Parc Greenwich taps low EC supply in the Seletar neighbourhood
By Cecilia Chow
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Executive condo (EC) Parc Greenwich will open for e-application on Aug 26, with sales bookings to start on Sept 11. The EC is developed by Singapore-listed Frasers Property and CSC Land Group in an 80:20 joint venture. (See also: Is the EC market immune to the pandemic?)
Parc Greenwich is located at the corner of Sengkang West and Yio Chu Kang Roads, with an entrance from Fernvale Lane. The 99-year leasehold residential development is just across the road from Greenwich V, with amenities such as Cold Storage supermarket, 7-Eleven, cafes such as Awfully Chocolate, Bakery Cuisine and Cedele’s as well as Chinese enrichment centre Hua Language Centre and Anytime Fitness gym.
Adjacent to Parc Greenwich is an upcoming public park, and in future, there will be a side gate for residents to enter the park directly. The project sits on a 184,385 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site and contains nine 14-storey condominium blocks with a total of 496 units. Typical units are a mix of two- to five-bedroom apartments, with sizes ranging from 786 to 1,464 sq ft. (See: Discover insightful data of any Singapore condominium with our condo directory)
Parc Greenwich is located at the corner of Sengkang West and Yio Chu Kang Roads, with an entrance from Fernvale Lane.(Photo: Frasers Property)
Parc Greenwich is well-connected to Tampines Expressway, Seletar Expressway and Central Expressway. When the North-South Corridor is completed in the future, it will increase accessibility to the central region and different parts of the city. The closest MRT station is Sengkang MRT station, which is accessible via Fernvale LRT station. Upon expected completion of the project in 2024, the developer will provide a free shuttle service to Sengkang MRT station for the first two years.
Besides the view of the future neighbouring park, units at Parc Greenwich will have views of the low-rise, Seletar Hills landed estate as well as views of the internal landscaped gardens and facilities.
Parc Greenwich is near the Seletar Regional Centre that will see the phased development of Sengkang West Industrial Park and the expansion of the nearby Seletar Aerospace Park, according to Elson Poo, senior vice-president of marketing at Frasers Property. It is also in the vicinity of the North Coast Innovation Corridor and the upcoming Punggol Digital District. “All these mean that future residents of Parc Greenwich will be able to live close to these employment nodes in the northeast region,” he adds.
Showflat of a four-bedroom premium penthouse where the partition wall between two bedrooms have been removed to create a bigger shared bedroom for siblings (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
‘Flexible unit layouts’
Parc Greenwich is designed to appeal to HDB upgraders and first-time buyers. Three-bedroom apartments account for 69% of the units at Parc Greenwich. They are predominantly three-bedroom premium units of 1,001 sq ft (180 units) and three-bedroom-plus-study of 1,066 sq ft (115 units). Another 48 units are three-bedroom apartments of 958 to 980 sq ft. (See: Find HDB flats for rent or sale with our Singapore HDB directory)
Four- and five-bedroom premium units are designed as “verandah homes” with the kitchen opening out to the balcony, making it easier for entertaining and outdoor dining. The balconies are spacious enough for people to work there too. Four-bedroom premium apartments of 1,206 sq ft make up 91 units (18%), while five-bedroom premium apartments of 1,464 sq ft make up just 13 units (3%). Two-bedroom units of 786 sq ft make up 13 units too (3%).
Penthouses make up 36 units and they are a mix of two- to five-bedroom premium units with sizes from 990 to 1,679 sq ft. All the penthouses come with a 5m ceiling height.
There are only four units per floor at Parc Greenwich. Units are designed with flexible layouts where walls between rooms can be removed to create a bigger room for young children, an office space, study area, hobby nook or entertainment room. This is the first time that an EC project using prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) will provide homeowners with such flexibility in terms of space use to suit their different lifestyle needs, says Frasers Property’s Poo.
Units are equipped with quality European kitchen appliances such as Bosch and bathroom fittings by Hansgrohe as well as smart home features.
The three-storey clubhouse, one of two clubhouses, overlooking the spa pool and wellness area (Photo: Frasers Property)
‘Wellness and active living’
Parc Greenwich will offer 52 wellness and lifestyle facilities across eight recreational zones. There will be two clubhouses: “Village Square” is where residents can book the function rooms — one designed as a living room and the other as a dining room, along with a children’s playroom and games room.
The second clubhouse is a three-storey wellness club with a versatile, multi-purpose, 150 sqm function room with a 6.5m ceiling height that can accommodate up to 80 people. The function room can be used for badminton games, social events, business meetings and seminars. The gymnasium on the second level overlooks the spa pool and garden. On the rooftop is an exercise deck and landscaped garden with a barbeque pavilion.
Other facilities include a tennis court, multiple pools including a 50m pool, pets’ corner, indoor children’s playroom and games room with a pool table and darts machine.
“Parc Greenwich appeals to young couples and families with children who value wellness and active living,” says Lorraine Shiow, acting chief operating officer of residential (Singapore), Frasers Property. Residents at Parc Greenwich can look forward to “a lush, nature-inspired environment including 11 themed gardens”, says Shiow. The herb garden and community farm will offer residents an opportunity to grow and harvest their own greens, she adds.
