CONDOMINIUM DEVELOPMENTS IN BALESTIER

There has been a lack of full-fledged condominium developments in Balestier, which is dominated by old apartments. De Royale in Balestier is the only one condominium development I can think of. Pavilion 11 does not come with tennis court, therefore I do not consider it a true condominium development despite of it has 180 units in one development.

However we are going to have these 3 full-fledged condominium developments side by side in a same area, led by CDL’s the Arte to be completed soon (I am seeing the hardscape and softscape works are in progress now), followed by Cube 8 & Far East Organization’s Vista Residence. Three projects have relatively large site area and spacious communal area with dense tall towers housing all the residential units. They all boasts extensive facilities, from large swimming pools, to garden walk, jogging track, playground, gym,  green terraces (with Vista & Cube having sky terraces), to the tennis court provision.

FACILITIES

The Arte @ Thomson features 50 metre lap pool, children’s play pool, sun deck, cabanas pool deck, steam baths, work-out room, yoga court, reflexology walk, garden walk, jogging track, sculpture plaza, arrival plaza, reflective pool, water court garden, eco pond, workout station, children’s playground, tennis court, party lawn, grill garden, clubhouse, party deck, outdoor lounge, basement car park, and 24-hour security.

Vista Residences also feature a 50 metre lap pool and lagoon pool, basket ball half court, and garden areas. However it is different from the Arte which have practically all communal areas at the ground level. For Vista Residences, the 2nd floor of each tower is a lounge area, while sky terraces are found on the 24th floor (T1) and 23rd floor (T2) respectively. Both blocks are connected to a separate podium block each – this is where the multi-storey carparks are located. On the rooftop of podium 1 is a tennis court and 2 garden pavilions (with kitchen and BBQ facilities), while 2 other garden pavilions, a bicycle track and a children’s play area are on rooftop of podium 2.

Vista Residences with sky terraces

In Vista Residences, the placement of the communal areas at different levels has allowed residents to enjoy good views if they are not blessed with staying at high levels. Sky terraces definitely add value to the facilities premium value.

CARPARK

In the context of high end residential developments, basement carpark provision has become a must. The Arte comes with a basement carpark, which is more popular with residents. One needs not need to be concern of weather, and the walking distance to the lift lobby will be definitely shorter than the use of separate multi storey carpark. Therefore for Vista Residences, it has invited criticism for the provision of 2 multi storey carpark, which one has to travel down from the carpark and travel up to the apartment again. It will be more of a hassle if you are tagged with grocery bags or tonnes of luggage.

Personally I do not detest multi-storey carpark. They are definitely much cheaper to construct. More importantly, I find them more environmentally friendly. Imagine we do not need to provide the costly mechanical ventilation and additional fire protection. If you are going GREEN, you should be going for something more practical and less energy consuming. Of course, this is my personal view, which might not be agreed by the end users who have paid millions to enjoy the lifestyle of luxury.

SITE PLANNING

The Arte is blessed with a large rectangular site easier for planning. The 2 towers are located at the centre of the site with the adjacent open spaces given to communal facilities. Personally I found the 2 towers being too design too close to optimise the view. In addition, it would have been more ideal if the 2 towers were to be site further from the PIE highway, with more acoustic barriers designed along the boundary in response to the harshness from the road traffic. Dust is another problem that it would face.

In comparison, Vista Residences is sited at a L-shaped plot which is less efficient in its site planning. In the site planning, the architect decided to detach 2 towers apart, with one orientated towards the Mac Ritchie Reservoir and the other block towards the rear development facing the adjacent, the Cintrine, in North South oriented in consideration.

UNIT ORIENTATION AND UNIT TYPES

From the earlier site plan illustrating the three development (Cube 8, the Arte, Vista Residences), it reflects the priority of view over basic thermal comfort consideration. It is apparent that all architects have been orientating the buildings premium view towards MacRitchie reservoir and siting the blocks carefully as to optimise the view ‘out’. However it is not possible to eliminate all negative factors that there are some unit stacks will be having blocked views.

Most buildings are orientated towards the Reservoir view, therefore giving most building façades with North West exposure. With today’s design with full height glazing, it would result in immense heat gain unless with sun shading features properly used. Maybe it has been taken for granted that every unit will be mechanically cooled in today’s context, that I found the immense amount of glazing used in all developments to be too excessive and not environmentally friendly.

