $29,000.
Aamer designed the biggest as well as the two smallest houses on Jalan Bahasa — Nos 60 and 66.
These sit on a plot of about 12,000 sq ft that had been subdivided into two, with land areas of 5,508 to 5,939 sq ft and built-up areas of 6,167 sq ft and 6,559 sq ft respectively.
They each have three family rooms, five en suite bedrooms, including the master suite, and a lap pool.
The monthly asking rent for each house is $25,000.
Commenting on the Jalan Bahasa homes, Jason Tan, executive director of boutique luxury property marketing specialists JTResi, says: “Beyond wealth preservation, it’s also about replacement value.
It’s not easy to find another freehold land parcel of this size that can be developed into bungalows of such scale in a prime residential estate.”
This article appeared in the City & Country of Issue 673 (Apr 20) of The Edge Singapore.