Not all Waterfront View residents have moved out, but construction work has begun
THE clear glass panels of this soon-to-be-ready showflat glisten in the sunlight.
Inside, workers are busy putting together the interior.
Nearby, a sign has been put up advertising the condominium coming up on the site soon.
Moving in: Fixtures for the showroom lying on open space in the estate. - Pictures: Mohd Ishak
But unlike most show flats that sit on vacant plots of land, this one is at the entrance to the still-existing Waterfront View along Bedok Reservoir Road.
And its residents have yet to move out completely.
The estate made news last May for being one of the first to go en bloc at a time when property prices were still low.
The owners of the 583 units at this former HUDC estate each got $660,000 from the collective sale last May to FCLPeak, a joint venture between Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization.
The residents were given up to 29Nov to leave their units.
While most of them have already moved out, some are still living there.
Resident Mark Smith, 42, a technology executive, estimated that about a fifth of the residents are still around.
And some cannot help but find the showflat at the entrance offensive.
A 58-year-old retiree, who wanted to be known only as Janice, said: 'It is as if the developer can't wait for us to get out. Building the show flat while we are still here is really too much.'
Affront to residents: The showroom taking shape in front of the blocks of flats at Waterfront View.
She has lived in the estate for 22years and said she was the first owner of a unit there.
She said work on the showflat started about two weeks ago.
Mr Smith, who is in the process of moving to an executive flat in Pasir Ris, said the developers have a right to build the showflat because 'it is their property now', but he felt nevertheless that it was an unwelcome sight.
'I already feel lousy for having to move and the showflat is a sore reminder of the low rate we got from the en-bloc sale,' he explained.
'Friends who visit us ask why the developer is building the showflat while we are still living here.'
Madam Belinda Lee, 47, a resident there who will be moving to an apartment in Tampines, agreed.
The housing agent said: 'We are not sensitive people, but we are still living here. It's not very polite to build it now, even though we understand the developers are rushing to catch the current hot prices.
'The place already looks like a ghost town, then it gets muddy too because they carried out soil testing.
'We are still paying maintenance fees, but with everyone moving out, there's no one to speak up on this matter,' she said.
Still, she is too busy and stressed with her own moving to get upset over it.
She added with a laugh: 'It would be really strange if the showflat is completed and potential buyers come for a viewing while we are still living here.'
A spokesman for Frasers Centrepoint said that in its contractual sales and purchase agreement with residents, there is a mutual agreement that they have up to 29 Nov to vacate the premises.
'They were also duly informed of works on-site, and all safety precautions and environmental concerns have been taken into serious consideration,' the spokesman said.
'The management has put up notice to inform residents of all works at the site. To date, all arrangements have been goingwell.'
MASS MOVE
For the residents, leaving the estate is memorable for all the wrong reasons.
MrSmith compared the condo to 'an evacuation site'.
Ms Janice agreed, saying: 'On the past few Saturdays and Sundays, the area felt like an abandoned refugee camp.
'You see the trucks come and go, people leaving, the piles of abandoned furniture and broken glass on the ground.
'It breaks my heart to see the place going to ruin.'
Another original owner, Mrs Nancy Lim, 71, a retiree, said she is 'very heartbroken' to leave.
'But I decided to move now, before the deadline, because it is a little scary living here now that all the neighbours I know have left,' she said.
The estate has taken on a desolate air. Fewer than 10 cars were in the carpark of the east wing when The New Paper on Sunday visited a few days ago.
A few residents are still in a tight spot as they have yet to get keys to their new homes and are still hoping for an extension of the 29 Nov deadline to move out.
Ms Janice has bought a new condominium unit at Lorong Chuan to live close to her parents, but she will get the keys only nextyear.
She said she has no choice but to pay for her furniture to be stored elsewhere and move in with her daughter for at least twomonths.
But she said she would return to take a look at the completed showflat out of curiosity.
'I still love this area, and I want to keep my options open. I would want to move back to this area eventually,' she said.
NOT UNIQUE
Mr Colin Tan, 47, the head of research and consultancy at property consultancy Chesterton International, said this is not the first time that a showflat has been built on-site before the old building has been demolished.
'In this case, I sympathise with the residents still living there because the price they got from the en-bloc sale is considered low, given the current market conditions.
'Building the showflat now is like rubbing salt into their wounds.'
But Mr Tan added that it is understandable why the developers are doing this.
'Property prices have movedup quite rapidly and theyare trying to capture the market while the conditions are still buoyant.'
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WHAT'S COMING UP
Four condominiums called the Waterfront Collection will be built on the site of Waterfront View, along Bedok Reservoir Road.
Frasers Centrepoint and Far East Organization announced plans to launch Phase One, Waterfront Waves, onTuesday.
Waterfront Waves will have 405 units, half of which will be three- and four- bedroom units.
Property consultants believe prices may start at $700 per sq ft.
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