New beginnings at the Pinnacle
It may have been a rush but these residents are glad to usher in Chinese New Year in new abodes
By lin wenjian
Owners of units in the 50-storey Pinnacle development (above) got their keys to their homes two months ago. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
New year, new clothes, new homes in what is probably Singapore's most desirable HDB estate.
A handful of home owners at The Pinnacle@Duxton managed to do up their new abodes in time to show them off to visitors during this Chinese New Year season.
Two months ago, owners of units in the 50-storey development received the keys to their homes, following a ceremony on Dec 13 attended by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
It has been more than five years after The Pinnacle was launched for sale under the Housing and Development Board's build-to-order scheme in May 2004.
HDB says keys to 1,530 out of 1,848 four- and five-room apartments have been issued.
The flats are erected in Duxton Plain in Cantonment Road - the site where the first two HDB rental blocks in the area were built in 1963.
Now, replacing the old slab-like blocks are condo-style flats - from 93 to 108sqm - spread over a unique hook-shaped design that ensures no window looks into a neighbouring home.
Designed by local architecture firm ARC Studio Architecture + Urbanism, Singapore, these flats boast another distinctive feature: two skybridges that link the seven blocks on the 26th and 50th storeys.
The one on the lower floor is open 24 hours only to residents. It has amenities such as an outdoor gym and a jogging track.
Beating the deadline
The public can access only the skybridge on the 50th storey from 9am to 10pm daily and non-residents have to pay $5 each for a visit.
A maximum of 200 visitors are allowed every day.
The area is close to two MRT stations - Outram and Tanjong Pagar. Both are five minutes away on foot.
Residents can shop for groceries at the nearby wet market at Chinatown Complex in Smith Street. There are also plenty of eateries and bars in Bukit Pasoh and New Bridge Road for those wanting to make merry.
With such attractive design and facilities, it is no wonder that residents were eager to move in as soon as they could.
The only problem was, the year-end period is always the peak season for interior design firms here.
'There is usually a 50 to 60 per cent increase in jobs from October to January,' says Mr Thomas Tham, ownerof design firm White Space Living, which is working on four households atThe Pinnacle.
An interior designer of another company, D'esprit Interiors, says her company handles about 10 cases in 'the one or two months leading to Chinese New Year', compared to three to four jobs it receives at other times of the year.
She declined to be named.
Despite the crunch, some Pinnacle home owners - about 10 per cent, according to a quick Life! survey of the estate - moved in just in time for the Chinese New Year.
wenjian@sph.com.sg
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Their love nest, finally
Who lives here: Ng Say Hian, 32, army officer, and his wife, Seow Lin, 31, senior IT analyst
Flat type: 34th storey, four-room flat, 93sq m
Cost of flat: $346,000
Keys collected: Dec 15
Moved in: Feb 13
To keep their 93 sq m flat looking as spacious as possible, Mrs Ng Seow Lin and her husband, Mr Ng Say Hian (both, top), fitted a mirror in the living room to create the illusion of a larger area and kept their furnishings to a minimum, with just a leather sofa. -- ST PHOTOS: AIDAH RAUF
The Ngs' excitement about getting the keys to their new home immediately disappeared when they stepped inside for the first time and saw how small it was.
'When we opened the door to the flat, we were quite disappointed at how small 93 sq m really is,' says Mr Ng Say Hian.
The couple, who have been married for four years, previously lived with MrNg's parents in a Hillview Road condominium and with his in-laws in a Bukit Timah house.
Thanks to the good work of their interior designer, the apartment looks more spacious.
The living room, done up in a classy black-and-white scheme, is now MrNg's favourite part of the house.
'With the elevated platform and mirror, it now feels bigger. I'm very much into entertainment, so I'll probably invest in a good sound system to set the living room up to be my haven,' he says.
To keep the area as spacious as possible, a cream-coloured L-shaped leather sofa is the only loose piece of furniture there.
'We prefer our place to be neat and tidy, with no hidden or hard-to-reach corners, so cleaning is easier,' says Mrs Ng.
Mr Ng adds: 'We gave the interior designer a budget of $30,000 to achieve a minimalist look, and worked very closely with him to get everything ready so we could spend the Chinese New Year holidays in our new home.'
The home owners are planning a housewarming party today and Mr Ng intends to borrow as many access cards as he can from his neighbours so he can take all his guests to the skybridge on the 50th storey at the same time.
Each household at The Pinnacle has four cards.
Even though the Ngs no longer enjoy the convenience of living with their parents, they are happy to finally have a place to call their own.
'The sense of ownership we have is very satisfying and we know that this place is a good buy, as an investment and as a place to live in,' MrNg says.
His wife adds with a laugh: 'Our parents are also getting old, so they should not be still helping us with household chores.'
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'The sense of ownership we have is very satisfying and we know that this place is a good buy, as an investment and as a place to live in'
Mr Ng
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Love the view
Who lives here: James Tan, 48, tour agency sales manager, his wife Serene, 49, legal secretary, their daughter Cassandra, 21, student, and son Ericson, 19, student
Flat type: 42nd storey, four-room flat, 93 sq m
Cost of flat: $369,000
Keys collected: Dec 14
Moved in: Jan 10
Hanging lamps (above) in the 93 sq m home of James Tan, his wife Serene and children Ericson and Cassandra (all, top) are part of the apartment?s showpieces, which also include paintings and rosewood furniture. -- ST PHOTOS: TERENCE TAN
Mr James Tan and his family could move in to their new home at The Pinnacle less than a month after collecting their keys mostly because they kept renovations to a minimum.
