Taking HDB walkways to the next level... literally Path in new Punggol district to be above ground, lined with greenery and will link HDB blocks to LRT and sea Source: Straits Times By Charissa Yong RESIDENTS in an upcoming Punggol district will have the most extensive second-storey walkway in Singapore, linking them block to block from LRT station to the sea. Northshore will be the first public housing district to be fully connected to an LRT station via a path one level above the ground. The walkway, which will be lined with greenery, leads out to Punggol's coastal promenade. Similar corridors which connect carparks to Housing Board blocks or malls to MRT stations already exist, but are not so extensive, said the Housing Board. Ground-floor void decks will still be present but transformed into high-ceiling atriums with greenery and open spaces, revealed HDB Building Research Institute director Larry Cheng in an interview yesterday. Northshore, named because it faces the Strait of Johor, is one of Punggol's slated seven waterfront housing districts. It will be developed over the next five years, subject to demand. The seafront estate is part of the second phase of Punggol's development, to be carried out over the next 15 years. The new town will be twice the size of Ang Mo Kio when it is completed, and will have 96,000 HDB flats and private homes. Mr Cheng said he wants Northshore residents to feel "as though you're living in a park rather than sandwiched between two blocks". Void decks may not even be of single-storey height. "Where we can, we'll (make) it two, three storeys high. So that as you walk past you don't feel hemmed in; you've got a sense of spaciousness," he said. Residents can feel as if they are out in the open even while walking through a block, added the senior principal architect. The precincts will also be cooled by the sea breeze. Some of Northshore's carparks will be hidden from sight underground, at least a level or two deep. There are even plans for green areas along the coastal promenade for migratory birds' rest stops along their journey. The designs, with their focus on open spaces and nature, are meant to ease the congestion and crowdedness that arise from high density living and a growing population, said Mr Cheng. The ideas are still a work in progress, but some features may be adapted for other districts if they are well received, he added. The concept behind it all is simple, he said. "We wanted to create this living experience. It becomes a memory (for people who live here), who will say, 'Yes, Punggol is a nice place, it's my home'." Ms Marilyn Peh, 24, said she would not mind visiting the walkway in the future as she lives nearby in Punggol East. Said the public relations executive: "It makes the place livelier with more to do, not just a regular area where you go home. I've never seen this anywhere in Singapore." charyong@sph.com.sg Taking HDB walkways to the next level... literally Path in new Punggol district to be above ground, lined with greenery and will link HDB blocks to LRT and sea Source: Straits Times By Charissa Yong RESIDENTS in an upcoming Punggol district will have the most extensive second-storey walkway in Singapore, linking them block to block from LRT station to the sea. Northshore will be the first public housing district to be fully connected to an LRT station via a path one level above the ground. The walkway, which will be lined with greenery, leads out to Punggol's coastal promenade. Similar corridors which connect carparks to Housing Board blocks or malls to MRT stations already exist, but are not so extensive, said the Housing Board. Ground-floor void decks will still be present but transformed into high-ceiling atriums with greenery and open spaces, revealed HDB Building Research Institute director Larry Cheng in an interview yesterday. Northshore, named because it faces the Strait of Johor, is one of Punggol's slated seven waterfront housing districts. It will be developed over the next five years, subject to demand. The seafront estate is part of the second phase of Punggol's development, to be carried out over the next 15 years. The new town will be twice the size of Ang Mo Kio when it is completed, and will have 96,000 HDB flats and private homes. Mr Cheng said he wants Northshore residents to feel "as though you're living in a park rather than sandwiched between two blocks". Void decks may not even be of single-storey height. "Where we can, we'll (make) it two, three storeys high. So that as you walk past you don't feel hemmed in; you've got a sense of spaciousness," he said. Residents can feel as if they are out in the open even while walking through a block, added the senior principal architect. The precincts will also be cooled by the sea breeze. Some of Northshore's carparks will be hidden from sight underground, at least a level or two deep. There are even plans for green areas along the coastal promenade for migratory birds' rest stops along their journey. The designs, with their focus on open spaces and nature, are meant to ease the congestion and crowdedness that arise from high density living and a growing