One Tree Hill Collection: A rare landed housing project in prime District 10

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

April 29, 2018 2:35 AM SGT

One Tree Hill Collection, a development comprising 14 houses by Singapore- listed construction and property group Lum Chang Holdings, is scheduled for launch soon. It is not just any landed housing project, however. “Located right smack in prime District 10, in the vicinity of luxury residences such as The Marq on Paterson Hill, The Colonnade and Cliveden at Grange, One Tree Hill is a highly desirable estate,” says Peter Ow, director of property at Lum Chang Holdings. “It’s accessible from Grange Road, Paterson Road and Orchard Boulevard.”

Lum Chang therefore decided to develop a luxurious development befitting its prestigious address. K2LD Architects was selected to design the houses at One Tree Hill Collection. “K2LD has a track record for designing luxury houses, especially Good Class Bungalows,” says Ow. “That’s why we chose them.”

When it came to the interiors, Lum Chang gave the job to Peter Tay, who won the Designer of the Year Award at the President’s Design Awards 2014. He has also been dubbed “celebrity interior designer to the stars”, having designed the homes of stars such as Zhang Ziyi, Wang Leehom, Stephanie Sun and Zoe Tay.

Lum Chang's One Tree Hill Collection with 12 semi-detached houses and two bungalows at the junction of One Tree Hill and Jalan Arnap (Photo Credit: Lum Chang)

Luxury houses in prime estate

One Tree Hill Collection occupies a freehold site of 39,063 sq ft at the junction of Jalan Arnap and One Tree Hill. The site is a redevelopment of the former One Tree Hill Gardens that Lum Chang purchased en bloc in May last year for $65 million. “That started the ball rolling in the recent collective sale wave,” recounts Ow.

The last residential project undertaken by Lum Chang in Singapore was a decade ago, when it developed several Good Class Bungalows on Swettenham Road. Besides One Tree Hill Collection, Lum Chang is in the midst of redeveloping the former The Verge in Little India, which it acquired for $190 million last year in a joint venture with a fund under LaSalle Investment Management. The new project, renamed Tekka Place, will be repositioned as a new retail and lifestyle complex, with Lum Chang handling the construction.

Lum Chang’s overseas property investments and developments include the luxury gated residences Twin Palms at Sungai Long in Kuala Lumpur, and a mixed-use project in Petaling Jaya, in Malaysia; as well as Kelaty House, a commercial property in London. Last December, Lum Chang took a minority stake in CapitaLand’s newly acquired Main Airport Centre, a freehold multi-tenanted office building in Frankfurt, Germany.

All the houses in the development have four levels, including the basement and attic. The houses come with five en suite bedrooms, including the master suite, as well as a home lift and lap pool. (Photo Credit: Lum Chang)

One Tree Hill Collection comprises 12 semi-detached houses and two bungalows. Construction work has begun and the houses are scheduled for completion in 1H2020.

Each semi-detached house occupies a site of 2,300 to 3,000 sq ft and has a built-up area of 4,800 sq ft. Each bungalow sits on a land area of 5,200 sq ft and has a built-up area of about 8,500 sq ft. All the houses in the development have four levels, including the basement and attic. The houses come with five en suite bedrooms, including the master suite, as well as a home lift and lap pool.

Prices above $3,000 psf

Even before the project has been officially launched, two of the semi-detached houses have been sold at private previews: One of them occupies a freehold site of 2,336 sq ft at 60 Jalan Arnap, and was sold for $8.25 million ($3,532 psf) in July; the other occupies a 2,939 sq ft site at 12C One Tree Hill and was sold for $8.94 million ($3,042 psf) in August, according to caveats lodged. “There are very few landed property developments of such a scale in the One Tree Hill neighbourhood,” notes Ow.

New houses in the One Tree Hill estate can command prices above $3,000 psf, which is in line with luxury condominium prices in the prime districts. For instance, a newly completed semi-detached house occupying a freehold site of 4,499 sq ft on One Tree Hill fetched $13.8 million ($3,086 psf), according to a caveat lodged last December. The seller is believed to be niche developer Melvin Poh of Fission Group. Poh had purchased the property in 2015, torn it down and built a semi-detached house on the site before putting it on the market.

The indicative prices for the semi-detached houses at One Tree Hill Collection are from $9 million while the two bungalows are priced from $18 million. “The prices are very reasonable, considering the quality of the homes we are providing,” says Ow.

The houses at One Tree Hill Collection will feature Tay’s signature touch of a high-gloss black ceiling and white marble flooring in the living room on the first level (Photo Credit: Peter Tay Studio)

Well-thought-out interiors

A lot of attention has been paid to the interiors of the houses and the choice of materials used, according to interior designer Tay. “My focus is on the potential buyer,” he says. “I envision someone who enjoys the vibe of city living and I’ve taken the approach of designing something that is contemporary yet has timeless beauty.”

The houses at One Tree Hill Collection will feature Tay’s signature touch of a high-gloss black ceiling and white marble flooring in the living room on the first level. The detailing, from the staircase to full-height sliding glass doors, will be of stainless steel. “I love the idea of reflection — from the high gloss of the ceiling to the light from the swimming pool — which transforms the space and gives it an added dimension,” he says. Tay incorporated the same elements into his design of the super penthouse at Wallich Residence in Tanjong Pagar Centre and the showflat at Martin Modern.

The master bedroom will feature a walk-in wardrobe from Italian brand Rimadesio, designed by Antonio Citterio (Photo Credit: Peter Tay Studio)

Every home will have a dry and a wet kitchen. The dry kitchen will be fitted with Bulthaup kitchen cabinetry and countertop and the kitchen appliances will be top-end Gaggenau and Bosch. The master bathroom will be full marble, with accessories carrying top-end brands Axor and Villeroy & Boch. The powder room will be fitted with the signature stainless steel basin and tap by Gessi.

The master bedroom will feature a walk-in wardrobe from Italian brand Rimadesio, designed by Antonio Citterio. Citterio is famous for his design of the Bulgari resorts. “Lum Chang is probably the first developer in Singapore to have Rimadesio wardrobes,” says Tay. “The only other time I designed a home with Rimadesio wardrobes was for Zhang Ziyi’s penthouse in Beijing.”

The basement level of the two bungalows will have a glass wall that looks out to the swimming pool. “It’s like a stage where you can enjoy the space,” says Tay. The basement is also large enough to accommodate a pool table and home entertainment theatre.

All the spaces within each house have been carefully planned by Tay, including the selection of materials and finishings.

Potential buyers are Singapore rich

Ow: Buyers at this end of the market — for landed property at least — are less sensitive to the ABSD [additional buyer’s stamp duty] (Photo Credit: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

The property cooling measures imposed in July have dampened market sentiment and the luxury segment has not been spared either. “However, buyers at this end of the market — for landed property at least — are less sensitive to the ABSD [additional buyer’s stamp duty],” says Lum Chang’s Ow.

Being an exclusive landed development, One Tree Hill Collection is open only to buyers who are Singapore citizens. Nevertheless, the property has attracted interest from foreigners who are permanent residents in Singapore, says Ow.

The majority of the potential buyers, however, are Singapore citizens who are looking at a lateral move from an older property in the neighbourhood to a new one, or looking to buy for their children, adds Ow.

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