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Two years ago, the most expensive HDB unit in Singapore was reportedly a penthouse maisonette in Bishan that changed hands for S$900,000 (RM2.2 million). This was followed by the sale of an old HUDC flat for S$1.1 million a few months later, also in Bishan.
It looks like another property market sensation is in the making, and once again, in Bishan. This time, it’s the private condominium segment that’s stealing the limelight with the launch of the 509-unit Sky Habitat — widely expected to set new benchmarks in terms of pricing and design.
Sky Habitat is a joint venture between CapitaLand and Mitsubishi Estate Asia, and designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie. At 38-storeys tall with a three-dimensional, step-like façade, Sky Habitat is expected to transform the skyline of the Bishan neighbourhood, which has mainly been dominated by high-rise HDB blocks.
“We wanted to develop something very extraordinary and enduring, that will last for generations,” says Wong Heang Fine, CEO of CapitaLand Residential Singapore. “Looking at the site, we saw the opportunity to create a vertical 21st century village community.”
CapitaLand had won the site in Bishan Street 14 in a hotly contested tender that drew 19 bidders and closed in February last year. CapitaLand won the site with a top bid of S$550.1 million or S$869.36 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr). In March 2011, leading Japanese real estate company Mitsubishi Estate Asia took a 25% equity stake in the Bishan condo project, with CapitaLand retaining a 75% stake.
In designing Sky Habitat, Safdie drew inspiration from his first experimental project in high-density living for his master’s thesis at McGill University in Canada. Called Habitat ‘67 and located in Montreal, it was revolutionary for its day as it combined garden and high-density living spaces. Habitat ‘67 has stood the test of time, and in 2009, it was designated a monument, along with two units within the development owned and designed by Safdie. “That’s why we chose him [Safdie],” says Wong. “The Habitat project was built 40 years ago and yet, it’s still relevant today.”
While it stays true to the original premise where every individual home enjoys a terrace or courtyard, Bishan’s Sky Habitat could also be described as a 21st century update of the first Habitat in Montreal, but designed for Singapore living. The step-like façade created by the alternating series of terraces and balconies also serves a purpose beyond aesthetics — it gives each outdoor space a double volume ceiling height and a feeling of living in a landed home up in the air.
‘Affordable luxury condo’
“Beyond architecture, Safdie understood the importance of building a sustainable living environment and transforming lifestyles. We wanted to create a new form of urban living for the Bishan area,” says Wong.
It will also be a green development as only 35% of the site area of around 130,000 sq ft will be built up, and 65% designated for landscaping. Attention has been given to views. According to Wong, Sky Habitat is an “affordable luxury condo”, where the luxury is in the views and the facilities, not just the finishing and fittings inside each apartment, explains Wong.
The two 38-storey towers are connected by three sky bridges on the 14th, 26th and 38th floors, which will be landscaped into lush “sky gardens”. The top floor sky bridge also has a lap pool while karaoke rooms and the gym are located on the property’s 14th floor sky bridge.
The ground level features many landscaped walkways and gardens, part of the eco-friendly features of the property. “There’s also a grand boulevard at the entrance with water features greeting visitors and residents, much like an entrance of a five-star hotel,” continues Wong. More communal facilities such as BBQ pits, a children’s playground and a tennis court are located within the tropical landscaping on the ground level.
In terms of location, the condo is on Bishan Street 14, just across the road from the ITE College Central campus. Just a short walk from Sky Habitat is the Junction 8 shopping mall (owned by CapitaLand’s mall REIT, CapitaMall Trust), the Bishan MRT station and bus interchange. It’s also close to Bishan Park, as well as top schools such as Catholic High and Raffles Institution, and sports facilities such as Bishan Stadium and Bishan Swimming Complex. The central business district and Orchard Road are also just a 10-minute MRT ride away. “In just three decades, Bishan has been transformed into one of the most desirable residential precincts in Singapore,” says Wong.
Property agents note that there have been few new private condos launched in the Bishan area in recent years. The last launch of a private condo was in the middle of 2008, when developer Sim Lian Group previewed the 616-unit Clover by The Park on Bishan Street 22. The project was completed late last year.
Sky Habitat has a mix of unit types — from a one bedroom plus study sized from 635 to 958 sq ft to penthouses of 2,551 to 3,671 sq ft. There are only eight penthouses in the project of which half are simplexes and the other half being duplexes. CapitaLand ensures that apartment sizes are functional and spacious, with two-bedroom units, some of which come with a study, sized from 721 to 1,485 sq ft, while three-bedroom apartments are sized from 1,216 to 1,894 sq ft. Four-bedroom apartments are sized from 1,550 to 2,260 sq ft.
Each unit comes with one or more balconies, or a larger 215 sq ft open terrace. The developer will also plant a tree on every open terrace. The showflat showcases typical one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartment types, and gives ideas of what people can do with their terraces. “It’s all about indoor-outdoor living,” says Wong. “We give people ideas on what they can do with their terraces, how they can turn it into an outdoor dining area, an extended living room, or a relaxation deck. Some of the smaller units come with the open terrace. For a small household who loves the outdoors, there is that option.”
