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Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Two River Valley area projects – River Green and Promenade Peak – begin previews this week
[SINGAPORE] Two new condominium projects in the River Valley enclave, Wing Tai's River Green and Allgreen Properties' Promenade Peak, will start previews this week. The two are the first launches coming out of a cluster of four government land sale sites tendered in the area. Prices at River Green will start from S$2,846 per square foot (psf). Located near Great World MRT and linked to the station, the 99-year leasehold condo has 524 units in a 36-storey block. Pricing for the prime District 9 condo will start from S$1.2 million for a 420 sq ft one-bedroom unit. Two-bedders, sized from 527 sq ft, will go from S$1.5 million, while three-bedders (786 to 883 sq ft) are priced from S$2.25 million. The largest units, with four-bedrooms, will start from S$2.8 million for a 980 sq ft unit. The project has 105 one-bedroom, 280 two-bedroom, 104 three-bedroom and 35 four-bedroom units. Edmund Cheng, Wing Tai Holdings' deputy chairman, said: 'We are confident that River Green will meet the evolving expectations of today's homebuyers, offering not just homes of exceptional quality, but a lifestyle that's both dynamic and holistic for years to come.' The project will be the first residential development in Singapore to achieve the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum (Super Low Energy) certification. When asked about pricing strategy as several other launches in the River Valley area hit the market at the same time, Stacey Ow Yeong, Wing Tai Property Management's head of marketing, said: 'I think it's important for the buyers to see what they want. All of us have our own unique selling points. For us, we sell full connectivity. We sell flexible living. We sell functional, efficient and compact layouts, leading to very affordable prices.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up Market watchers noted that River Green's pricing, on a total quantum level, is a shade below selling prices of Toa Payoh project The Orie. The Rest of Central Region (RCR) condo, with prices starting at S$1.28 million for one-bedders, sold 86 per cent of its 777 units at an average of S$2,704 psf in January. River Green starts booking sales on Aug 2. Wing Tai Holdings acquired the 9,291 sq m site that River Green sits on for S$464 million (S$1,325 psf ppr) in a state land tender in June 2024. A month later, Allgreen bid S$730.09 million (S$1,304 psf ppr) for the 9,286 sq m Zion Road site where Promenade Peak is coming up. Just across the Singapore River, Promenade Peak will also start booking sales on Aug 2, at prices around S$3,000 psf, according to market sources. The project, with a District 3 address, has 596 units in a 63-storey block. It will be the world's tallest prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) residential building, and will feature the highest infinity pool in Singapore. The unit mix will include 80 one-bedroom units sized at 527 sq ft; 320 two-bedroom units sized between 657 and 797 sq ft; 118 three-bedroom units sized between 1,033 and 1,195 sq ft; 57 four-bedroom units sized between 1,421 and 1,582 sq ft; and 19 five-bedroom units spanning 1,884 sq ft each. There are also two 4,144 sq ft penthouses on the 63rd floor. Next to the Allgreen development, City Developments Ltd (CDL) and Mitsui Fudosan are building Zyon Grand, a mixed-use integrated development directly connected to Havelock MRT station. The project will comprise two 62-storey residential towers with 706 condo units, a 36-storey tower with 376 serviced apartments and a retail podium. It is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter. CDL and Mitsui Fudosan acquired the site in April 2024 for slightly over S$1.1 billion (S$1,202 psf ppr). A fourth condo is being developed by GuocoLand, on a River Valley Green site acquired at a February tender for S$627.8 million (S$1,420 psf ppr). A fifth site is available under the GLS reserve list. Altogether, the five sites could bring 3,080 new homes into the area, said Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist of Realion Group. Nearby at Robertson Quay, Frasers Property and Sekisui House will book sales for The Robertson Opus this Saturday (Jul 19) with prices starting from S$3,150 psf. The 999-year mixed-use development comprising 348 homes is a redevelopment of Fraser Place Robertson Walk and its adjoining commercial area, Robertson Walk. 'Given the steeper competition, most developers will likely price their projects sensitively to attract consumers,' Sun said.
