Cairnhill Rock

Tan Chin Tuan Mansion has been restored and redeveloped to include a luxury 20-storey condominium. But most of the units will only be for lease.

Former OCBC chairman Tan Chin Tuan is developing a 20-storey block of apartments behind his bungalow in Cairnhill Road. And he plans to occupy the 8,435 sq ft penthouse when work is completed in about 18 months.


Mr Tan, 95, now lives with his family in Grange Court. He bought the eight-unit apartment block in Grange Road in 2001 because he wanted to move out from his Cairnhill bungalow to escape construction activity nearby.


Property Enterprises Development's Cairnhill Crest condo, which is almost completed, is next door to Mr Tan's bungalow.


A property analyst estimated yesterday that it will cost Mr Tan $20-odd million to conserve his Cairnhill bungalow and develop the adjacent apartment block. Work is slated to finish around March 2006.


Construction of the apartments began six months ago.


Besides the double-storey penthouse, there will be 15 apartments in the block averaging about 4,590 sq ft each. The plan is to have one unit per floor.


There will be a sky terrace garden on the 12th floor, a lap pool on the ground floor, a gym and a steam-bath/sauna.


BT understands that that neither the 16-unit apartment block nor the bungalow are for sale, as the land has been with the family for decades.


Mr Tan bought the 36,568 sq ft freehold site on elevated ground in Cairnhill Road in the 1930s. 'Interestingly, the broker who handled the transaction was David Marshall's father,' said a source. The late David Marshall was Singapore's first chief minister.


The current plan is for Mr Tan's family to occupy some of the units and lease out the rest.


But not just anyone will be able to rent an apartment from Mr Tan, who also used to be chairman of bluechip retailer Robinson.


'The building is special to the family and they would like to find like-minded people who appreciate the history and sentiment behind the land and enjoy the neighbourliness of living with an extended family,' said the source. The two-storey bungalow, with a strata area of 7,371 sq ft, will be used for entertaining and special functions.


'It will be suitably refurbished to retain its history and the charm of a bygone era,' the source added.


The family has no immediate plans for its present home, Grange Court.


It will depend on market conditions, investment and familial considerations, the source said.

Four of the 16 units will be kept by the family of the late Tan Chin Tuan. Based on the current benchmark price of about $2,500 psf for Suites @ Cairnhill, the remaining 12 have a market value of about $120 million.

The property has been redeveloped by a business entity called Cairnhill Rock and Chew Gek Khim, granddaughter of Tan Chin Tuan. ‘It has always been the intention of the private company to keep the entire building for sentimental and historical reasons,’ she said.

The units are large at almost 4,000 sq ft each. Rents have not been fixed. Ms Chew said they will be benchmarked to market rates. ‘But we will be very selective in our choice of tenants, given the small number of units for lease and the fact that they will be living in close proximity to my family members.’

The development is being marketed by Knight Frank and temporary occupation permit (TOP) is expected by mid-2007.

Leasing is not without its upside.

For Q1 2007, the official rental index (non-landed) increased 8 per cent quarter on quarter and 23 per cent year on year.

A good indicator of possible rents is the recently launched Orchard Scotts Residences by Far East Organization (FEO) nearby. A spokesman for FEO said monthly rents range from about $8,300 for a 538 sq ft unit to $30,000 for a 3,810 sq ft unit, including a range of services.

Orchard Scotts comprises three blocks. And one of these - or 206 of the 387 units in the whole development - is reserved as serviced residences.

Keppel Land is another developer that has held on to units to rent instead of sell. A Keppel Land spokesman said the 168 corporate residence units within the 969-unit Caribbean at Keppel Bay have been close to full occupancy since operations started in 2005.

Explaining its rationale, Keppel Land said: ‘The residences were set aside to cater to the growing number of international travellers here, especially foreigners who are drawn to the world-class waterfront lifestyle we are offering.’

Keppel Land may consider renting units at its new Reflections at Keppel Bay too. Keppel Land said: ‘We have successfully launched our first phase of Reflections at Keppel Bay and are planning for our second phase. As the completion of Reflections at Keppel Bay will take a few years, our options are open at this point in time.’

A piece of local history: Mr Tan (next) and his Cairnhill bungalow. He had bought the 36,568 sq ft freehold site in the 1930s