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Testing the resilience of the landed housing segment

By Cecilia Chow / The Edge Property | October 28, 2015 10:00 AM MYT
Tags: LandedGreenwood MewsDowntown Line 2Bukit Timah
Far East Organization has launched the second phase of its cluster housing project Greenwood Mews to capitalise on the opening of Downtown Line 2 in December and the increased interest in landed homes in the Bukit Timah area.

Greenwood Mews, giant property developer Far East Organization’s latest strata landed housing project in the prime landed housing estate of Greenwood Avenue, features many refinements based on feedback from owners who bought units at previous projects, says Shaw Lay See, the company’s chief operating officer for property sales.

The latest project features a spacious and fully equipped kitchen, with Kuppersbusch coffee machine, oven, microwave oven and stove hob, as well as Bosch refrigerator and Vintec wine chiller, See points out.

The width of each unit at Greenwood Mews is 7.4m, wider than the average strata landed unit, which is between 6m and 6.5m. Ev en with the expanded width, Greenwood Mews did not incorporate a home lift in each unit. “Owners of previous projects have told us that the lift eats into their living room space, and that they rarely use it,” says Shaw. “So, it’s something they won’t mind doing without.”

For the convenience of senior citizens, however, there is “a granny room” with en suite bathroom on the first level. The other three bedrooms, including the master suite, are situated on the second level, with a room on the attic level that can be turned into a fifth bedroom or an entertainment room. On the attic level, there is a roof terrace with an outdoor Jacuzzi, an open air shower and outdoor dining space. The basement level houses the utility area, a Bosch washer/dryer and a storage room that can be converted into a helper’s room, as well parking space for cars.

Strata landed, or cluster housing, projects made their debut in Singapore in the 1990s. Far East was a pioneer in the segment, and its maiden strata landed project was the 31- unit Kew Gate, located on Kew Drive, within the Limau estate in the east. The project was completed in 1996.

Strata landed housing is popular because it combines “the best of both worlds”, says Donald Han, managing director of Chestertons and one of the marketing agents for Greenwood Mews. While retaining its landed home environment, it also incorporates the features of a private condominium — for instance, security at the gate, and shared facilities such as swimming pools, clubhouse, playground and landscaped garden.


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