CNA
6 days ago
- Health
- CNA
Singapore's public cord blood bank faces donor shortage despite rise in awareness
SINGAPORE: When Esmond Cheng was just three months old, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that severely compromised his immune system and left him highly susceptible to infections. While his only chance of survival was a stem cell transplant, no one in his family was a match. A donor in Hong Kong was willing to donate, but it fell through after the infant developed recurrent fevers and infections lasting more than a year. His parents then turned to Singapore's sole public cord blood bank for help on their doctor's advice. Within a month, the boy found a matching unit – thanks to a donor. Today, the 12-year-old is doing well, his father Edmund Cheng told CNA. 'At times, it was very, very sad for us but luckily, he had the persistence to push on which all the other doctors were so amazed (by),' the older man said. 'He's a very strong boy and we're also very glad that cord blood really saved his life.' Since the Singapore Cord Blood Bank (SCBB) – located within the KK Women's and Children's Hospital – was set up two decades ago, it has collected about 75,000 units from donors. But the bank is grappling with a shortage of donors to build a diversified inventory, despite increasing awareness in recent years of the benefits of cord blood. It also comes as the use of cord blood has grown not just in clinical treatments, but also in advanced medical research. Cord blood contains a rich source of blood stem cells that have strong regenerative properties. These stem cells have been proven to be useful in the treatment of many blood disorders and cancers, including severe combined immunodeficiency – the disease that Esmond suffers from. PARENTS MORE ENGAGED SCBB's medical director Aloysius Ho told CNA that parents are now more informed and ask more detailed questions on the conditions of cord blood storage, quality control and contingency measures. The Baby Bonus scheme has made family banking more accessible, providing Singaporean parents with a practical financing option, said Associate Professor Ho. He added that private storage levels with the bank rose by nearly 50 per cent after an incident in 2023 with private player Cordlife, which was found to have mishandled cord blood units. More than 2,000 clients were affected. Donation levels also increased by 14 per cent following the incident, but that has not been enough, noted Assoc Prof Ho. "We, despite having 15,000 units in our inventory, often find ourselves having to actually import cord blood from other global cord blood banks, because we're not able to find a suitable match within SCBB. So, we do need to increase the pool of donors,' he said. 'We know that we have a fairly unique population mix in Singapore, and we would like to try and encourage potential parents, especially from the ethnic minorities, to sign up as public donors because of the unique gene pool in that population.' He explained that people are more likely to find a suitable match within their own ethnic group due to genetic similarities, so a wider donor pool ensures better chances of finding a match for patients of all backgrounds. Assoc Prof Ho pointed out that misconceptions remain about public cord blood banking, such as that it is not always successful. Nevertheless, he acknowledged this is 'probably partially true' as only about 20 to 25 per cent of donated units end up being banked for use for transplants. The remaining units do not meet the standard of quality. But with the donors' consent, they can be used for other purposes like research studies, added Assoc Prof Ho, who is also a senior consultant at the SingHealth Duke-NUS Transplant Centre. NEED GROWING MORE URGENT According to doctors, the need for cord blood is now more urgent than ever. With smaller family sizes and more people starting families later in life, fewer patients can rely on relatives for a close genetic match. Cord blood is also increasingly used in medical research to regenerate cells and even slow down ageing. Cord blood is especially attractive as they mutate less compared to adult blood stem cells, and can help fight leukaemia cells 'quite well' due to their adaptability, said Professor William Hwang, chief executive of the National Cancer Centre Singapore and a senior consultant at Singapore General Hospital's haematology department. 'In the past, we needed to have a fully matched brother or sister or an unrelated donor who is fully matched with the patient in order to do the (cord blood) transplant,' he noted. 'But now, we can do the transplant even though there is only half match with the patient … because technology has developed such that we can do two forms of manipulation of the cells." To encourage more families to donate, SCBB said it is working to raise awareness through outreach and education initiatives. These include engaging mothers in public hospitals, active social media outreach and community events. Esmond's family is also encouraging others to donate cord blood to save lives like his. 'For those newly married or just had a kid, it's good to keep their cord blood. You won't know if you will be needing it or if other people need it. It's good to have that so that it can help other people in another way,' added Mr Cheng.
