The Pearl Bank Apartments was the first all-housing project to be undertaken in the Urban Renewal Department of the Housing and Development Board‘s Sale of Sites programme. It was the programme’s third sale in 1969, aimed at rejuvenating the Central Area and providing more residential options for the middle and upper-middle families.[2] Pearl Bank Apartments was one of the responses and initiatives introduced to intensify land use for residential purposes, alongside People’s Park Complex located just nearby in Chinatown and Golden Mile Complex on the eastern edge of Singapore’s Central Business District (CBD).
With a height of 113 m (371 ft),[3][4] the Pearl Bank Apartments was the tallest residential building in Singapore when it was completed in June 1976. It sits on a 8,000 m2 (86,000 sq ft) 99-year leasehold site.
Sale of Site
On 4 August 2007, the Pearl Bank Apartments site was put up for an en bloc sale.[5][6][7] The tender closed on 18 September 2007, but fetched no bids. Another tender closed on 19 February 2008, failing again, and the collective sale agreement lapsed on 1 August 2008.[8]
On 13 February 2018, Pearl Bank Apartments was finally sold to CapitaLand for $728 million in a private treaty collective sale at the residents’ reserved price.[9] Owners received their payouts as well as a notice to move out of Pearl Bank Apartments by end-April of 2019.[10] Whereas the existing blocks had only 280 units of generally larger sizes, CapitaLand said it planned for around 800 units for the replacement. There was no mention of preserving the old structure.
Planned Redevelopment of Site
In May 2019, a 39-storey condominium to be named One Pearl Bank was unveiled by CapitaLand as its replacement by 2023. It features two curved towers connected by a “halo” sky bridge that will light up like a beacon at night.[11]
One Pearl Bank is designed by Serie+Multiply, a joint venture between London-based Serie Architects and Singapore-based Multiply Architects. The development will house a total of 774 apartments.[12]
Source – Wikipedia