2005 has been an outstanding year for CDL.
We have led the industry with various iconic
signature developments, impressive sales
figures and multiple awards and accolades.
Indeed, CDL demonstrates that a socially
responsible business philosophy can be a
winning formula that benefits stakeholders.
Demand for CDL homes in 2005 was
tremendous. About 2,100 homes were sold,
translating into 23% of the private residential
market share in Singapore. Contributing to
this is the landmark development, The Sail @
Marina Bay. In October, prospective buyers
of the 1,111-unit luxury development waited
outside the show suites the night before
the soft-launch of Tower 2 to ensure they
would not miss the golden opportunity of
owning a part of this icon. Within days, The
Sail @ Marina Bay Tower 2 was almost sold
out. The buying frenzy garnered extensive
media attention both locally and abroad
and was a testament of its premium six-star
quality, international stature and good value.
Backed by the foresight to envisage Marina
Bay as the key to the new downtown, the
management decided to adopt a bold and
stunning design for this strategically-located
condominium. With the development of
the proposed Business Financial District
and Integrated Resort at Marina Bay, The
Sail @ Marina Bay promises to be one of
Singapore’s most prime real estates.
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City Square Mall |
The Sail @ Marina Bay |
Another mega development launched
was the freehold 910-unit City Square
Residences which sits on the historic New
World Amusement Park site at the junction of Serangoon Road and Kitchener Road.
Having met with overwhelming response
when launched in April, 800 units were sold.
Residents of this integrated development
will enjoy over 700,000 sq. feet of exciting
shops, restaurants, hypermarket and even
a Cineplex at City Square Mall which will
be developed on the adjacent site and a
large public park. These projects are set to
transform the landscape of the vicinity into a
vibrant urban hub.
Parc Emily, a joint venture development
with TID Pte. Ltd., was also successfully
launched in March. The premium 295-unit
development is located in the quiet exclusive
enclave of Mount Emily Park and 89% has
been sold.
By harnessing state-of-the-art technology,
innovation and uncompromised quality,
CDL has always been at the forefront of
developing homes with revolutionary designs
and features to satisfy and even surpass the
lifestyle expectations of our buyers.
Honoured with a plethora of awards and
accolades, CDL has shown that clever
designs utilising innovative technology and
carefully executed with developmental
sustainability in mind produces excellent
projects that are
financially viable.
At the 2005 Building and Construction
Authority (BCA) Awards, CDL bagged the
most number of awards – 14 of the 46 awards
for Construction Excellence, Best Buildable
Design and the Green Mark Award. Of the 14 awards, CDL received five Green Mark
Awards (Gold) in recognition of developing
environmentally-friendly and operationally efficient buildings.
At the BCA Construction Quality Assessment
System (CONQUAS) review, both Savannah
CondoPark and Monterey Park topped the
list with the highest scores achieved to-date – 94.1 and 92.3 respectively. CONQUAS is
the national standard for construction quality
and CDL is pleased to report that six CDL
projects dominate the top 13 positions.
Monterey Park was also conferred the
Bronze Award (Implementation Projects,
Residential Category) by the Landscape
Industry Association (Singapore).
Changi Rise and Goldenhill Park
Condominium were both placed in runner-up
positions at the 2005 Excellence in
Design Award (Multi-Use Residential – Apartment/Condominium category) by
the Environmental Design + Construction
Magazine in USA. This reflects and
recognises CDL’s firm commitment to green
and sustainable design.
The Singapore Institute of Architects and the
Handicaps Welfare Association conferred a
Community Friendly Buildings award on
three of our properties, namely, Savannah
CondoPark (Silver), Goldenhill Park
Condominium (Bronze) and Goldenhill Villas
(Honourable Mention). These properties
have incorporated facilities for the physically
challenged and the elderly, thereby providing
greater accessibility and integration with the
community and its surroundings.
