Nassim Quattro targets ultra-rich with $225 mil price tag
By Cecilia Chow
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - The luxury residential market is like an alternate universe in the Singapore housing market. And tycoon Peter Kwee, executive chairman of Group Exklusiv, is betting that the 10% hike in additional buyer’s stamp duty for foreigners is not going to take the fizz out of the luxury condo scene. Not when it comes with an exclusive address. (Discover insightful data of any Singapore condominium with our condo directory)
The Kwee family’s Nassim Quattro, a limited-edition project with just four apartments sitting on a freehold land area of 45,000 sq ft, next door to the Embassy of the Russian Federation, is now up for sale.
Ensconced within the coveted Good Class Bungalow enclave of Nassim Road — considered Singapore’s billionaires row — Nassim Quattro comes with an 85m long, travertine-walled private driveway leading to a well-lit basement garage of granite walls and flooring. Each apartment has two dedicated private parking spaces in the basement, right in front of the unit.
The basement carpark features granite walls and flooring (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
It’s not just the driveway wall that is of travertine, but the façade, internal walls, staircases and bathrooms of the apartments are of travertine too. Not surprisingly, the complex has earned the moniker “Travertine House”.
The four apartments have an interlocking design by Massimo Mercurio, CEO and managing director of Mercurio Design Lab. Three of the duplex apartments have sizes of 7,384 sq ft, 7,556 sq ft and 8,536 sq ft. The fourth unit is a sole duplex penthouse that comes with a roof terrace and has a total floor area of 13,003 sq ft.
All the units come with double-volume ceiling at the living and dining area, five en suite bedrooms, private lift to every floor, private swimming pool, private landscaped garden for the two ground floor units and private roof terrace for the upper floor unit and the penthouse. The basement of each unit comes with storage spaces, utility area and helpers’ quarters. Kitchen appliances are top-end Gaggenau, with bathrooms sporting Gessi fittings.
Facade and interior walls are of travertine (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Fitful past
Nassim Quattro is a redevelopment of the former Nassim Gardens, which Kwee had purchased from the Cheng family of Wing Tai Holdings sometime in the late 1980s. After land banking the site for nearly two decades, Kwee had put it on the market for sale at $30–$32 million in 2006. While there were several bids at the close of the tender, he decided to withdraw the property.
A year-and-a-half later in September 2007, Kwee’s son, Kevin Kwee and his wife, purchased the site at 49A, 49B, 49C and 49D Nassim Road for $70 million, based on a caveat lodged with URA Realis. The site was purchased under the special purpose vehicle De Nassim Pte Ltd, which is in turn, the developer of Nassim Quattro.
Approval was obtained in 2013 for the development of the three-storey apartment block with four units, basement carpark, communal facilities and a swimming pool. While construction was underway, Kevin Kwee decided to test the market. One of the units made its debut in the middle of 2013 with a $5,500 psf price tag, but was subsequently withdrawn too.
This was because the partriarch, Kwee, wanted to keep the property for the extended family’s use. However, as Kwee’s adult children have settled into their respective homes, his plan for the extended family living within the compound of Nassim Quattro did not materialise. Hence, Nassim Quattro was completed in 2017, but the units were never lived in.
As Kevin is now preoccupied with his latest venture, Kai Suites, a pre- and post-natal care luxury hotel for mothers and their infants that opened last year, his father (Kwee) is overseeing the project on behalf of De Nassim. The decision was made to put Nassim Quattro on the market for sale.
One of the four units at Nassim Quattro has been fitted out and furnished as a show suite by K2SD Group, an architecture, interior design and styling practice. The other three units are also being refurbished.
Private pool on the roof terrace of the penthouse (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
‘Opportune time’
Kwee saw this as an “opportune time” to launch Nassim Quattro, and appointed boutique real estate advisory firm, Arcadia Consulting, to handle the marketing of Nassim Quattro which is offered for sale by private treaty.
Last May, permission was obtained for the main swimming pool to be backfilled. In place of the swimming pool is now a lawn with two pavilions so that residents can use it when entertaining guests. The space is big enough for a sit-down dinner for 20 guests and stage for a string quartet. The grounds were landscaped and even the basement carpark underwent a makeover, with lighting features and a concierge reception desk installed.
During the pandemic, there was a “spectacular growth in wealth” among business owners in the pharmaceutical, logistics and tech industries in Singapore and around the region, says Leong Boon Hoe, CEO of Arcadia Consulting. This led to a spike in demand for super luxury residential properties, he adds.
Last year, the biggest penthouse deal was also at Nassim Road, namely Les Maisons Nassim by Hong Kong-listed Shun Tak Holdings, controlled by doyenne Pansy Ho. The development has just 14 units, which comprise fourand five-bedroom duplexes with sizes from 6,049 sq ft and five-bedroom penthouses of up to 12,000 sq ft. The biggest penthouse of 12,077 sq ft fetched $75 million ($6,219 psf), based on a caveat lodged last October. The deal is said to be brokered by SRI. It is the highest transacted price for a penthouse to date — both in terms of absolute and psf prices.
