Hillside Address, City Living

LUSH rolling hills meet the sea and the city at a new development being offered for sale here. While the homes at the upcoming Kent Ridge Hill Residences are nestled amid nature, along a gentle slope off Pasir Panjang Road, the city is in reality just minutes away: providing the delicate balance of greenery and accessibility.

For the everyday commute, the development is a seven minutes' walk to Pasir Panjang MRT Station.

For those working in the area, the integrated business hub Mapletree Business City - home to multinational tenants including Google and Samsung Asia - and vibrant research and business park one-north, with its associated developments Biopolis, The Star Vista, Fusionopolis, Block 71 Ayer Rajah Crescent and Rochester Park, are a five and eight minutes' drive away respectively, while the Central Business District is a 15 minutes' drive away.

Quality education is also close by: with established schools including Nan Hua Primary School and High School, Anglo-Chinese School (independent), Fairfield Methodist School, Anglo Chinese Junior College, Singapore Institute of Management, and Singapore Polytechnic. International schools in the area include United World College (Dover), Nexus International School, Tanglin Trust School, and The Japanese School (Primary). Kent Ridge Hill Residences are also six minutes' drive to National University of Singapore and about 10 minutes to INSEAD Asia campus.

Overall, it is said that for investors, the expatriate base in the area - from employees at the surrounding offices, or staff and students at these tertiary institutes - is said to provide strong rental demand.

Food is in close proximity as well, with Pasir Panjang Food Centre adjacent to Pasir Panjang MRT Station: a foodie's haven which in the day sees workers in the vicinity go for its Muslim fare and Hainanese curry rice, among others; and by night becomes a hive of activity for those seeking barbecue seafood, satay, and grilled chicken wings.

Apart from these hawker stalls, other recommended eateries in the area serve up Vietnamese and Thai food, and solid café fare.

As for leisure, one can never go wrong with Singapore's largest mall - VivoCity - a 10 minutes' drive from Kent Ridge Hill Residences. And from there, of course, one may always pop over to Sentosa for outdoor adventure, gourmet dining, or simply a day at the beach.

But perhaps most importantly, Kent Ridge Hill Residences provides a sense of tranquillity and home. The project - comprising 11 five-storey blocks and 50 strata houses, over a sprawling 29,659 sqm site - is elevated above road level amid a low-density neighbourhood, a rarity in modern-day Singapore.

And as inspired by the American Master Architect Frank Lloyd Wright who wrote that "hill and house should live together, each the happier of the other," Kent Ridge Hill Residences are designed to blend into the surrounding hills including elements such as cascading terraces, cantilevered features, and extensive water features - truly a place to unwind at the end of the day.

Adding to the serenity as well are the countless trees and the private access that residents enjoy to Kent Ridge Park. The Park is not just a historical park, where one of the last battles for Singapore was fought during World War II; it also features a high biodiversity of wildlife and is a favourite of nature lovers.

One walking along Canopy Walk, an elevated 280m-long boardwalk between HortPark and Kent Ridge Park may just spot sunbirds, doves, squirrels, lizards, and white-crested laughing thrush. Beyond the Park, residents may enjoy the 10km of green open space that comprises the Southern Ridges: including Mount Faber Park, Labrador Nature Reserve, and the iconic Henderson Waves.

Apart from the peaceful nature on the grounds and surrounding the development, residents will find their homes well-equipped, with branded appliances and fittings from Gaggenau, Bosch, Grohe, and Electrolux. They will also enjoy the latest technology - the smart homes including a mobile access smart home hub, smart aircon control, smart gateway with camera, Wi-fi doorbell with camera and voice control system, and Yale digital lockset.

All these have been meticulously selected by the team at Oxley Holdings, a Singapore developer with a presence over 11 geographical markets.

This plethora of features make the Residences an attractive place to stay in the short term; in the long term, the Residences will additionally see an uplift from being part of the Greater Southern Waterfront, a 1,000 ha site freed up by the Government's plans to relocate the port terminal from Tanjong Pagar to Tuas.

The precinct is set to be the new focal point for commercial, residential and community activities, and Singapore's premier waterfront destination.

Currently, there are plans to shape Sentosa, the adjacent Pulau Brani and the waterfront along Tanjong Pagar: it is envisioned that the entire Sentosa Island might be reshaped to provide more leisure amenities and investments, while more hotels and other facilities related Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) are being contemplated as possibilities for the larger precinct.

Government agencies are reportedly drawing up development plans for the Greater Southern Waterfront, an "expanded canvas" as large as Sentosa Island itself that provides opportunities to develop new tourism attractions and anchor the district as the Southern Gateway of Asia - with preliminary conceptual plans including an uninterrupted 30km stretch of waterfront promenade from Labrador Park to Marina South, and new enclaves along the coastline.

For the moment, the Residences is expected to benefit from continued efforts by the Government to showcase Queenstown's heritage as Singapore's first satellite town, and strengthen its sense of identity.

This includes conserving heritage buildings such as the former Commonwealth Avenue West Market, Queenstown Library - the first community library in Singapore - and the historic Alexandra Hospital.

The Government also has plans to enlarge Holland Village into an even more attractive lifestyle precinct; and envisages extending green spaces in the area, including an expanded park connector network with links to the future Round Island Route, a new community park at Holland Village, the Rail Corridor as a green route for walking and cycling, and an innovative park at one-north that will have a car park tucked underneath and will double up as an event space.

In sum, in today's concrete jungle, there are only so many places which can truly provide a sense of home. Kent Ridge Hill Residences, a proposition of hillside and city living, may just fit that bill, and continue to provide value as future developments in the area take shape.