99-year leasehold One Pearl Bank condo open for booking on July 20

REAL estate developer CapitaLand's 99-year leasehold condo One Pearl Bank will be open for booking on July 20, with prices starting from S$970,000 for studio units.

Known for its curved towers linked by sky bridges, the 39-storey condo occupies a land area of 82,376 square feet (sq ft) and is expected to be completed by 2023.

The development comprises 774 residential apartments, ranging from studio units to penthouses of between 430 sq ft and 2,800 sq ft.

Over 60 per cent of the units will be priced under S$2 million. The indicative pricing starts at S$970,000 for a studio unit, S$1.1 million for a one-bedroom unit, S$1.5 million for a two-bedroom unit, S$2.5 million for a three-bedroom unit and S$3.5 million for a four-bedroom unit.

CapitaLand declined to reveal the average price per sq ft.

Smaller units like the studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units make up about 70 per cent of the apartments.

"Located at the city fringe, we foresee a lot of demand for smaller units coming from younger individuals or people looking for city-living projects for investments," said head of marketing and sales at CapitaLand Lisa Lam.

Ronald Tay, chief executive officer of CapitaLand Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, said he believes the development is attractively priced for people to own a home in a mature estate with its connectivity and proximity to the business district.

"One Pearl Bank offers homebuyers a rare opportunity to enjoy the convenience of city living," he said.

CapitaLand bought the former Pearl Bank Apartments for S$728 million in a private treaty collective sale last year. The sale price translates to a land price of about S$1,515 per square foot per plot ratio, after factoring in an additional lease top-up premium estimated at S$201.4 million.

Head of research and consultancy from ERA Realty Nicholas Mak said he expects the development to be well received despite nearby en bloc projects like Sustained Land's Asia Gardens that was bought in April 2018 as well as upcoming Landmark Tower bought by ZACD Group, Sin Soon Lee Realty and MCC Land in May 2018.

While these developments are in close proximity, they differ in terms of architecture and connectivity, said Mr Mak. For instance, Sky Everton condo at the former Asia Gardens site is situated in District 2 and is close to the upcoming Cantonment MRT station while One Pearl Bank is in District 3 and is a three-minute walk via a sheltered linkway to Outram MRT.

"One Pearl Bank would attract people who have a liking for the old Pearl Bank Apartments as the new development tries to retain the original horseshoe-shaped architecture. It is also rare for high-rise developments to be found in the Outram-Chinatown area," added Mr Mak.

Standing at 178m, One Pearl Bank will be the tallest residential development in the district, overtaking the Pinnacle@Duxton which stands at 156m.

It is also the first residential development to feature sky allotment gardens where residents can grow their own produce among the 18 allotment gardens with close to 200 allotment plots.

Recreational amenities within the development include an outdoor gymnasium and an amphitheatre.

The public preview will be held on July 13.