When Sentosa Cove unveiled its first land parcels for sale in 2003, it signalled a new era of luxury living in Singapore. For the first time, homes could be built right on the waterfront and residents could look forward to the frills of an active marina lifestyle in Singapore's cosmopolitan community. Today, Sentosa Cove is home to an impressive showcase of prestigious developments, from luxury highrise apartments to tranquil terrace homes and bungalow masterpieces.

Tranquil homes

In the early 1990s, a few officials from Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) travelled to Port Grimaud, a very successful waterfront development in St Tropez, France, on a study trip. In 1992, SDC invited French architect Bernard Spoerry whose father, Francois, was the creator of Port Grimaud, to draw up a masterplan for the development of Sentosa Cove.

SDC needed to refine Spoerry's original masterplan as certain aspects did not bond with the physical features of the Sentosa Cove site and the task was given to McKerrell Lynch Architects (MLA) from Australia. Besides enhancing the appeal and privacy of the residential developments, MLA explored the commercial possibilities of Sentosa Cove in anticipation that the marina would become a vital nexus of activity for the Cove residents as well as the public.

Highrise apartments

In 1996, SDC appointed American architectural from Klages, Carter Vail & Partners to look into tropicalising the architecture of Sentosa Cove's development style. Principal architect David Klages envisioned and styled Sentosa Cove as a lifestyle community in the manner of similar waterfront estates in California and Florida.

The marina

The land sale programme was initially planned to begin in 1994 but was pushed back several times due to the unfavourable property market conditions then. Eventually a bold worldwide marketing strategy, spearheaded by Ms Jennie Chua, Chairman, Sentosa Cove Private Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of SDC set up to develop, manage and market the Cove development), saw land values of Cove property rise from an initial price of just over S$300 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the first bungalow land parcel in 2003, to an astonishing S$1,820 psf ppr by the time the last high rise parcel was sold in 2008.

SDC emphasised on Singapore's global reputation as a safe place to work, invest and live to distinguish Sentosa Cove from other worldwide luxury property developments. SDC also mooted several policy changes to make it possible and attractive for foreign high-net worth individuals to purchase and build homes on Sentosa Cove.

The Sentosa skyline

In 2004, the Singapore government amended the law and allowed foreigners to purchase land in Sentosa Cove as long as they live in the Cove property and does not own more than one restricted residential property in Singapore. In the following year, it introduced a financial investor scheme that granted Permanent Residency to applicants who invested at least S$5 million in financial assets including one Sentosa Cove bungalow property.

In 2006 Christie's Great Estates was brought in to auction 12 oceanfront, waterway and fairway bungalow land parcels. This was another milestone for SDC as it propelled Sentosa Cove to international prominence. The auction on 25th August, helmed by award-winning auctioneer Graeme Hennesy, was broadcasted live to oversea bidders in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, England and Malaysia to enable potential buyers to closely monitor the bidding situation and respond accordingly. The crowd capacity was close to 400.

Night scene

SDC adopted the sales method of awarding a land parcel by Expression of Interest (EOI) for the islands in the southern precinct. It enabled SDC to bring in foreign property developers to Sentosa Cove for the first time. The government also relaxed certain regulations to make it easier for foreign developers to participate in the Cove land sales. Malaysian developers YTL Corporation Berhad, IJM Properties Sdn Bhd and China developer Ximeng Land, were awarded various Cove projects via such innovation.

Towards the sea

Sentosa Cove covers an area of 117-hectares mostly made up of reclaimed land, including 5 artificial islands namely Coral, Paradise, Treasure, Sandy and Pearl. Most of the land is designated for residential accommodation, with the 5 islands reserved for bungalows. The residential developments are clustered in three main areas, namely the northern precinct (North Cove), the southern precinct (South Cove) and the central marina precinct.

Straddling between the two coves is the central marina precinct, which includes The Residences at W Singapore Sentosa Cove (228 units by City Developments Ltd), W Hotel, ONE°15 Marina Club and The Marina Collection (124 units by Lippo Group).

From the sea

Within the North Cove, there are a total of 829 units in the 4 condominiums, namely The Azure (116 units by Frasers Centrepoint Homes), The Berth By The Cove (200 units by Ho Bee Group), The Coast At Sentosa Cove (249 units by Ho Bee Group) and The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove (264 units by City Developments Ltd & TID Pte Ltd).

Island of bungalows

The landed housing on the North Cove includes Coral Island (21 villas by Ho Bee Group), Paradise Island (29 villas by Ho Bee Group), Treasure Island (19 villas by private owners), Kasara Lake Collection (13 villas by YTL Corporation), Ocean 8 (8 terraces by IJM Properties Sdn Bhd), The Berthside (8 terraces by Ho Bee Group), Villas @ Sentosa Cove (8 terraces by ACT Holdings Pte Ltd) and others.

Over at the South Cove, there are a total of 563 units in another 4 condominiums, namely Turquois (91 units by Ho Bee Group), Seascape (151 units by Ho Bee Group & IOI Properties), Cape Royale @ Sentosa (280 units by Ho Bee Group & IOI Properties) and Seven Palms Sentosa Cove (41 units by SC Global).

The landed housing comprises of Sandy Island (18 bungalows by YTL Corporation & LP World), Pearl Island (19 bungalows by Ximeng Land Pte Ltd), Elevation Golf Villas (20 strata-landed by Elevation Developments) and others.