Interest in Sky Habitat has been very positive, even before its expected launch in the middle of this month, says Wong. Besides its starchitect touch, Sky Habitat’s Bishan location makes it desirable to both investors and owner-occupiers. Generally, 80% of the buyers of CapitaLand projects tend to be owner-occupiers, while 20% are investors, estimates Wong.
Commanding a premium
Previous media reports suggest that Sky Habitat’s preliminary pricing ranges from S$1,700 to S$1,800 psf, which far surpasses the S$1,500 psf estimates bandied about by market watchers when the project was unveiled in September last year. CapitaLand also estimated previously that Sky Habitat’s breakeven price is S$1,300 psf. Even the preliminary estimated price range of S$1,500 psf is still above the prevailing selling price of private condos in the area. For instance, at the newly completed Clover by The Park on Bishan Street 25, transaction prices on the resale market in 1Q2012 ranged from S$801 to S$1,101 psf, according to caveats lodged with URA Realis. Listings on propertyguru.com.sg show a high-floor, three-bedroom unit at the Clover by The Park on Bishan Street 25 selling at S$1,233 psf.
To CapitaLand’s Wong, Sky Habitat is more than a roof over one’s head and not just another cookie-cutter development. “We’re creating a statement property, something that people will want, like a Birkin bag,” says Wong. “Most of the time in high-rise condos, only residents living on the higher floors get all the views. But at Sky Habitat, you can enjoy the 360o city views on the 38th floor skybridge — which is the top floor of the building — without having to pay for a top-floor penthouse. And that’s a luxury.”
Jack Chua, president of Hersing, which owns ERA Realty Network, one of the marketing agents for Sky Habitat, says the price range of S$1,700 to S$1,800 psf is merely indicative. While he remains tight-lipped about Sky Habitat’s real prices, he assures that they will be “reasonable”. “The actual pricing should be out closer to the launch date,” Chua says. He adds that interest in the project is strong. “Potential buyers have expressed interest in both large and small units,” he says.
Sky Habitat’s convenient location is its biggest draw, says Chua. “It has one of the best locations, being just four MRT stops away from Orchard Road, and near the transport hubs of the Bishan MRT station and the shopping of Junction 8,” he continues. Even HDB flats in Bishan are seeing high transaction prices, such as a S$400,000 to S$500,000 price tag for a four-bedroom flat, Chua points out. Interested parties are from the neighbouring estates in the northern region, and are a mix of HDB upgraders and private property owners, including landed home dwellers.
Ong Kah Seng, director of property research outfit R’ST Research, reckons a more attractive pricing for Sky Habitat would be between S$1,500 and S$1,700 psf in the initial launch phase, and that it would sell well at such prices. This is backed by Bishan’s central location and generally still healthy suburban property sales, he adds. The developer will have the potential to raise prices in subsequent phases. “It really depends on the objectives of the developer,” he says. “A financially strong mega developer such as CapitaLand has the ability to release units slowly at progressively higher prices.” On the other hand, pricing the project at S$1,700 to S$1,800 psf in the initial phase will likely lead to more moderate sales during the initial launch stage.
With the recent additional buyer’s stamp duty introduced on Dec 8, CapitaLand’s Wong is anticipating the majority of buyers to be first- and second-time homebuyers, who are likely to be predominantly Singaporeans.
Next to Sky Habitat is a vacant plot of government land zoned for residential use. The land is in the Reserve List of URA’s 1H2012 Government Land Sales Programme. It is similar in size to Sky Habitat’s land area and could yield 645 units. While the land parcel has not been released for sale yet, Wong says he is unfazed by the possibility of the site being purchased by another developer. He doesn’t believe that it would be easy for any new project to overshadow Sky Habitat. “Sky Habitat is going to be a historical project, a major engineering feat and it’s going to last through the generations,” Wong says.
He points to other landmark projects developed by CapitaLand, such as the 545-unit RiverGate developed jointly with Hwa Hong Corp featuring Australia’s award-winning architect Philip Cox; the 1,715-unit D’Leedon, developed as part of a consortium and designed by Pritzker Prize winner Zaha Hadid; and the 1,040-unit The Interlace designed by Ole Scheeren.
CapitaLand’s most recent launch was Bedok Residences in late November, when people hired students and retirees to queue up for three days to secure a unit prior to the first day of public preview. To date, close to 90% of the units have been sold, with the highest price achieved at the 99-year leasehold condo being S$1,520 psf. When completed in 2015, the 583-unit condo will sit on top of a shopping mall, with the Bedok MRT station underground. It is also connected to the Bedok bus interchange. “Bedok Residences is designed for people who want to be plugged in, and who appreciate connectivity,” observes Wong.
“As for Bishan’s Sky Habitat, the development is about indoor-outdoor living, and it’s about creating communal areas with different ambiences and views for residents,” he adds.
Jo-Ann Huang is a writer with The Edge Singapore
