GuocoLand’s freehold Meyer Mansion to preview on Sept 7
Singapore-listed property firm GuocoLand will preview the 200-unit Meyer Mansion on Sept 7, with the official launch scheduled for Sept 13. The freehold development is the firm’s first condo project in two years. Its last launch was the 99-year leasehold Martin Modern at Martin Place.
Targeted for completion in 2024, Meyer Mansion will offer a range of units from 484-sq-ft, one-bedroom units to 2,142-sq-ft, four-bedroom premium units. The 25-storey residential tower will feature eight different layouts, each with only 25 units available.
With Meyer Mansion, GuocoLand intends to bring the luxury lifestyle it created in Martin Modern to District 15, according to Cheng Hsing Yao, group managing director of GuocoLand Singapore.
“It has been eight years since the last goodsized high-rise condominium launch along Meyer Road,” he says.
Luxury holiday homes
The Meyer Mansion site is a redevelopment of the former Casa Meyfort. GuocoLand purchased the site in a collective sale in July last year for $319.8 million, including an estimated development charge of $57.2 million. This works out to be about $1,580 psf per plot ratio (ppr).
While the site could have yielded more units, Cheng states that the firm decided to build only 200 units to maintain the “feel of a holiday home”, considering that the site faces the sea. The idea of a holiday home was also inspired by Meyer Road’s history. In the 1800s, many affluent businessmen built their holiday mansions along the coast.
Some 80% of the 86,000-sq-ft site area has been dedicated to landscaping and amenities, with palms and frangipani trees expected to be a common sight on the grounds.
All units will have a view; the lower-floor units will have views of Meyer Mansion’s own gardens, while the higher- floor units will have unblocked panoramic views of the sea, the Marina Bay and Beach Road skyline, or the open views above the landed housing area of Meyer and Mountbatten. These views are framed by floor-to-ceiling windows with a height of at least three metres.
In addition, units will come with top-end appliances and finishings from V-Zug, Liebherr, Whirlpool, Duravit and Hansgrohe.
Coveted address
While the prices for Meyer Mansion have yet to be released, Dominic Lee, head of PropNex Luxury Team, estimates the breakeven price to be around $2,300 to $2,400 psf. “If you look at [pricing], you need to look at what’s being provided. For this project, we have got very nice finishes,” he says.
Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, agrees. “Potential buyers could be Singaporeans living in the east and families who are attracted by the surrounding good schools. Investors who see the potential of the area and foreigners may also be potential buyers,” she says.
Meanwhile, Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA, believes that Meyer Mansion will appeal to “die-hard District 15 buyers”, especially those who stay in the surrounding landed housing estate.
A four-bedroom apartment with fantastic views will appeal to this group of buyers who are used to having a lot of space, he adds.
Meyer Mansion is a 450m walk via an underpass to East Coast Park while the CBD and Changi Airport are just a 10-minute drive away. Katong Park MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line will be a six-minute walk away when it opens in 2023. This station will provide a direct transit to Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay and Orchard MRT Stations.
“I think the point about GuocoLand’s projects is always the lifestyle,” says GuocoLand’s Cheng. “It is extremely rare for a high-rise freehold site along Meyer Road to become available, and it will be increasingly so in the future. An opportunity like Meyer Mansion will be very hard to come by, going forward.” E