population, said Mr Cheng. The ideas are still a work in progress, but some features may be adapted for other districts if they are well received, he added. The concept behind it all is simple, he said. "We wanted to create this living experience. It becomes a memory (for people who live here), who will say, 'Yes, Punggol is a nice place, it's my home'." Ms Marilyn Peh, 24, said she would not mind visiting the walkway in the future as she lives nearby in Punggol East. Said the public relations executive: "It makes the place livelier with more to do, not just a regular area where you go home. I've never seen this anywhere in Singapore." charyong@sph.com.sg Tuan Sing forks out $349m for Robinson Point Source: Straits Times | Money By Chia Yan Min DEVELOPER Tuan Sing Holdings is buying a Central Business District commercial building, Robinson Point, for $348.9 million. The company said the freehold 21-storey building, at 39, Robinson Road, would provide it with stable rental income. The building, about 15 years old, has a net lettable area of about 135,720 sq ft and a gross floor area of about 169,250 sq ft. Based on the net lettable area, the purchase price translates into $2,571 per sq ft (psf). Colliers International conducted a valuation of the property, concluding it had an open market value of $350 million as at yesterday. Tuan Sing will buy the building mainly with bank borrowings, by buying a company which owns Robinson Point, called Robinson Point (Cayman). Tuan Sing said the acquisition is in line with its "strategy of expanding its core property business and securing recurring income business". The asset is expected to generate a stable rental income stream. Last July, Sun Venture bought Robinson Point from a real estate fund managed by US-based AEW, in a deal that valued the asset at $284 million or about $2,132 psf based on net lettable area. Before that, office real estate investment trust CapitaCommercial Trust, partly owned by CapitaLand, sold Robinson Point to the private fund for $203.3 million in 2010. The building is fully rented to third-party tenants, with durations of mainly three years. Tuan Sing has been on the acquisition trail of late. Earlier this month, the developer bought Gilstead Court in the exclusive Novena-Newton area for $150.2 million, or $1,292 per sq ft per plot ratio. The site is 75,479 sq ft, with a plot ratio of 1.4. Tuan Sing's wholly owned unit Dillenia Land was awarded the tender for the property in a collective sale. chiaym@sph.com.sg Recycling company latest to eye property sector Source: Straits Times | Money THE promise of real estate riches has lured yet another non-property firm to venture into the sector. Recycling company Enviro- hub Holdings told the Singapore Exchange on Tuesday that its subsidiary plans to buy a Cayman Islands company that owns the PoMo mall in Selegie Road. It will pay $164.5 million, a sum arrived at by deducting the firm's bank liabilities of $165.75 million and the net value of its other assets, worth $5.7 million, from an initial amount of $336 million. It did not say what these other assets were. Enviro-hub did not specify if the initial $336 million figure was based just on the value of PoMo mall, which is held by a Cayman Islands-incorporated firm called F2S1 Investment. It said in the SGX statement that it already holds minority stakes in businesses engaging in property investment and development and wanted to "explore opportunities in other areas of businesses with good prospects for growth in the long run". The acquisition is expected to be completed on Oct 18 but is subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting. News of the planned purchase sent Enviro-hub's stock down 1.2 cents to 11.5 cents yesterday, on turnover of 398 million units. The announcement followed an earlier statement on Tuesday by shipping firm Courage Marine, which said it would diversify into property investment, citing a weak freight market. Enviro-hub said the 10-storey PoMo, formerly Paradiz Centre, was valued at $273 million as at Dec 31 last year. This translates to about $1,539 psf based on a net lettable area of around 177,381 sq ft. The mall, which has a 99-year lease beginning March 1983, sits on a land area of 43,027 sq ft. It has changed hands several times over the past few years. It was formerly owned by Australian property investment group Lend Lease and Silverpeak Real Estate Partners. They sold it in March 2011 to CLSA Capital Partners for $255 million, which translated to around $1,400 psf based on a net lettable area of 182,060 sq ft at that time. It is unclear whether F2S1 Investment is a CLSA unit. The firm had a book value of nearly $116.9 million and net profit after tax of around $7.4 million as at Dec 31 last year. Enviro-hub is buying F2S1 through its 51-per-cent-owned joint venture EH Property. The remaining 49 per cent of the joint venture is held by Enviro-hub executive chairman Raymond Ng. Enviro-hub said last October that its unit HCG Environment had secured the rights to buy a property at Tuas View Circuit for $8.4 million, consisting of covered warehouses and staff dormitories. MELISSA TAN |