Sea View condo comes with a piece of local history
Published April 21, 2008
Sea View condo comes with a piece of local history
By VINCENT WEE
RESIDENTS of Wheelock Properties' new The Sea View condominium will be able to take pride in the fact that they have a classic piece of Singapore's history in their estate.
Conservation work on the stately Neo-classical style bungalow off Amber Road formerly known as Pavilion has been completed, Wheelock said in a press release yesterday. Pavilion was built in the early 1900s and was owned by the Elias family, an established Jewish family at the time. The bungalow was gazetted for conservation in 2004.
The developer spent $1.3 million on conservation, retrofitting and furnishing the 5,000 sq ft double-storey clubhouse which will house two games rooms, a multi-purpose room with a pantry and a function room.
The extensive work done includes both the external and internal structure. Some key features include a panoramic 12-panel stained glass above the grand entrance and cast iron railing on the verandahs of both floors.
'We volunteered to conserve the house as we felt that it was worth preserving a piece of history. The architecture of the house is seen as key to the charming character of the Amber Road/Katong area,' explained Wheelock Properties (Singapore) director Tan Bee Khim.
Wheelock has also invested almost $500,000 on two art installations at the clubhouse. Both works by renowned local artist Kumari Nahappan spell life and energy for the space and provide visual focal points and vibrant colour contrast to the seamless landscape of water and greenery.
Re: Sea View condo comes with a piece of local history
Re: Sea View condo comes with a piece of local history
There was another condo - Grand Duchess at St Patrick's - which also has a similar conservation villa as its clubhouse. This one is better looking than the Sea View's clubhouse. Looks much grander. Really lives up to it's name "Grand Duchess". :ashamed1:
http://www.uic.com.sg/GrandDuchess/I...tion-Pict1.png
Nowadays there's a trend to conserve old buildings by building new condos around them. Sometimes, even with new condos attached to them, as seen in the following examples. I quite like the idea.
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIM..._SUN13-A9T.jpg
SOME TWO-IN-ONE PROPERTIES HAVE SUCCEEDED in combining the old and new, like the Gambier Court (above) in Kim Yam Road and the Tan Chin Tuan Mansion in Cairnhill. -- ST FILE PHOTO
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIM...AGES_SUN13.jpg
SOME TWO-IN-ONE PROPERTIES HAVE SUCCEEDED in combining the old and new, like the Gambier Court in Kim Yam Road and the Tan Chin Tuan Mansion (above) in Cairnhill. -- WANG HUI FEN
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIM..._SUN13-L05.jpg
http://www.straitstimes.com/STI/STIM...GES_SUN13Q.jpg
But some experts feel that the plan to integrate some part of the 95-year-old Amber Road bungalow (above) into a proposed 18-storey glass and steel condominium fails on all counts. -- WANG HUI FEN :scared-1:
Re: Sea View condo comes with a piece of local history
Since this forum is so quiet, let me post my artwork here ...
Below is my "artist's impression" of what happened in 1939, when Tan Chin Tuan bought his "Tan Chin Tuan Mansion" from philanthropist Tan Kah Kee.
The more beautiful car on the left, I imagine, belongs to Tan Kah Kee. The older car on the right, I imagine, belongs to Tan Chin Tuan, since he was not as rich as Tan Kah Kee at that time. That's what I imagined, anyway.
Why didn't you see the two men? Well, they were having afternoon tea inside that dome, negotiating the purchase price of the mansion. I wonder what the agreed price was? I guess most likely less than $100k. Money was big in those times, unlike today.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...ansion1939.jpg
The Straits Times, 18 Jan 2008
A COLONIAL-ERA mansion in Cairnhill Road has emerged from a makeover, ready for the next chapter of its history.
Four years and $3 million in renovations have turned the Tan Chin Tuan Mansion into a venue for the charitable Tan Chin Tuan Foundation to host events for its partners and beneficiaries.
The works have added, atop the old house, a 20-storey condominium, the design for which was conceived by the late banker and philanthropist.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...ansion2008.jpg
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...nsion2008a.jpg
Built in the 1920s as the home of entrepreneur and philanthropist Tan Kah Kee, the house was bought by Mr Tan Chin Tuan just before World War II broke out in 1939.
When Mr Tan and his family were forced overseas during the Japanese Occupation, the house was taken over by Japanese generals. They gave away all the furniture in the three years they were there from 1942. By the time they left the house, vanquished in the war, all that was left was a wooden chair, now on display.
http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/n...nsionChair.jpg
The Business Times, 1 Jun 2007
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.
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.'