Sales gallery and scale model of Parc Greenwich, showing the nine 14-storey condominium blocks with a total of 496 units sitting on a 184,385 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site. The project is llocated next to an upcoming public park (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Track record
China Construction (South Pacific) Development Company will be the main contractor handling the construction of Parc Greenwich. China Construction is a regional subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corp, a state-owned company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Incidentally, CSC Land is the property development arm of China Construction. Projects by CSC Land include the 520-unit Twin Vew, which is slated for completion next year and the 258-unit Verdale in the Upper Bukit Timah area.
Meanwhile, Frasers Property, which has upscale developments such as Riviere at Jiak Kim Street, is no stranger to developing ECs nor the Fernvale area in the northeast region. The last private condo in the Fernvale area by Frasers Property is the 495-unit Rivertree Residences at Fernvale Close that was developed jointly with Far East Organization and Sekisui House. The project was launched in 2014, fully sold and completed in 2017.
Before Parc Greenwich, the last EC project developed by Frasers Property was the 628-unit Parc Life at Sembawang Crescent. It was launched in 2016 at about $750 psf, fully sold and completed in 2018. Before that was the 573-unit Esparina Residences at Compassvale Bow in Sengkang, which was launched in 2010, followed by the 728-unit Twin Waterfall in Punggol in 2012 and the 418-unit Twin Fountains at Woodlands in 2013.
In terms of location, Parc Greenwich is situated near retail, dining and recreational facilities such as Greenwich V, Seletar Mall and Compass One in Sengkang. It’s also near the upcoming integrated Fernvale Community Club, with a childcare centre, hawker centre and wet market. Within a short drive are popular F&B spots such as Jalan Kayu, The Oval at Seletar Aerospace and Chomp Chomp Food Centre at Serangoon Garden.
Popular schools in the area include Rosyth School, Fernvale Primary School, Pei Hwa Secondary School and Nan Chiau High School. Tertiary institutions nearby are Nanyang Polytechnic and Anderson Serangoon Junior College. Besides the neighbouring public park, other nearby parks and recreational facilities include the Eastern Riverine Loop, Sengkang Riverside Park, Sengkang Floating Wetlands, Hampstead Wetlands Park and Sengkang Sports Centre.
Four-bedroom premium penthouse with 5m ceiling height - all the penthouses will have 5m ceiling height (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
‘Pent-up demand’ for ECs
In the Fernvale neighbourhood, the last two EC projects launched were the 700-unit The Topiary at Fernvale Lane in January 2013, followed by the 380-unit Lush Acres at Fernvale Close in September 2013. That was eight years ago.
When The Topiary was first launched, the average price of units sold was $732 psf. The project was completed in 2016, and for the owners who had purchased their units at launch, this year marks the end of the five-year minimum occupation period (MOP). This means they would be able to sell their units in the secondary market to Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents (PRs). The median price of units sold from June to August to date is already $1,049 psf, based on URA Realis.
Lush Acres saw 76% of its units snapped up on the first weekend of launch at $785 psf eight years ago. The project was also completed in 2016, which means the owners who had purchased the units at launch would have hit their MOP this year. The median price of units sold in the resale market is $1,026 psf.
According to Lee Sze Teck, Huttons’ head of research, the Seletar/Yio Chu Kang area (District 28) and Ang Mo Kio/Bishan (District 20) in the northeast region have the lowest supply of ECs. “With the monthly household income ceiling raised to $16,000 for EC ownership in 2019, the pool of buyers is now enlarged,” he says.
Parc Greenwich will be the third EC project to be launched this year, and the only one in 2H2021. The first two EC projects launched in 1H2021 were the 700-unit Parc Central Residences at Tampines Street 86 and the 413-unit Provence Residence at Canberra Crescent. Parc Central in Tampines was launched in January and the project is over 92% sold at an average price of $1,171 psf. Provence Residence was launched in May and is about 70% sold at an average price of $1,156 psf, based on caveats lodged to date. (See: Browse newly launched condos in Singapore right now)
Strong bids for suburban residential sites
Land prices have soared in recent months. The government land sale (GLS) site at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1 was purchased for $1,118 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) at the end of May. The Lentor Central GLS site which closed on July 22 saw nine bids, with GuocoLand winning the site with a record bid of $1,204 psf ppr.Meanwhile, the EC site at Tengah Garden Walk fetched a record $603 psf ppr in May, and was surpassed in July, when the EC site at Tampines Street 62 was sold for $659 psf ppr.
Based on the bid of $1,204 psf ppr for the Lentor Central site, Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex, reckons the selling price of the new private condo will be close to $2,000 psf. Meanwhile, the new EC project at Tampines Street 62 is likely to see a selling price of around $1,250 psf, he adds.
ECs will be privatised 10 years after completion, which means they can trade in the secondary market like other 99-year leasehold private condos and is open to foreign buyers. Buyers are also subjected to the mortgage servicing ratio (MSR), which is pegged at 30% of the monthly household income, which is more stringent than the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) of 60% for private property. “Still, ECs are a compelling product because in 10 years’ time, they will be privatised and buyers have the opportunity to own a private condo while getting in at a lower price,” says Huttons’ Lee. “Like Good Class Bungalows, they are also restricted to Singapore citizens only.”
Check out the latest listings near Parc Greenwich, Parc Central Residences, Provence Residence, Seletar Hills Estate, Twin Vew, Verdale, Riviere, Rivertree Residences, Parc Life, Esparina Residences, Twin Waterfall, The Topiary, Lush Acres, Sengkang MRT station
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