Nassim Quattro is said to have an asking price “from $225 million”. The four apartments have a total gross floor area of 36,000 sq ft, which means the price works out to $6,250 psf, which is in line with the new benchmark set last year by Les Maisons Nassim.
Leong: For the ultra-rich the additional 10% ABSD is irrelevant if they find something suitable (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
“The perfect fit”
“For the ultra-rich the additional 10% ABSD is irrelevant if they find something suitable,” says Leong of Arcadia. “The additional 10% ABSD [from 20% to 30% as at Dec 16, 2021] will be considered part of the total transaction cost in their decision to purchase.”
Such large format units are in a league of their own, points out Leong. “Their scarcity affords them exclusivity, drives desirability and pricing premium.”
At this stratosphere, the desire of the ultra-rich is to own something unique: “It’s like buying a piece of art or a timepiece”, says Bruce Lye, managing partner of SRI. “Price is subjective.”
For instance, in March last year, the Tsai family of Hong Kong-listed Want Want Holdings, manufacturer of rice crackers, snacks and flavoured drinks, purchased all 20 units en bloc at Eden at 2 Draycott Park from Hong Kong developer Swire Properties. The project was designed by British designer Thomas Heatherwick of London-based architecture and design practice Heatherwick Studio. The purchase price for the entire block was $293 million or $4,827 psf. The deal was done by Huttons Asia. (See potential condos with en bloc calculator)
Arcadia’s Leong, therefore, sees Nassim Quattro as “a perfect fit” for such high-profile home owners who value privacy. “Nassim Quattro is one-of-a-kind: It is extremely low density with only four units and these are all large format apartments,” he says.
Shun Tak’s Les Maisons Nassim is projected to be completed sometime next year. Together with Nassim Quattro, the number of “brand new”, large floorplate apartments of more than 6,000 sq ft available for sale from developers along Nassim Road number just 18, notes Leong. “And Nassim Quattro is the only brand-new project that can offer immediate occupation upon the completion of sale,” he adds.
Based on caveats lodged, four of the units at Les Maisons Nassim have been sold, with the latest transaction being a 6,049 sq ft, four-bedroom unit on the first level that fetched $35 million ($5,786 psf) last December. The unit is said to be sold as a bare unit. At Les Maisons Nassim, buyers have the option of buying a bare unit or the choice of three different fit-out packages and some customisation at higher prices.
Travertine and bronze strips around the edges of the building and the trellis of the roof terrace (Phoro: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Adding sizzle
Upping the ante, Nassim Quattro will be sold with units fully furnished. In addition to the show suite, K2SD will furnish the three remaining vacant units. For those who desire the experience of living in a bungalow, the 13,003 sq ft penthouse can be combined with the unit below to create a 21,000 sq ft, 10-bedroom luxury home. K2SD will work with the owners to provide space planning, renovation and furnishing for the combined units.
“We have concept designs done for all the units and therefore, future owners can visualise the space, and only need to finalise the details with us,” says Kelly Kawahara Cheah, founding principal of K2SD in an email response. “Finalisation of design details should take about a month, and another six months for the renovation of each unit.” Smart home functions can also be incorporated as part of the design, she adds.
The design and quality of materials used at Nassim Quattro, such as travertine, marble, granite and onyx are “timeless”, notes Cheah. “To have the architecture and interiors clad with travertine from inside out is one strong characteristic that makes Nassim Quattro stand out. Even though the property was completed in 2017, it has stood the test of time,” she adds.
Another distinctive feature at Nassim Quattro is the long driveway, says Cheah, which lends an air of exclusivity. As the site is triangular and slopes upwards, the vastness of the site can only be appreciated from its highest point that is the penthouse, Cheah observes.
The future residents at Nassim Quattro will also enjoy the services of a trained butler, dedicated to all four units. Providing butler service and fit-out services will make moving-in “hassle-free”, especially for those who are based overseas, says Arcadia’s Leong.
Some of the other perks of ownership include membership at Kwee’s Laguna National Golf Resort Club, and privileges at the Dusit Thani resort hotel there. They will be able to enjoy golfing facilities at other affiliated clubs internationally, says Leong.
De Nassim, the developer of Nassim Quattro is open to selling the project en bloc to a family office or ultra-high networth individual, which is where demand has originated, according to Leong. The units can also be sold individually. In fact, one could be a neighbour of Kwee if he decides to keep one unit for his personal use. (See potential condos with en bloc calculator)
Check out the latest listings near Nassim Road, Les Maisons Nassim
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