City Developments Ltd. (CDL) has had a memorable year. The property group celebrated their diamond jubilee in October and won the Top Developer Award for the seventh time at EdgeProp Singapore Excellence Awards 2023 (EPEA).

Chia Ngiang Hong took the stage to accept the award for the company that evening. She is the group general manager at CDL. The developer won eight other awards for four of its Singapore residential projects.

The EPEA jury recognized several CDL residential projects that were completed or unfinished, but which showed excellence in design, landscape, sustainability and innovation. The award-winning CDL projects of this year were designed to cater to a wide range homeowners and buyers from Singapore.

The Whistle Grand, a 716-unit development recently completed at West Coast Vale, won top awards for Top Development, Landscape Excellence and Design Excellence in addition to Innovation Excellence.

Whistler Grand went on sale in November 2018, and it was sold out by October 2021.

The temporary occupation permit (TOP), obtained in April of last year, is valid for the duration of the contract.

Two of CDL’s executive condominium (EC) developments were recognized as the best projects in their respective categories. Piermont Grand received the award for the Best Executive Condominium in the category Completed (Non Central) while Copen Grand was awarded the award for the Best Executive Condominium in the category Uncompleted.

ECs is a unique public housing project that is developed by private developers and sold to Singaporean households who qualify. ECs fill a niche in the housing market, providing condo amenities at affordable prices. CDL has been able to do this at Piermont Grand, Copen Grand.

Copen Grand is Singapore’s very first Green Mark Platinum super low energy EC. It integrates smart technology, green design and luxury living. Photovoltaic solar systems are used to provide energy for the clubhouse and function rooms, as well as the swimming pool, gym, and swimming pool.

Piermont Grand is also certified with the Universal Design Mark Goldplus and Green Mark Platinum by the Building and Construction Authority. Sustainability features include an intelligent-energy-and-water-monitoring-system with water leak-detection algorithms for tracking and managing power and water consumption in the common areas. The energy-efficient and water-efficient features could help reduce CO2 emissions by over 572 tonnes per year.

See also: Grand Dunman at Dunman Road

Chia believes that EC homes should remain a viable alternative to private residences. CDL, as one of Singapore’s leading property developers, is eager to encourage innovations that will raise the bar in future residential developments.

CDL’s innovative plans are centered around digitalisation. The company will integrate CDL Home Sales – its proprietary electronic system – which provides homebuyers with a transparent and efficient purchasing experience – with other digital solutions in its wider in-house ecosystem, such as the My CDL Home app. The app will allow home buyers to receive monthly updates about the progress of construction in their project, including an estimated TOP and specific information for their unit. Home buyers can also view their payment schedules and billing schedule, and make an appointment to collect keys after TOP.

CDL is also preparing for two new launches by 2024. The first project to launch in 2024 will be Lumina Grande, a 512 unit EC at Bukit Batok Avenue 5. The project is scheduled to launch in the 1Q2024. CDL won the site at a government land auction in September of last year, after it submitted a winning bid of $336.07 millions. The land rate was $626 per plot ratio.

Solar photovoltaics panels on the roofs will harness the sun’s energy to produce electricity for the common areas.

Lumina Grand offers a mixture of three- and five-bedroom apartments. Facilities include a 50m pool, a fitness center, reading rooms, dance and music studios and a gym. CDL will provide more information on the project as it approaches its preview and official launch in 2019.

Market watchers will also be looking out for CDL’s upcoming project in Woodlands, Champions Way. Last month, the developer won the site after submitting a winning bid of $294 million. This equates to a land rate per square foot of $904

The project, which has yet to be named, will consist of approximately 350 residential units spread across four 11-storey buildings, a centre for early childhood development, and a carpark in the basement. According to Chia the project will be designed to achieve BCA Green Mark Platinum with a Maintainability Badge.

CDL is not immune to the challenges of the market, such as the slew property cooling measures in recent years, high interest rates, and a cautious macroeconomic outlook both globally and locally.

After the government announced a series of cooling measures for property in April of this year, the company decided to delay the preview of Newport Residences. This 246-unit residential project is located on Anson Road, in Tanjong Pagar. These measures included the doubling of foreign buyers’ additional stamp duty to 60%, from 30%. Newport Residences was developed from the former FujiXerox Towers.

CDL, in addition to its strengths as a developer of a diverse residential portfolio, ranging from ECs and high-end luxury developments, will look to elevate its track record for developing iconic mixed-use residential projects.