ALTEZ (Review)

District: 2
Location: Tanjong Pagar
Address: 16 Enggor Street
Developer: Far East Organization
Tenure: 99-years Leasehold wef 6th Feb 2008


There’s never a low floor in ALTEZ – since the first level of apartments in this project actually starts on 10th floor.


ALTEZ is a 280-unit leasehold project located along Enggor Street. It consists of one 62-storey tower that rises some 250 metres from ground to top. The actual site is right behind The Icon – another Far East project that was completed in 2007. ALTEZ actually resides on a rather small land plot of less than 33,000sqft, which is sandwiched between buildings on three sides. The expected TOP of this project is 31st December 2015.


Location Map

ALTEZ is a mixed-development project, consisting of commercial units (shops) on the ground level, which are integrated with Icon Village, i.e. the existing shops on the ground floor of The Icon. This offers convenience to residents of both condos as they have easy access to all the shops/F&B outlets within both developments.


The carparks (all 297 of them) are located on Levels 2 – 7, while the main recreational facilities are found of Levels 8 & 9. It seems that patrons of the ground level shops will have access to the carpark lots as well, so it will be interesting to see how the lots are allocated to the residents of ALTEZ (maybe “free for all” between 10am – 10pm?).


The sales gallery/showflat is actually located off-site, at a plot next to International Plaza that Far East has converted into a semi-permanent sales gallery of sorts for their new projects.


When the wife and I visited the sales gallery this morning, all the 1-Bedroom (located on Levels 10 – 19) and 2-Bedroom (on Levels 20 – 28) apartments are fully sold. Far East is only marketing their 1-Bedroom Lofts from Levels 30 – 34 for now, while the bigger units/units on higher floors will be launched at a later date.


We understand that there are several unit types and layouts available at ALTEZ
• 1-Bedroom Apartment: 527 – 603sqft
• 2-Bedroom Apartment: 829 – 1023 sqft
• 1-Bedroom Loft: 753 – 861sqft
• 2-Bedroom Loft: 1109 – 1184sqft
• 3-Bedroom Loft: 1507 – 1658sqft
• Penthouses: 2486 & 4058sqft


The main facilities available at ALTEZ are found on Levels 8 & 9. These include
• 50m lap-pool & water wall feature pool (L8)
• Gym and aerobics/fitness terrace (L8)
• Sun lounging deck (L8)
• Tennis court (L8)
• Basketball half court (L8)
• Different “themed” pools and pool cabana (L9)
• Outdoor lounge (L9)
• Children’s play zone (L9)
• Tennis viewing deck (L9)


In addition, residents will supposedly enjoy spectacular unblocked views of the cityscape all round, including Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa from the 5 sky terraces starting from Level 18 all the way up to the roof terrace on the 60th level. Each of the 5 sky terrace has its own theme


• Hang-out @Level 18: An idea hang-out space, where you find a creek, waterside deck, an outdoor picnic terrace and lush landscaping.
• Reflect @Level 28: A tree-lined boulevard and plaza terrace, with water feature that leads your eyes towards views of Sentosa and the sea.
• Meet @Level 40: A community space for group tai chi or yoga. A mini “Amphitheatre” with tiered seating for creative get-togethers.
• Review @Level 52: The perfect retreat and restorative space with stunning city views. Amenities include city lounge, garden sanctuary, elemental spa, heated spa pools and reflexology area.
• Chill @Level 60: Where one can enjoy all round view of the city and the sea. Amenities include dining pavilions fitted with gourmet kitchens (ideal for parties), dining terrace with food preparation area (for family get togethers) and aromatic garden and chill-out lounge with cascading water feature.


The 1-Bedroom Loft showflat on display is the smallest 753sqft unit. The lower level comes with 60cm x 60cm marble-slab flooring and 2.8m ceiling height (double volume height of almost 6m around the staircase area leading to the upper level). The living cum dining cum kitchen area on the lower level is squarish shaped, and we reckon small furniture is the order of the day if you intend to fit both sofa and dining table comfortably into the rather small space. There is no balcony but a set of bay windows lined one of the walls. The kitchen is fitted with an extensive list of appliances, which include “Kuppersbusch” oven/hob/hood/ coffee maker, a built-in “Bosch” single-door fridge and “Bosch” washer/dryer. Far East has also thrown in a small “Vintec” wine fridge and a dish-drying rack mounted on top of the kitchen sink for good measures.


