D4 | Keppel Bay Plot 3

[AK47]

http://www.heintges.com/project.php?...pel-bay-plot-3

DEVELOPER Keppel Land is planning a waterfront project of 367 high-end homes along the historic King's Dock, with renowned architect Daniel Libeskind as the designer.

The estate, known as Plot Three for the moment, will be built on a 417,883 sq ft site.

This is about half the land area of Keppel's 1,129-unit Reflections, a project nearby that also employed Mr Libeskind, famed for his designs of the Jewish Museum in Berlin and the Denver Art Museum in the United States.

Keppel also developed the 969-unit Caribbean at Keppel Bay, which was finished in 2004, so its new project will be its third waterfront development in the Telok Blangah area.

Mr Libeskind said the project will be unique as it will have to take into account the 'geography and character of the land', which is long and narrow.

Mr Augustine Tan, Keppel Land's president of Singapore Residential, said the desire for premier waterfront living remains strong, despite global economic problems and the subdued high-end market here.

'Three months have passed since the additional buyer's stamp duty was introduced... The United States seems to be on the way to recovery and the Greece situation seems to be handled at the moment,' he added.

'There's a lot less pessimism, and while the luxury market is expected to continue lagging behind the mass market for a while, we are positive about projects that are well located.'

The firm has two more sites slated for development - one on the mainland and another plot on Keppel Island. When fully developed, Keppel Bay will accommodate 2,600 homes.

Although about 290 units remain unsold at Reflections, only 136 units will be available for sale at average asking prices of $2,450 per sq ft (psf). Premium sea-facing units can go for as much as $3,200 psf.

The remaining 154 units will be set aside as corporate residences. Rents for these fully furnished apartments spread across the glass towers and low-rise villa blocks are about $9,500 a month.

Mr Tan said the decision to set aside units for corporate leasing at Reflections followed a similar move at Carribean, where about 170 units were earmarked for leasing.

'It's proven to be a good strategy because when we sold (Caribbean) after it was completed for several years, we got a premium for them,' he noted.

Mr Tan said Keppel Land is not pressed to sell Reflections at lower prices and has not absorbed the recently introduced additional buyer's stamp duty for any of its buyers.

In fact, more buyers might be keen on the project now that it is completed.

Singaporeans made up about 33 per cent of the buyers and about 60 per cent of the 100 families that have moved in so far are owner-occupiers.

Mr Tan also touched on the likelihood of another round of cooling measures after stellar new-home sales in the first two months of the year. More than 3,100 units, including executive condominiums, were sold last month.

The Government likes to see stability in the market and not volatile prices, Mr Tan said.

'Although sales volumes (have been) strong in the last two months, speculators are out of the market, and if these are genuine buyers, the Government might well leave it for the time being.'