Accorded by the Ministry of Manpower,
The Esparis received two awards at the
Occupational Health Best Practices Award
2005 – the Excellence Award for Noise
Control and Innovation Award for Noise
Control. Monterey Park also received the
Excellence Award for Noise Control.
These honours illustrate the continued
success of CDL’s dedication and
commitment towards building sustainable
quality developments, mindful of the impact
our operations have on the environment.
They are a reflection of achievements made
in line with CDL’s Environment, Health and
Safety Policy.
In the year of 2005, CDL purchased several
sites in Singapore including the coveted site
of Sentosa Cove in May. Although its bid was
not the highest, the striking architectural
design conceived by Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) was the deal clincher, beating
all competition. The development will stand
at the maximum permissible height of 15
storeys comprising 264 units and is a 50:50
joint venture with TID Pte. Ltd..
In July, 21 Swiss Club Road, with a site area
of 42,270 sq. feet was purchased for $12.8
million. As CDL already owned the adjoining
sites of 15 and 19 Swiss Club Road, there
will be plans to amalgamate all plots into one
site for good class bungalow redevelopment
in this exclusive district. In an en-bloc
sale, CDL in November 2005 purchased
Bougainville, a freehold development with a
site area of 30,368 sq. feet along Shelford
Road. Together with an adjoining site, the
combined site will have a freehold land area of about 74,901 sq. feet and can be
redeveloped into a condominium of about
85 units.
Adding to our five million sq. feet of lettable
space is our latest retail development, City
Square Mall. Slated to be one of the largest
shopping centres in Singapore with over
700,000 sq. feet of retail space, it will be a
shopping, entertainment and services hub
in the rejuvenated Serangoon/Kitchener
Road area. Designed by the renowned Land
Lease Group, City Square Mall will offer
consumers an exciting and extensive mega
shopping experience.
CDL has been driving its expansion not only
in Singapore, but also across the Asia Pacific
region, transforming cityscapes.
We have diversified our expansion strategy
overseas through our investment in Real
Estate Capital Asia Partners, L.P. (RECAP)
with a US-based investment fund and
certain other limited partners. RECAP has
been actively exploring opportunities in the
Asian markets.
In February, RECAP purchased prime
freehold residential land in Sukhumvit
Soi 20. To be ready in 2008, the luxury
condominium in Bangkok will comprise
about 600 units. RECAP also purchased
MyeongDong Tower, a 15-storey office
building located in MyeongDong, one of the
premier commercial districts in Seoul, with a
net floor area of 92,744 sq. feet.
CDL acquired an interest in Exchange
Tower (formerly known as Pornpat Tower)
in Bangkok. Offering both office and retail space, this grade “A” building is strategically
located in the prime Central Business District
at the junction of Sukhumvit Road and
Ratchadapisek Road. It is easily accessible
via the exchange station of the BTS and MRT
(Bangkok’s mass rapid transit systems).
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Millennium Hongqiao Shanghai
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Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc (M&C)
also significantly increased its presence in
Asia in 2005. The 326-room Millennium
Sukhumvit Bangkok is expected to be
ready in 2007. M&C also clinched a
management contract for the 350-room,
five-star Millennium Hongqiao Shanghai.
It is expected to open in mid-2006 and is
a 10-minute drive from the city’s domestic
Hongqiao Airport. M&C signed a total of 10
management contracts in 2005.
In Kuala Lumpur, there are plans to develop
a 132-unit luxury apartment building on a
vacant plot of land next to Regent Hotel. The
freehold property faces Jalan Bukit Bintang,
the city’s premier shopping, entertainment
and tourism district. Both Regent Hotel and
the apartment project are owned by M&C.
CDL’s strategy to make its mark in these
Asian cities reflects a growing interest and
confidence in the Asian market. CDL will
continue to make new inroads into the
region progressively and has its eye on
other markets including India and Vietnam.
At the same time, CDL will consolidate and
strengthen its position in markets where it is
already present.
