SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Queens Peak condominium by Hao Yuan Investment and MCC Land, won awards for innovation and layout at the EdgeProp Excellence Awards (EPEA) 2021.
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The 736-unit private condominium located on Dundee Street is “among the rare residential projects — excluding those that are part of mixed-use developments — that have a seamless, above-ground connectivity to an MRT station”, says Lee Nai Jia, deputy director, Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies, National University of Singapore (NUS), who is also one of the judges at this year’s awards.
“Being directly linked to the concourse of Queenstown MRT Station will appeal to home buyers, not only for its convenience but also because it allows them to avoid the street-level crowd and hence reduce physical interactions with other people,” says an MCC Land spokesman. “This in turn lowers the risk of Covid-19 transmission.”
Queens Peak is a relatively large development with 736 units and therefore requires a diverse range of facilities to cater to residents’ needs. Meanwhile, the site area is only 113,194 sq ft. The developer showed innovation through optimal use of the site — with twin 44-storey towers — that allowed it to accommodate more than 70 different amenities, as well as a retail shop and childcare centre, says Lee of NUS.
The developers incorporated energy-efficient and water-efficient systems for the condominium as well, he points out.
With AGA Architects as the design architect and Surbana Jurong as the landscape consultant, Queens Peak is designed with a “resort-style, open landscaping that seeks to be an extension of the lush greenery of the nearby Alexandra Canal Linear Park”, says an MCC Land spokesman on behalf of the developers. “Curves are incorporated into the façade to give Queens Peak an elegant architecture, as well as create an interesting interplay between light and shadows.”
Close to 20% of the units have private lift lobbies, notably the three-bedroom premium units, four- and five-bedroom apartments as well as the five-bedroom penthouses.
Launched in November 2016, Queens Peak sold 271 units (36.8%) at a median price of $1,628 psf. The project is now fully sold, with the latest median selling price at $1,947 psf based on transactions from July to November to date. The project was completed and obtained its temporary occupation permit (TOP) in March 2020, just before the “circuit breaker” started.
With working from home and home-based learning becoming a norm in the current pandemic times, home buyers are generally seeking bigger homes or homes with dedicated spaces (such as a study) where they can create a conducive environment for working or studying comfortably and productively. At Queens Peak, three-bedroom units make up the majority (about 30%) of the total number of units and there are 114 one-bedroom-plus-study units (about 15%).
Unit layouts are squarish, which increases the space efficiency and flexibility. “As the Covid situation evolves, space use requirements may change over time and the flexible layouts in Queens Peak’s units allow residents to reconfigure their homes easily to suit their changing needs,” says MCC Land’s spokesman.
These attributes led to Queens Peak scoring high in terms of layout among the completed projects in the Central Region, notes Choo Wee Chyn, a trained architect and co-founder of Attribuild, a real estate analytical tool that uses an algorithm to measure space efficiency of individual apartments within a condominium. Attribuild was used to tabulate the scores for layout excellence at EPEA 2021. And the Layout Excellence Award is a new category this year.
While the unit layouts may be angular, the balconies are designed with wave-like curves. “They serve to break the rigidity of the interiors which can help instil mindfulness and creativity, which are particularly important for providing the balance against staying at home for long periods of time due to pandemic restrictions,” says the MCC Land spokesman.
With more people working from home, having amenities in their vicinity has become even more important. Queens Peak is just two MRT stops to Buona Vista Interchange Station on the East-West and Circle Lines and three stops from Outram Park Interchange Station on three lines, namely the East-West, North-East and the upcoming Thomson-East Coast Lines. It is four stops to Tanjong Pagar MRT Station and four stops to HarbourFront Interchange Station.
Given the project’s location in the city fringe area of Alexandra and Commonwealth, Queens Peak is near shopping malls such as Anchorpoint Shopping Centre, Alexandra Central Mall and Queensway Shopping Centre, as well as IKEA Alexandra. Orchard Road and the CBD are just a 10-minute drive from Queens Peak. Good schools in the vicinity include Crescent Girls’ School, Gan Eng Seng Primary and Secondary Schools and CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent.
The units at Queens Peak are therefore equally popular among both owner-occupiers and tenants, notes MCC Land.
Check out the latest listings near Queens Peak, Queenstown MRT Station, Buona Vista Interchange Station, Outram Park Interchange Station, Tanjong Pagar MRT Station, HarbourFront Interchange Station, Crescent Girls’ School, Gan Eng Seng Primary, CHIJ St Theresa’s Convent