Special Feature

World-class golf resort adds to Forest City’s attractions

By Forest City

/ SPECIAL FEATURE BROUGHT TO YOU BY COUNTRY GARDEN |

October 23, 2017 10:47 AM SGT

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Forest City Golf Resort will span eight sq km and have three 18-hole courses, luxury hotels and low-density residences

FOREST CITY by Country Garden Pacificview (CGPV) Sdn Bhd will have an international golf resort in the next phase of its development. According to the developer of the mega-project, the golf resort is located about 7km from Forest City and will span eight sq km. It will have three 18-hole golf courses, luxury hotels and low-density residences.

CGPV envisions Forest City Golf Resort as a leisure amenity to the larger Forest City environment that will draw the world’s elite to visit or reside there. “It is a core tourism asset that helps complement our other offerings and make Forest City more complete and attractive,” says Zhou Jun, vice-general manager of regional sales and marketing at CGPV.

The first golf course will be designed by legendary golfer-turned-designer Jack William Nicklaus and his son, Jack Nicklaus II. The elder Nicklaus is a retired American professional golfer who won a record 18 major championships throughout his career.

Today, Nicklaus devotes his time to designing golf courses and operates one of the world’s leading golf design practices, Nicklaus Design. At Forest City Golf Resort, Nicklaus has masterfully integrated the natural features of the site and a scenic river into the design of the 183-acre golf course.

The second golf course will be designed by renowned landscape architect and golf course designer Liang Guo Kun. Liang is also executive director and vice-president of Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, one of the parent companies of CGPV. He is the landscape designer for many of the projects by Country Garden and “sets the benchmark for our landscape design”, according to Zhou.

A new expressway linking Forest City Golf Resort to Forest City will cut travelling time between the two destinations from the current 30 minutes to 15. The high speed rail that will link Singapore and Kuala Lumpur will offer easy accessibility to Forest City.

Artist’s impression of a golf course at Forest City Golf Resort

HOME FOR GOLFERS The first tranche of villas at Forest City Golf Resort to be launched for sale will comprise 202 units, with land area ranging from 2,034 to 6,974 sq ft. They are billed as homes for golf aficionados from around the world, and will be no more than a 10-minute walk from the golf course designed by Nicklaus. Located by the river, the properties will have views of Forest City.

The villas in Phase 1 will comprise semi-detached and cluster houses that will have their own gardens, thus ensuring privacy. CGPV will hold a global launch on Nov 5.

Also in Phase 1 of the golf resort is a five-star hotel with 305 suites in two 11-floor towers. The hotel’s soft opening is slated for early 2018, while the golf course is expected to be completed later that same year.

The timing is perfect, Zhou reckons, as Jurong Country Club has been closed and Raffles Country Club will cease operations in July 2018 to make way for the Singapore-Malaysia high speed rail. “I think our golf resort will be very attractive to Singaporeans,” she says.

Zhou: I think our golf resort will be very attractive to Singaporeans

ICONIC MULTI-YEAR DEVELOPMENT Forest City, located about 5km from the Tuas Second Link, is set to become one of the world’s most advanced cities. Its developer, CGPV, is a joint-venture company formed by Hong Kong-listed Country Garden Holdings and Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd.

According to Zhou, Forest City is a mega-project that will take 25 to 30 years to be completed. It will span an area of 30 sq km. There will be four reclaimed islands totalling 20 sq km. Forest City Golf Resort will occupy eight sq km, and two sq km will be set aside for the Industrial Building System factories. The factories will support the construction of Forest City and also supply material for the construction of other developments in Singapore and Johor in future.

Forest City is envisioned as a showcase modern city that caters for all the live-work-play needs of its population of 700,000. The project has a unique traffic infrastructure that is divided into three levels. Motor vehicles will move and park on the lower levels while the topmost level will be a tropical garden. The latter will be reserved for pedestrians and non-motorised transport modes such as bicycles.

To cater for educational needs, Forest City will host a variety of international schools. Among them is Shattuck-St Mary’s School, a renowned private boarding school in the US that will offer kindergarten to high school education. The construction of the campus has begun and the school is expected to enroll its first student cohort in August 2018.

A healthcare centre managed by Taiwanese healthcare provider MJ Group was completed in July. CGPV is collaborating with other worldclass hospitals and institutions to bring worldclass medical services to Forest City.

BUDDING COMMUNITY Forest City recently celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with the public at its sales gallery, as it aims to build stronger ties with the local community.

In May this year, homeowners took possession of the first residences completed at Forest City. The 132-unit Kylin condominium is part of the luxurious Phoenix Hotel, which opened its doors last December.

Residents have moved into the 132-unit Kylin condominium, which is part of the luxurious Phoenix Hotel

According to Zhou, the 283-room hotel, part of a chain owned and operated by Country Garden, enjoys near full occupancy and is especially crowded with holidaymakers who love to shop at the adjacent Harbour Commercial Street during the weekends. The two-storey mall has eateries and stores, and the price of cosmetics and perfumes sold at the stores is among the most competitive in Asia-Pacific, says Zhou. The mall is popular with Singaporeans, who often head to Johor Bahru to shop and dine.

A store at Harbour Commercial Street, a popular shopping and dining destination adjacent to Phoenix Hotel

In 2019, a new mall will be added to Forest City. It is part of the Forest City Landmark, which will comprise apartments, offices and retail units. The strata office units and apartments at the Landmark will be launched for sale “very soon”, says Zhou.

According to Zhou, Singaporeans and Malaysians accounted for a substantial proportion of the sales this year.

Scale model of Forest City Landmark, a mixed-use development that is slated for completion in 2019

Condo units at Forest City have been sold to purchasers from nearly 30 countries and the number is set to grow. CGPV plans to successively open Forest City sales galleries in Dubai, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. And there are plans to market Forest City in Europe and the US, says Zhou.

Forest City offers a wide range of real-estate products. Investors prefer two- and three-bedroom apartments, while those who buy the luxury villas are usually owner-occupiers. Prices of villas at Forest City Golf Resort start from $2 million, much lower than a similar product in Singapore, says Zhou. “Furthermore, all the properties in Forest City are freehold,” she adds.

This article appeared in The EdgeProp Pullout Issue 802 (October 23, 2017) of The Edge Singapore.

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