Extra Cool Touch For Boon Keng Rd Flats

Source : The Straits Times, 15 Sep 2007

More air-con units will be standard for flats, built by private developers.

THE second batch of public housing built by private developers will boast condominium-style features such as built-in wardrobes, bay windows and large balconies.

The flats in Boon Keng Road will also feature air-conditioning, not just in the bedrooms, but also in the living and dining areas.

This extra air-con was not included in the initial offering of these hybrid public flats, which were designed and built privately and released last year to strong demand.

Units on the top floors of the three 40-storey blocks in Boon Keng Road will offer fine city views, especially a select few that will come with higher ceilings than normal.

Unveiling the design of the project yesterday, the Hoi Hup Sunway Development consortium said just 474 of the 714 flats to be built there will be five-room flats, which will be between 105 sq m and 120 sq m each.

The proportion of five-room flats here - two-thirds - is notably lower than the 94 per cent that made up the first batch of such hybrid flats in Tampines. The HDB had required the second developer to set aside at least 30 per cent of its units for four-room or smaller flats.

That means flat hunters looking for smaller homes will have their pick of 168 four-room flats of 80 sq m to 95 sq m each, as well as 72 three-room units of 60 sq m to 70 sq m each.

The developer declined to disclose prices, as the project will go on sale only in January. Its spokesman, Mr Wong Chee Herng, would only say that flats there would be ‘affordable to the public’.

But in an interview he gave The Straits Times in June, Mr Wong had indicated he expected the average selling price of the project to be almost $500 psf, which would work out to about $645,000 for a 1,290 sq ft five-room flat.

New homes at nearby condominium Kerrisdale were selling for about $550 psf earlier this year.

Property agency Propnex’s chief executive Mohamed Ismail expects the upcoming development to attract young, middle-income families who wish to live close to the city. But he warned that prices would start becoming unpalatable if they breached the $550 psf level.

Under the hybrid housing scheme, private developers get to design, build, price and sell flats according to public housing guidelines. Among other things, this means that only family units earning no more than $8,000 a month can buy these flats, and they have to meet ethnic quotas.

The flats have proved popular so far, because of their condominium-like trappings and their location in mature - and even central - estates.

The first such hybrid project, developed by Sim Lian Land and located in Tampines, received an overwhelming response when it was launched last year. Almost 6,000 people applied for its 616 flats, most of them five-room flats priced from $308,000 to $450,000.

Earlier this week, a third site for such hybrid developments was put up for tender in Ang Mo Kio Street 52, a stone’s throw from Ang Mo Kio MRT station. Analysts expect this project to receive just as much interest from developers and home-buyers.