The Arte comprises of a total of 336 units. It, in comparison to Vista Residence, boasts larger units — two bedrooms at around 1,055 sq ft, three bedrooms from 1,399 to 1,625 sq ft, four bedrooms of 1,873 sq ft, eight units of 2,896 sq ft sky suites and 10 sky villas of up to 4,000 sq ft. Vista Residences has a total of 282 units. It offers a popular 1 bedroom unit of 646sf, 2 bedroom of 926 sf, 3 bedrooms of 1109 to 1249 sf, 4 bedrooms of 1292 to 1313 sf, and the penthouses of 3229 to 3519  sf.

UNIT DESIGN FEATURES

In terms of design unit layouts for the Arte & Vista Residences, they are pretty standard. Basically, one enters into the living area attached at the back with a kitchen, with a corridor leading to the rooms. However there are 2 main features differentiating them:  the spacious balcony in the Arte and the bay window in Vista Residences.

The Arte unit layouts come with spacious balcony (big enough to put in a dining table) and planter boxes, with most of balcony spanning across to bedrooms areas. I personally do not favour the continuous balcony from living to bedrooms, since it has somehow blurred the areas of semi open area in living and private area in bedrooms. Can you imagine if your guests standing at your living balcony enjoying the outside view, and somehow get a glimpse of you in pyjamas in your bedroom? Though you may be able to do up divider and screening in between the balcony, I still do not find the space planning is efficient. I personally like spacious balcony, however it should be fully functional and useable.

 I personally find the spatial design for Vista Residences more efficient and design friendly.

 We do not have much area dedicated for bay windows in the Arte. However Far East is still trying to optimize the area for bay window for Vista Residences before the change in the GFA ruling. The bedroom areas in Vista Residences are generally smaller than the Arte. With the adoption of bay windows, it is not helping much to the internal spaces. To me I do not find bay windows much of useable areas except for sitting, placing books or displaying photo frames. It applies especially for small bedrooms. To me, it is just the loophole that the developers are exploiting since they are being charged the same price of the exorbitant saleable area in the S&P agreement.

 NOISE/ DUST POLLUTION

My concern for the stacks closest to the PIE highway is the noise pollution, since the traffic volume has been very high. The noise level could be unbearable during peak hours, and the condition could be worse at higher level. I visited the site to check out the noise level. The continuous pitching sound from the PIE highway was rather unbearable, and I was there during the off peak hour. I could imagine the noise pollution would be rather serious during the peak. However I believe many buyers of the developments are well aware of the site condition, and noise pollution is definitely not on the top of their list in the decision making. One thing you may need to take note is that, the higher the floor, the noisier it is as the sound always travels upwards. (in a way of saying, you are exchanging the noise level with better view)

 The use of balcony in the Arte and Vista Residences could bring about another problem. Sliding doors are provided at areas for access to balcony. And sliding doors system is considered one of the weakest systems in acoustic treatment, since the sliding profile of the aluminium tracks does not allow airtight closure and have high leakage of noise. The residents facing the PIE highway are not able to shut out the noise fully by closing the doors at night. Of course, this is my personal knowledge of glazing and aluminium system technology. The projects may have adopted an approach resolving the tricky noise issue.

Since Vista Residences is sited further from the PIE, separated by a wide canal, it may suffer less than the Arte. And the block with stack 01 to 06 may be the least impacted, with the rest of blocks in the Arte & Vista Residences blocking and softening the road noise. However in terms of viewing, the lower storey units are basically blocked by the adjacent developments like the Citrine and Gallery Fifteen.

 EXPECTED TOP

I would always like to purchase something with certainty. When the Arte is being launched, the site has commenced work. Therefore the buyers could anticipate the TOP to be in one to two years time. As for the case of Vista Residences, the anticipated TOP is 2015. If you visit the show room today, it is evident that the site has not commenced any work yet. If I am going to sink in my booking money and pay up according to the progress payment, I will feel that I am being locked into a position in the coming 5 years, without knowing the global economic impact in so many years. That is not something that I would feel comfortable, since there is simply too much uncertainty in today’s economic sector. Who knows that the property will sink in 3 years time, making today’s purchase appear far too expensive?

Though there may be worries over the over crowding and pollution concerns, I still think that there will be more positive elements arising from the developments. With much of the rejuvenation activities in Balestier area, I hold much anticipation to the place newly make over. It is with much excitement that Balestier will be transformed into an area popular with high end residential area, fighting the glory of Newton & Novena area, yet retaining its unique and colourful historical character in Balestier.

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