The master bedroom and bathroom occupies the whole upper level as you climb up the stairs. The master bedroom has wood-strip flooring and looks spacious enough even with a “King” bed. You also get separate “His” and “Her” wardrobes, which is a nice touch. However, the meagre wardrobe space means that “His” wardrobe will probably end up becoming “Hers”.


The master bathroom has marble floors/walls, and is separate from the master bedroom by glass partitions. The “single-piece” solid surfaced vanity top & moulded wash basin is very elegant, and you must check out the space-age looking square-shaped tap! It also comes with a sunken bath with both rain and hand-held showers. You get “Hangrohe” bathroom and “Kohler” toilet fittings.


1-Bedroom Loft (Showflat)


What we like:
• Location, location, location! Situated within the CBD and less than 10-minutes to Orchard Road, the new Marina downtown and Sentosa, one cannot argue against the centrality of ALTEZ. The condo is also surrounded by amenities found around the Tanjong Pagar area, in addition to the shops/F&B outlets located just downstairs. Given such, we expect good take-up rate for rentals from locals and expats alike working within the CBD and nearby. You also do not have to worry about ERP charges driving into work everyday. Then again, you probably will not need a car in the first place, especially when the Tanjong Pagar MRT station is just 200m away!


• The wife and I are pretty impressed with the quality of furnishings demonstrated in the show-flat. It gives you the feeling that you are at least paying good money for a quality project.


• Opportunity to live in the tallest condo in Singapore? Now that should count for something! The view from your apartment should be quite spectacular, provided that your unit is on a high enough floor to be unblocked.

What we dislike:
• The area around ALTEZ consists primarily of office buildings, so it can be really busy during office hours but quite deserted at night and during the weekends. One can always head to the NTUC Supermarket/ Restaurants/Bars/Karaoke along Tanjong Pagar Road for signs of life at night, but we reckon ALTEZ may not be the most ideal for families with small children.


• As mentioned earlier, ALTEZ resides on a small plot of land surrounded by building on 3 sides. So the claustrophobia you are feeling may not just come from the small unit that you are living in. And unless your apartment is located on the 30th level or above, you may find your view blocked by tall buildings like The Amara Hotel, The Hub Synergy Point, The Mapletree Anson or worse, The Icon condo (46-storey tall).


• We understand that there is no yard area for any of the unit types other than possibly the Penthouses. So there will not be a proper place to dry your clothes, and believe us when we tell you that your washer/dryer can never do as good a job. Far East has probably decided on such layout to maximize the unit space within the project. But this means that you are likely to find laundry hanging in front of the bay windows, much like what you can now see in some of the units at The Icon. Trust us – it is NOT a pretty sight!


• With the 743sqft one-bedder loft, there is only one toilet in the whole apartment – in the master bathroom. And given that you come into full view of the master bedroom and bathroom once you reach the top of the stairs (no thanks to the glass partitions separating the bedroom and bathroom), one’s modesty can quite easily be outraged. So if your guest needs to use the bathroom, be sure that there is someone “jagar-ing” the staircase while he/she is doing so.
But for those of you still interested in the 1-Bedroom Loft, you be pleased to know that some layouts do come with a power room on the lower level – you just have to pay more for these “bigger” units (powder room takes up space too, you know).


• No primary school within 1-km of ALTEZ that we can identify. Then again, the wife and I feel that this may not be a major concern to the targeted group of potential buyers.


As of this morning, 6 out of the 36 units of 1-Bedroom Loft have already been sold. The average price for the 743sqft unit is $1.65 million, which works out to around $2200psf.


In summary, the wife and I believe that ALTEZ is most suited for high income yuppies and DINKs, and should command fairly decent rentals given its location. We were told that a one-bedder at The Icon can easily fetch $4500 per month in rental, so ALTEZ should get at least the same rental, which will give you a rough yield of around 3%. This is assuming that the rental market will remain as buoyant beyond 2015 of course. And if we are one of the 5 winners of last night’s $10 million Toto draw, we may consider buying one of the loft units for investment purpose. But alas…


The sales gallery/showflat will be renovated to showcase the bigger loft units sometime in the near future. However, we are unable to get any specifics in terms of timeline. Also, no floor plan is available for the 2 and 3-Bedroom Lofts yet.


ALTEZ Slideshow