Eye on Kampong Glam: A New Living Heritage

While Kampong Glam is better known as a cultural and historical zone, its excellent location on the outskirts of the city centre is drawing some attention from developers and potential home buyers.

Kampong Glam generally refers to the areas and estates in the vicinity that stretch out from Beach Road and Crawford Street (North Bridge Road) to Rochor and Selegie.

In 1989, it was gazetted as a conservation area and additional buildings in and around the area were added to the conservation stock in 2011 and 2014.

It would be almost impossible to mention Kampong Glam without acknowledging the influence of the early Arab migrants in the area. In fact, their presence is now imprinted on street signs named after cities in the Middle East and Central Asia such as Muscat, Baghdad and Kandahar.

Wealthy Arab families also contributed to the community by building and maintaining mosques and religious schools. The Alsagoff Arab School, for example, has been standing along Jalan Sultan since 1912.

While the mention of Kampong Glam may instantly give the impression of a place for heritage conservation and an attraction for tourists, residential areas are also nestled in the district. In fact, one of its residents is Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Faizah Jamal, and her family has been living in the same house in Kampong Glam for four generations.

Residential Options Aplenty

It has also been observed that Kampong Glam’s investment outlook for the mid to long-term will be boosted by plans to develop Beach Road as well as the Ophir-Rochor area into a district of mixed-use projects.

Ong Choon Fah, DTZ’s Regional Head (SEA), Consulting & Research said, “Considering the proximity of high growth areas at Marina Bay and its connectivity to the Downtown and East-West MRT Lines, it is not surprising to see such developments sprouting, that can simultaneously form a catchment locus for retail businesses and house a professional workforce for commercial companies in the CBD.”

She added in recent years, the locale around the Kampong Glam conservation district has witnessed a steady influx of mixed-use developments which combine residential housing with commercial and hospitality facilities.

Why Invest in City Gate at Beach Road

City Gate, a mixed development along Jalan Sultan, is located on the former site of KeyPoint which was acquired in 2012 by World Class Land from Frasers Commercial Trust for $360 million.

The project has received healthy interest from buyers with around 50 percent of the 150 residential units released and two-fifths of the commercial units already taken up. Residential units were reportedly sold at an average price of over $1,800 psf, while prices of commercial units ranged between $2,900 and $6,200 psf.

Some distance away along Ophir Road, the mixed development DUO comprises two towers with one featuring 660 premium residences while the other houses prime Grade A office space, a five-star hotel and a unique retail gallery. The award-winning project by M+S was launched last November.

Older developments within the area include The Plaza, a 32-storey strata-titled mixed-use building and the 132-unit Textile Centre.

Several public housing estates have also been around for a long time. For example, Crawford Court, Beach Road Garden and Kelantan Court are just some of the HDB estates located in the area. PropertyGuru’s listings show that a two-bedroom resale unit at Crawford Lane is listed for around $430,000 to $450,000, while a similar unit along Kelantan Road is in the range of $390,000 to $468,000.

Recently, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) spruced up a park along Sultan Gate as part of the ‘Picnic in the Park – Under the Gelam Trees’. It was refurbished with benches and garden swings for the residents to enjoy, and the project will run until 25 August.

Central Connectivity

Kampong Glam is accessible by the Bugis and Lavender MRT stations on the East-West Line, as well as Nicoll Highway MRT on the Circle Line. The upcoming Jalan Besar MRT station on the Downtown Line is also nearby.

“The location on the city fringe translates into easy convenience when commuting to the premier shopping belt of Orchard Road or the central business district,” Chia Siew Chuin, Colliers International’s Director of Research & Advisory, said in media reports.

It is also advantageous that the area is not too far from established malls such as Bugis Junction and Bugis+. Besides the modernity of malls, Kampong Glam also offers a slew of other commercial options, including conservation shophouses.

In a media report in March, Shaun Poh, Executive Director of Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield said, “Despite the current overall market slowdown as a result of the cooling measures, conservation commercial shophouses remain an attractive investment option in view of the limited supply and have also proven to be a highly resilient property class.”

Kampong Glam is also home to unique hotels with the likes of The Sultan and Hotel Nuve. Additionally, the eclectic mix of uses for the premises in the area, including retail, F&B and the Aliwal Arts Centre, has brought a new lease of life to the area.

While Kampong Glam will continue to be a vibrant emblem of Singapore’s history and heritage, the area is beginning to see some changes to welcome homeowners and residents.

Ong said, “I believe we are seeing the start of a paradigmatic shift, from one that neatly segregates residential areas to satellite towns at the outskirts to one where a multi-functional, integrated city centre can cater to a variety of needs encompassing living, working and playing. So while there may be a perception of Kampong Glam and its neighbourhood as a ‘touristy’ spot, it is actually not incongruous with the broader direction that developments are headed.”

Source: PropertyGuru

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Eye on Kampong Glam: A New Living Heritage

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