Jui Residences Review- Inspired by Heritage, Designed for Quality Living

Jui Residences is a freehold development that sits on the former National Aerated Water Company site. I used to study in a school at Geylang Bahru and as I walked to the bus stop home along Serangoon Road, it became a daily ritual to always do a stopover at National Aerated Plant and buy Kickapoo from a vending machine near its main gate. It dispensed Kickapoo cheaply at a mere 10 cents per cup and was very popular with a lot of school kids then. As a result, this development held very fond memories for me.  

Strangely, the show flat of Jui Residences is right next to Woodleigh Residences. I had applied for annual leave to visit Woodleigh Residences as I was rather fascinated by staying in an apartment that is right above a shopping mall just like Punggol Watertown Residences and Sengkang Compass Heights. I harbored hope that maybe there will be special star buys around in Woodleigh Residences given the current feeble state of our global economy. When my property agent who was showing me around told me that prices are around S$2,000++ psf,  I nearly fainted as I gasp for breath. Then the agent whispered into my ear: "Yes, I also think the prices here are crazy.....why don't I recommend you a freehold development near the area that is way cheaper than this?" So, my agent then brought me next door to the Jui Residences show flat.   

In December 2016, National Aerated Water Company sold the freehold industrial site for S$47Mil to Selangor Dredging Berhad ("SDB"). SDB paid an additional S$22.66Mil to the local authorities for intensification of usage to a residential site. The total land cost thus translates to an acquisition cost of S$785psf per plot ratio for the land area of 31,705sqft with permissible built up of 88,775sqft of gross floor area based on plot ratio of 2.8. Also, the National Aerated Water building will be partially conserved as stipulated by Urban Redevelopment Authority and integrated into the new development and kept fenceless along Serangoon Road and the river.

Location:

This is a city fringe located freehold property. Coupled with it being just next to Kallang River, residents gets to enjoy river view. Not many properties can boast being near to reservoir or waterbody and I considered it an unique gem that is away from the hustle and bustle of City life. Coming back home to this development thus allows one to enter into a mini resort ambience and at the same time enjoy the convenient location.  

Good size Infinity Lap Pool albeit small landsize.

Amenities and Facilities

There will be 117 units for one tower in this development. Carpark lot is 1 for 1 as well as an additional 5 parking lots for visitors. There will be adequate parking space from B1 to level 4 multistorey carpark. There will not be big fights over parking relative to other developments which has cut down to less than 1 for 1 ratio.

The infinity pool is the main highlight for this development. It looks very impressive and is decent sized considering the small landsize.

However, I was quite disappointed that there was no gymnasium at all. This is good in the sense that this will reduce the yearly maintenance cost. In addition, the developer will link up Jui Residences to the Kallang Park Connector hence probably they make do away with the need for treadmills since residents can just go jogging along the track. 

Units and Finishing

Overall, the layout of the apartments here is quite small. The master bedroom based on my standard are tiny. This seems to be the trending these days. If one wants to buy a 3 bedder unit, please avoid type C1, C2 and C3 which have long entrances that wasted the use of space efficiently. The best will be type C4 as illustrated in the picture above which represented the best 3 bedder layout. Type C4 is also the biggest unit in the entire development.

I do have a serious problem with the finishing given, that is, the tiles for the kitchen wall and bathrooms which I find too "Retro" and does not exude a modern contemporary feel. This maybe due to the integration with the conservation of the older industrial facade for National Aerated Water Company. But one can always choose to change the finishing during the renovation to fit one's desired theme. Rather, it is the location that cannot be altered at will.

Pricing

Pricing is around S$1,700psf and there is still some discount available from the developer. This is a freehold status development. For home buyers who wanted more value for money and do not mind buying 2nd handed projects, one can look for other older developments located closer to Boon Keng MRT direction and also Potong Pasir direction. 

Parting Thoughts

The "Jui" in the name of this project actually means "Water". This is a good city fringe located property that is beside the beautiful Kallang River. The integration with a part of Singapore history that is being earmarked for conservation further enhances the uniqueness of this freehold development.