There was one big problem, though: Mr Tan and his wife's beloved rosewood daybed could not be dismantled and therefore could not fit into the lift.
'The movers had to carry it up from the first floor,' Mrs Tan says. That feat took seven hours and cost them $400.
The Tans are used to living on the outskirts of the city. Their previous home was a maisonette in Geylang East, whose location they loved. But with their children grown up and spending less time at home, they wanted a smaller place than the 140 sq m maisonette.
'My son will be enlisting for national service in two years and my daughter sometimes goes on overseas exchange programmes that last a few months each time. That leaves just the two of us and we don't need such a big space,' Mr Tan explains.
'Our queue number was in the 900s, so during the two-week selection period in July 2004, I checked the Internet every day to see which units were taken up so that when it came to our turn, we would have a good idea of which one to choose,' says Mrs Tan.
Although they did not get a unit in their preferred B and C blocks, which they say have the best view of the city, they are satisfied with their choice.
'The first thing I see when I wake up is a beautiful sea view. It is fantastic,' says Mr Tan, who asks that Life! not identify the block he lives in.
So proud is his family of their new home that they invited friends and relatives over during the Chinese New Year holidays, something they hardly did in the 14 years they lived in Geylang East.
'Some even took the initiative to ask to visit me,' he says with a chuckle.
In all, they spent $20,000 on the renovations, which included painting the walls in a cosy shade of rose white, wiring up the apartment and installing built-in cabinets.
Another $3,000 was spent on five hanging lamps. 'They add character and, together with my paintings, are showpieces of the place. Apart from those, we brought over most of the furniture from our old place because we really like them,' Mr Tan says of their rosewood sofa, dining set and TV console.
From The Pinnacle, the Tans take less time to get to work and school.
Mr Tan is just one MRT stop away from his office in Raffles Place. His wife takes a five-minute stroll to the law firm she works at in Tanjong Pagar.
Daughter Cassandra now has a direct bus to the National University of Singapore. 'The journey used to take me more than an hour, compared to 40 minutes now,' says the second-year arts student.
Her brother Ericson's daily 30-minute commute to Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Clementi is also an improvement from the 45 minutes he used to take.
They are also nearer to Mr Tan's 70-year-old mother, who lives in nearby Neil Road. He says: 'We used to visit her only on weekends. Now we see her at least three times a week.'
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'The first thing I see when I wake up is a beautiful sea view. It is fantastic'
Mr Tan on the view from his 42nd-storey flat
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In time for baby's arrival
Who lives here: Darien Loh, 30, business development executive, and his wife, Eunice, 29, bank executive
Flat type: 5th storey, four-room flat, 96 sq m
Cost of flat: $465,000
Keys collected: Dec 15
Moved in: Second week of this month
With its spacious area, the living room is Mr Darien Loh?s favourite part of his 96 sq m flat. With him is his wife, Eunice. -- ST PHOTOS: STEPHANIE YEOW
The view of Cantonment Road from the apartment?s living room is peppered with greenery such as trees.
No doubt The Pinnacle is highly desirable and located in an excellent area close to the central business districts, and the skybridges are a great feature with stunning views of the city skyline.
Whatever. After viewing about three flats every week for the past two years, Mr and Mrs Darien Loh are just relieved they now live in a home they own.
They had been living with Mr Loh's parents in a flat in Clementi since tying the knot in September 2008.
'The skybridges are a nice bonus but I can probably do without them,' Mr Loh says.
When they received the selection notice in March last year, the couple initially agreed that they would not settle for a unit below the sixth floor.
In the end, they decided to buy their fifth-storey apartment.
Mrs Loh says: 'There were only four units left on the fourth and fifth floors. We went ahead and chose one on the higher floor. We did not want to pay the cash-over-valuation price and an agent's fee needed for a resale flat.'
Renovations started almost immediately after they received their keys, as the couple wanted to move in before Mrs Loh delivers their first child next month.
Built-in furniture is a key element in their design. The dining table, the cupboards and the shoe cabinet are made to measure.
'We made it a point to conceal all electrical wires and not to have hanging lamps because we want the whole place to look neat,' Mr Loh says.
The long wall beside the kitchen is bare at the moment because Mrs Loh intends to cover it with a montage of family photos.
The total cost of renovations was $30,000.
Less than a month after moving in, they already have their favourite corners.
Mrs Loh says: 'I love our bedroom most. It is where I feel most relaxed and I can do whatever I want.'
Her husband likes to chill out in the living room. 'This is where I watch TV, read the papers or have a drink to relax after work,' he says.
'It's the biggest part of the house, so I don't feel hemmed in when I'm here.'
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'We did not want to pay the cash-over-valuation price and an agent's fee for a resale flat'
Mrs Eunice Loh on why she changed her mind about getting an apartment that is at least on the sixth floor
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