The wife and I decided to
head to the east last week to look at 70 Saint Patrick's - a freehold
development by UOL Group that had made news recently for being of one of the
fastest selling project despite the current slow market sentiments. It was
reported that the project sold more than 100 of its 186 units during the first
weekend of private launch back in September, at an average price of $1,630psf.
However, UOL has decided to put the showflat on an empty plot of land opposite the Amber Road roundabout, next door to Silver Sea
70 Saint Patrick's is a low-rise development comprises of 9 blocks of 5 stories
each. The 186-unit project resides on a plot of close to 140,000sqft and offers
unit types ranging from 2-bedder to
4-bedroom dual key. There are also penthouses with 2- to 4-bedrooms. However,
it is the only project amongst those that we had visited in recent months that
does not offer 1-bedroom units, which is a refreshing change.
For parking, there is a total of 186 parking lots plus 3
handicap-lots within the development - so your typical "one lot per
apartment" that is pretty much the standard for new projects these days.
The wife and I were told that since 70 Saint Patrick's is within walking
distance to the future Marine Terrace MRT station, not every household will
necessarily own a car. However, we always take such claim with a huge dose of
salt... especially when the MRT station is supposedly coming online 6 years
after the project's TOP.
And speaking of TOP of 70 Saint Patrick's, this is estimated
to be in December of 2017.
There are 2 showflats on display in the sales gallery - a 2-bedder
and a 3-bedder. The showflat that we will focus on is a 3-bedroom + Study unit
(Type B4) of 1,270sqft.
As you enter the main door, you arrive into the living/dining
area. This is a rectangular-shaped area that is a tad too small for our liking.
The area comes with what looked to be good-quality marble flooring but the 2.95m
ceiling height is a bit of a disappointment.
One particular feature of this unit type is that it is not one but
TWO balconies. The main balcony outside of the living/dining area actually
extend across to one of the common bedroom and the study as well - these means
all 3 areas have direct access into the balcony.
The other balcony is located behind the kitchen, which is probably
most useful for air-drying of laundry. And speaking of the kitchen, it is quite
good-sized and comes with ample storage cabinets. And for a change, you do not
find Electrolux in this kitchen - the appliances are from Smeg and definitely
better looking than those we had seen in other projects recently.
The common bathroom is furnished with good quality tiles for its floor and walls. It also comes with fittings from Duravit and Hansgrohe. A large frosted window in the shower stall ensues proper ventilation in the bathroom.
The two common bedrooms are amongst the largest that we have seen
in a long while. The room does not feel cramped even with a Queen-bed installed
within. Both rooms also come with "floor to ceiling" (okay, not quite to the ceiling) windows,
which increases the amount of natural light the rooms get during the day.
The master bathroom is almost a replica of the common bath... even
down to its size. It is probably one of the smaller master bath that we have
seen so far but we reckon something has to give somewhere. And we much rather
the space be sacrificed in the bathroom! You do get an overhead "rain
shower" here rather than the standard shower found in the common bathroom.
Pricing wise, a Type B4 unit on the fourth floor of stack 42 costs
$2,108,000. This translates to $1,660psf. The wife and I were told that the
project has already sold about 2/3 of the total units. And for those looking at
the 3-bedder + Study configuration, only 4 such units are still available (as
of late last week). And with the 4-bedroom apartments, only 1 such unit is left.
What we
like:
1.
The
space within the 3-bedder + Study showflat is very well optimized. This makes
the unit looked distinctively larger than the 1,270sqft that it is supposed to
be... not forgetting that it houses two balconies too!
2.
The
spacious bedrooms, which is a breath of fresh air compared to those tiny ones
(especially with common bedroom) that we typically find in new projects these
days.
3.
The
quality fittings and furnishings within the unit, which increases the
"luxury factor" of the apartment.
4.
The
absence of one-bedder units in 70 Saint Patrick's, which reduces
the amount of units in the project thus increasing its "exclusivity"
quotient.
5.
For
those with primary school going kids starting from 2017 or after, the good news
is that there are a couple of options available within 1-km of 70 Saint Patrick's - CHIJ
Katong (all-gals), Tao Nan (co-ed) and Ngee Ann Primary (co-ed).
What we do
not quite like:
1.
70
Saint Patrick's is
TECHINCALLY across the road from upcoming Marine Terrace MRT station on the Thomson-East Coast
(* One sharp-eyed reader has correctly pointed out that there is a "maintenance gate" listed in the site map - under item 40. So this may be the side-gate access to the MRT station. The wife and I had asked the same question during our visit and was told that the maintenance gate only provides access to the maintenance shed and not for pedestrian use. The actual side-gate for residents is not included in the current plan and whether it will be installed is largely dependent on whether the developer can get approval for the same with the relevant government authority. *)
(* One sharp-eyed reader has correctly pointed out that there is a "maintenance gate" listed in the site map - under item 40. So this may be the side-gate access to the MRT station. The wife and I had asked the same question during our visit and was told that the maintenance gate only provides access to the maintenance shed and not for pedestrian use. The actual side-gate for residents is not included in the current plan and whether it will be installed is largely dependent on whether the developer can get approval for the same with the relevant government authority. *)
2.
Maybe
it's just us but nothing in terms of the facilities offered by 70 Saint
Patrick's made us go "wow". All the bells and whistles are mostly
there but it does come across as rather plain vanilla.
3.
The
way the blocks are sited means that quite a number of units between adjacent
blocks are relatively close to each other. So unless you really enjoy very
close proximity with your neighbors in the opposite block, you may have to
invest quite a bit on curtains/blinds for privacy.
Our
parting Shot
Facilities and
proximate neighbours aside, the wife and I are pretty happy with what we saw at
70 Saint Patrick's. The apartment layout makes a lot of sense and the quality
of furnishing and fittings as seen in the showflat is rather impressive. And
the $1,600+psf price tag is definitely attractive given that 70
Saint Patrick's is a freehold development. It is no wonder that this
project has been selling so well.
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