AWARDS: Gramercy Park offers luxury of space

By Lin Zhiqin

/ EdgeProp |

October 29, 2017 3:00 PM SGT

On the evening of Oct 23, City Developments Limited walked away with an award for Development Excellence at the inaugural EdgeProp Excellence Awards 2017 gala dinner.

“Gramercy Park’s generous grounds; the clean, sculptural lines of the architecture; spacious living area of the apartments; and freehold tenure were all contributing factors,” says Tan Tiong Cheng, president of Knight Frank Asia Pacific, who was one of the judges on the panel of the EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards.

Indeed, despite tough market conditions, 148 out of 174 units (85%) at Gramercy Park have been sold to date, according to CDL. The project appealed to buyers because of its “exceptional value proposition in terms of location, design and unique attributes”, says Sherman Kwek, CDL’s CEO-designate.

The curved, glass-clad towers at Gramercy Park are designed by NBBJ

“In land-scarce Singapore, Gramercy Park stands out as a rare freehold property with spacious apartments in the prime District 10 area,” Kwek comments, on winning the award. “It sits on an expansive site of 170,000 sq ft, which is hard to come by, offering residents the luxury of sweeping greenery and well-spaced facilities.”

The twin towers of Gramercy Park contain 87 units each, and the project E is designed by renowned American global architectural firm NBBJ, which is also the architect for another of CDL’s iconic developments, The Sail @ Marina Bay.

At Gramercy Park, every unit is served by a private lift. The layout of the apartments is functional and features full-length glass windows in the living and dining areas to take in the stunning vistas of the city. There is a balcony in every apartment, which acts as an extension of the living and dining areas while allowing cross-ventilation to reduce reliance on air-conditioning. High-performance double-glazed glass is used in the building façade to minimise heat gain while maximising views.

Every unit is designed to have functional layouts and feature full-length glass windows in the living and dining areas

The smallest units are two-bedroom- plus-study units starting from 1,184 sq ft; three-bedroom units are upwards of 1,884 sq ft; while four-bedroom units are from 2,562 sq ft. There are also four duplex penthouses equally divided into two sizes: 5,533 sq ft and 7,287 sq ft. All but one of the bigger penthouses have been snapped up, by foreigners, with the bigger unit sold for $21.86 million ($3,000 psf) in August.

In fact, foreigners made up 50% of the buyers at Gramercy Park, despite the 15% additional buyer’s stamp duty being in place. As CDL’s Kwek notes, “If a project’s value proposition is right, we will continue to see strong foreign demand [for it].”

The finishing and fittings of the apartment interiors are also top-notch, with marble flooring for the living and dining areas and American walnut timber for the bedrooms, Gaggenau brand kitchen appliances, and bathroom accessories and fittings boasting Hansgrohe’s Axor and Gerberit brands.

The living and dining area of a four-bedroom unit

Residents of Gramercy Park stand to enjoy “signature residential services” backed by CDL’s expertise in hospitality. The residential hosts play the role of concierge and personal assistant to take care of residents’ needs and wants, from facility reservation to transport arrangements, and dining and hotel reservations.

Gramercy Park was also designed with sustainability in mind; little surprise then that it clinched the highest accolade under the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Award for sustainability, namely the Platinum award. Green features in the project include solar panels at the top of each tower to provide power to all the common spaces. To reduce water usage for the public areas, rainwater is harvested and the lush greenery is watered through an automated irrigation system with rain sensors. Every apartment also comes with water-efficient fittings.

The centrepiece of the landscape design is the 50m grand pool and the grand lawn

The landscape design for Gramercy Park is inspired by stately country estates. The centrepiece is the 50m grand pool and the grand lawn. Off the grand pool are feature pools such as the gym pool, spa pool and kids’ play pool. The 11,000 sq ft grand lawn provides a perfect outdoor setting for picnics, garden weddings and games such as croquet. To lend the project privacy and exclusivity, a lush wooded trail with tall trees form the perimeter of Gramercy Park.

Located on Grange Road, Gramercy Park is near embassies, the Chatsworth Park Good Class Bungalow area and Orchard Road shopping strip. The Botanic Gardens, now a Unesco World Heritage site, is just a four-minute drive from the project, while the commute to the CBD is just 12 minutes by car.

This article appeared in EdgeProp Pullout, Issue 803 (Oct 30, 2017).

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