Principal Garden Review

Principal Garden is a 663-unit development at Prince Charles Crescent which allows potential buyers the opportunity to own property on the fringe of the Mount Echo, Jervois and Bishopsgate area. At time of writing (Oct 2015), all unit types are available. The show flat is open to prospective buyers for two weeks starting from the 16^th of October 2015. Balloting starts at the end of October.

Unit sizes range from 1- to 5-bedroom units. The lowest-priced unit on PropertyGuru is a 506 sqft 1-bedroom unit going for $750,000, which translates to around $1,550 psf. A 2,346 sqft 5-bedroom + study + private lift penthouse unit is going for $4,000,000 and this is an estimated $1,704 psf.

The Principal Garden show flat is on site and construction is in the early stages. The Crest, which is another condo development right next to Principal Garden is in the mid to later stages.

Principal Garden’s four 24-storey apartment blocks are right next to the Alexandra Canal Park Connector and the developers will be providing facilities for an active lifestyle, including a shared bicycle facility. The towers are also set back thus freeing up the site to create a foreground of open greenery. The linear positioning of the towers coupled with the tilted angle ensure that all units get a view of the surroundings.

The blocks are also elevated for better view enjoyment. The first unit on the second storey is at least 15m above the ground and this allows the landscape to extend under the towers. This also translates to more privacy for residents in those units.

Another interesting feature of the project would be its ’80-20 garden living’ concept. What this means is that the towers and facilities occupy less than 20 percent of the development’s total land area. A large ribbon of lawn weaves through the entire development, emphasizing the spaciousness and connecting the different gardens.

Facilities are another selling point and you will see some interesting ones.

The clubhouse near the entrance overlooks the expansive lawn and boasts facilities such as a wine lounge with rentable wine cellars, a private dining room and an outdoor dining terrace with bar.

Stacks 25 to 30 enjoy a bit of a premium with the principal sky club being located at the 24^th storey of tower 99.

The sky club is the perfect place for parties or even just to relax. Facilities include a sky deck, sky dining/BBQ & pavilion, sky lounge, sky pool and sky jacuzzi.

The 150 sqm gym is surrounded by greenery and comes with 40 sqm of male and female steam rooms.

Showflat units are available for 2- to 4-bedroom units. Photos in this review are from all units.

Specifications:

Flooring

• engineered timber flooring with timber skirting for living, dining areas and all bedrooms
• marble tiles for master bathroom
• porcelain/homogenous tiles for common bathrooms, kitchen, yard, water closet and balcony

Doors

• fire-rated timber door for entrance
• timber swing doors for bedrooms and bathrooms
• powder-coated aluminium-framed glass sliding door for balcony
• timber-framed/aluminium-framed with glass infill sliding door for kitchen
• aluminium-framed slide and fold door for water closet

Sanitary fittings

• glass shower compartment and door with shower set, vanity top with basin and mixer, wall-mounted water closet, paper holder, towel rail/robe hook and mirror for all bathrooms
• pedestal water closet, basin with tap, shower set and paper holder for water closet

Additional items

• built-in wardrobes for all bedrooms
• ceiling concealed ducted air-con for living and dining areas
• wall-mounted air-con for all bedrooms

First and foremost, you have the option of going either with the ‘cool’ or ‘warm’ scheme for finishes around the unit. There are separate colour combinations for general finishes and bathroom finishes. The warm scheme is based on a more contemporary palette with lighter wood tones. The cool scheme lends a rustic finish to the unit with darker wood tones.

Cabinets with quartz countertops and a stainless steel sink come with the kitchen. Appliances provided include a built-in oven, a gas cooker hob and hood, a refrigerator and a washer cum dryer all from Smeg. The kitchen in the 2-bedroom unit is an open kitchen so technically two people could be using it at any one time.

Once you enter the apartment, the kitchen is on the left for the 3-bedroom unit. Facing the living area, it can accommodate two people as well.

The 4-bedroom unit has an open dry kitchen facing the living area with the kitchen behind it. Kitchens in the bigger units come with a coffee machine and wine cooler.

The inner wet kitchen is similar to the one in the 3-bedroom unit and can fit two people at any one time.

The kitchen is connected to the yard which includes the water closet and utility room in the bigger units.

This is the view from the kitchen in the 2-bedroom unit. The dining area is to the side and the living room extends to the balcony. Finishes are in the ‘cool’ scheme.

In the 3-bedroom unit, the living area is wider with the balcony stretching the same length.

Not unexpectedly, the space is even larger in the 4-bedroom unit. Here, finishes are in the ‘warm’ scheme.

The common bedrooms can generally fit a queen-sized bed with some room for movement.

Going with a single bed however, frees up more space.

For families with kids, the loft bed cum study option may be ideal.

Master bedrooms can accommodate a king-sized bed and still have maneuvering space.

Bathrooms have a wet and dry area as per normal with fittings are from Hansgrohe.

Master bathrooms have a different look with the marble tiles. They are also slightly larger and come with a rain shower. The above bathroom is in the ‘cool scheme’.

The 4-bedroom unit will also include a bathtub in the master bathroom. Here, finishes are in the ‘warm’ scheme.

Buyers are likely to be a mix of owner-occupiers and those looking to lease. Since the city-fringe project is surrounded by foreign embassies, an estimated 10-15% of buyers are expected to be foreigners.