One Pearl Bank: A new icon in the making

By Amy Tan

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

July 19, 2019 2:00 PM SGT

Over the weekend of July 13 and 14, more than 4,000 prospective homebuyers flocked to the public preview of CapitaLand’s One Pearl Bank, a redevelopment of the former horseshoe-shaped Pearl Bank Apartments in Outram. The preview attracted former residents as well as new homebuyers.

“[Homebuyers] are attracted to the development mainly due to the site’s attributes and architectural design of the building,” says Eugene Lim, key executive officer of ERA Realty Network.

Located in District 3, One Pearl Bank is within walking distance of Chinatown and is the only development atop Pearl’s Hill. The 99-year leasehold development will have two 39-storey residential towers with 774 apartments ranging from studios to penthouses of between 431 and 2,788 sq ft. The project is marketed by ERA and Huttons Asia.

Nearby amenities

When the project is completed in 2023, a sheltered walkway will link the development directly to Outram Park MRT Station. This station is expected to become an interchange for three MRT lines in 2021 when Stage 3 of the Thomson-East Coast Line opens. It currently serves the North-East and East-West Lines.

Nearby, the Pearl’s Hill City Park has been identified for rejuvenation under the URA’s Draft Master Plan 2019. In future, residents will also be able to take a stroll from One Pearl Bank to Fort Canning Park via the Singapore River.

Ronald Tay, CEO of CapitaLand Singapore, highlights that the project complements the lifestyle of city-dwellers, given its amenities and proximity to the CBD. “[Residents] can also walk to Chinatown, Keong Saik and Tiong Bahru,” he says.

In addition to these, Lee Sze Teck, head of research at Huttons Asia, points out that the “exceptional views all round” impressed many interested homebuyers at the weekend preview. To complement the project’s show gallery, CapitaLand has turned Level 28 of Pearl Bank Apartments into a viewing gallery that features unblocked views of Singapore’s city skyline. As One Pearl Bank will be elevated, units from the 18th storey onwards will have these views.

The rooftops of both towers of the new development have been designed as a social space connected by a “Sky Oculus”. Here, residents will find facilities such as a walking track, indoor and outdoor gymnasium, function rooms, gourmet kitchen and social lounge. At its media launch on July 11, CapitaLand stated that this space was conceived so residents can enjoy the views from all angles of the project. Terraces on levels 14 and 18 will house an amphitheatre and outdoor lounge areas for social gatherings.

Designed by Serie+Multiply, One Pearl Bank is the first residential development to have a series of sky allotment gardens vertically arrayed at one edge of each tower. There will be 18 allotment gardens with a total of 200 allotment plots where residents can grow their own plants and produce. “We wanted to have these gardens to support urban farming and for residents to have a space to bond,” says CapitaLand’s Tay.

‘Renovation-zero’

The developer has also rolled out a “renovation-zero” concept for the project. This means that residents can move in as soon as they collect their keys. All units will come with fully-integrated kitchens, as well as built-in lighting, air-conditioning, cabinetry and curtains.

Kitchens will have the full suite of luxury Swiss-made V-ZUG appliances including washer-cum-dryer and premium Italian Ernestomeda kitchen systems. All kitchens will also have an integrated sink and countertop, a first among residential developments in Singapore.

Meanwhile, all units will each come with a built-in smart mirror that can be used for visitor management, reading the news, watching videos, controlling the air-conditioning, booking facilities, and accessing shopping deals. Residents can also grant visitors access or control their smart appliances with the One Pearl Bank lifestyle app.

“The ‘renovation-zero’ concept with its extensive provisions [stands out] when compared to standard offerings in the market,” says Huttons’ Lee. “This has been extremely well-received by prospective buyers.”

Attracting ‘good mix’ of buyers

One Pearl Bank will be launched for sale on July 20. Based on the turnout for its preview, ERA’s Lim expects the demographic of buyers to be a good mix of young couples, young families and multi-generational families. He explains: “This is because the project has a good unit mix, ranging from studios to four-bedroom units and penthouses, to choose from.”

Lim adds that investors would also be interested in the smaller units, given the project’s location and proximity to amenities.

While CapitaLand did not provide the average psf prices for One Pearl Bank, it revealed that prices will start at just under $1 million for a studio unit. More than two-thirds of the 774 apartments are priced below $2 million each.

CapitaLand purchased Pearl Bank Apartments for $728 million in a private treaty collective sale in February last year. The site, with a land area of 82,376 sq ft, was previously put up for collective sale three times before it was sold.

According to ERA’s Lim, the land cost works out to be about $1,515 psf per plot ratio, after factoring in an additional lease top-up premium estimated at $201.4 million. As such, given the provisions in each unit and the locale, he believes that One Pearl Bank is launching at a “very reasonable” price.

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