This article appeared in City & Country, the property pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 820, Aug 23-29, 2010
The main Balestier Road has retained some of its charm with the presence of the Tua Peck Kong temple, Balestier Market and Food Centre, shophouses selling lighting fixtures and other home fittings, as well as popular eateries such as the famous tau sar piah shop, the Founder Bak Kut Teh Restaurant, the bak chor mee stall and Boon Tong Kee chicken rice restaurant. The greatest transformation, however, is happening on the side …

To Continued from Part 1
INTRODUCTION
Let focus this part of article on the newly launched Thomson 368 by CDL.
368 Thomson is sitting at the former developments of Concorde Residences, Bright Building & Balestier Court. It is sitting on a freehold land of slightly more than 60,000 sf. It consists of a residential tower of 36 storey with 157 units, which is expected to be completed in year 2015.
Enough say of the surrounding site in my earlier articles. What is ‘striking’ is that the residential enclave of CDL’s empire being broken up …

Following the successful collective sales of Diamond Tower and Goodwill Mansion, there is another apartment in Balestier is going for enbloc sale,. Melrose Court, a private apartment of 4 storey of 32 units, is located at No 10 Lorong Limau. It is located near to the famous Whampoa Market.
The indicative price of the development is $48 million, which works out to be $688 per square foot per plot ratio. The asking price is slightly higher than the recently transaction at 21 Kim Keat Road at $670 per square foot per …

Again we are seeing CDL making its successful presence in District 11 & 12 area with its recent launch at 368 Thomson.
After its impressive sales of the Arte followed by Cube 8 over these 2 years, CDL is returning with its last available landbank in Balestier: the former Concorde Mansion site. 80% of 120 units of the 36-storey freehold development comprising 157 units were released in Phase 1 has been snapped. Going at an average price of S$1,350 per square foot, the apartments range from S$918,000 for the 689 square …

We witnessed several successful enbloc of industrial buildings in Balestier, the 6 Jalan Ampas industrial building early this year and the recent 21 Kim Keat Road site. We are seeing the area to be slowly rejuvenating and making its way to high rise residential area after the Urban Redevelopment Authority announced the area to be considered rezoning for residential use in 2008. Today I made a trip down to capture the area before all the changes take place. 
If you are driving along Kim Keat Road, you will reach Lorong Ampas once …

There are some road names that have been  Singapore history with the city’s rapid urban development and rejuvenation. If you are still looking for a lane named Jalan Bunga Raya in Balestier and off Irrawaddy Road, you may want to know that this road has been long gone over taken by a high rise residential development currently in construction. Domus, as the name of the new development, is a 29 storey residential development of 109 units which will be completed in the year of 2013.
 
 
Jalan Bunga Raya was previously a …

So the long waited CDL project located at the former Concorde Residences, Bright Building & Balestier Court is revealed. Located at the address at 368  Thomson Road, the project is named after the old development as Concorde. With the site area of 60,566 sft, CLD the developer will be building one tower of 36 storeys with 157 residential units.
The selling price set is estimated from $1300 to $1500 psf, which is very much expected after the successful launch of Cube 8 at $1250 psf. I append herewith the different unit types …

You might have noticed the beautiful row of shophouses from 292-310 Balestier Road, which are sitting opposite to the Balestier Point. They were built in 1926 by a female developer named Madam Sim Cheng Neo. You are able to see the Chinese inscription “Sim Kwong Ho”.

Though these shophouses have been slated conservation status, the existing trades and business cannot fully reciprocate the true nature of the architecture. Value Hotel Nice took over 302 Balestier Rd as budget hotel, while other shops operating as sanitary fitting and wares, interior design, and F&B.
I …

Walking along the Kim Keat Road gives me a sense of nostalgia and laid back feel. The stretch of shophouses is made up of mix of two to 4 storey heights. They are of the more latter construction, and do not carry much of colonial influence in the design. A couple of units are not well taken care of, and they need face lifting.
 

Turning towards the Kim Keat Lane, you would see Fayidha Restaurant. It is a 24 hours shop serving Indian and Indian-Muslim food. I had the roti prata …

Plot ratio is very important in the developer’s acquisition for a piece of land. Basically the plot ration of a site is defined as the ratio of the gross floor area of a building(s) to its site area.
Plot ratio = Gross Floor Area / Site Area
Literally speaking, the higher the plot ratio, the more gross floor area the developer is able to build up to, therefore maximizing his profit return.
Typically, the higher the plot ratio will give rise to greater building height, except for areas with special height controls are …