Sentosa Cove

Sentosa Cove is an integrated residential-cum-marina resort development on the eastern coast of Sentosa island, to the south of mainland Singapore.¹ It is largely a residential estate, featuring Singapore's first and only gated residential community.² In 2014, there were 2,100 homes that range from high-rise condominiums to luxury bungalows with adjoining private berths for boats.³ As at June 2015, Sentosa Cove was home to a population of more than 5,000 people residing in 2,160 homes.⁴ The development also offers an exclusive marina club with berthing facilities for mega-yachts⁵ as well as a hotel and retail outlets in a centralised commercial precinct.⁶ The master developer is Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), a statutory board.⁷

History
The land that Sentosa Cove sits on consists partly of reclaimed land and partly of what used to be an isle called Buran Darat,⁸ that was situated east of Sentosa.⁹ In the 1970s, the government's plan for Buran Darat was to develop it into a recreational centre with a swimming lagoon and facilities for water sports such as boating and canoeing. There was also a proposal to build a bridge to link it to Sentosa.¹⁰ By the late 1980s, the plans had changed. The narrow channel separating Buran Darat and Sentosa was to be reclaimed, and high-end residential homes, a world-class marina and resort-related facilities were to be developed on this new part of Sentosa.¹¹

In 1992, SDC engaged French architect Bernard Spoerry,¹² known for creating the famed seaside town of Port Grimaud in France, to help draw up a land-use master plan for the development of the area, which was then still referred to as Buran Darat.¹³ McKerrell Lynch Architects from Australia and Klages, Carter & Vail from the United States were later brought in to enhance the concept,¹⁴ which was modelled after Port Grimaud.¹⁵

SDC’s proposal to build a high-quality residential-cum-marina resort development on the eastern coast of Sentosa was incorporated into the Southern Islands development guide plan released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in April 1996.¹⁶ By then, the area had been named Sentosa Cove, with SDC having formed a new subsidiary of the same name in 1995 to focus on the development and management of the area.¹⁷ In October 1996, a bill was passed to amend the Sentosa Development Corporation Act to allow SDC to develop and manage the Sentosa Cove project.¹⁸

While the master plan for Sentosa Cove was being drawn up, SDC proceeded with the necessary works to prepare the area for the upcoming developments.¹⁹ Reclamation works to merge Buran Darat with Sentosa started in November 1991,²⁰ and were completed in September 1993.²¹ Soil improvement works, infrastructure construction and landscaping began in 1994.²² The marina was in operation by 1999 and the sale of land parcels for private development commenced in 2003.²³ In total, SDC reportedly spent about S$250 million on infrastructure development for Sentosa Cove.²⁴

The land sale programme was initially scheduled to start in the second half of 1996,²⁵ but was postponed several times.²⁶ Much of the delay had to do with unfavourable conditions in the property market, such as during the 1998 and 2001 recessions.²⁷ Another obstacle that SDC faced was that the land for Sentosa Cove had to be purchased from the Singapore Land Authority, but the land price proved to be a major obstacle in negotiations.²⁸ Started in the mid-1990s, the negotiations were finally concluded in early 2003²⁹ and the first batch of land parcels was launched for sale in October 2003.³⁰ By 2008, all land parcels had been released for sale.³¹

The residential land sales attracted much interest from individual buyers and developers, both from Singapore and overseas.³² Part of the appeal of the individual bungalow plots stemmed from the fact that their buyers would be able to design and build their dream homes from scratch, as opposed to buying the homes sold by developers. Nonetheless, the various projects launched by developers on Sentosa Cove have also been highly sought after since the first was launched in November 2004.³³

Description
Sentosa Cove covers an area of 117 ha made up mostly of reclaimed land,³⁴ including five artificial islands called Coral Island,³⁵ Paradise Island, Treasure Island,³⁶ Sandy Island and Pearl Island. Most of the land is designated for residential accommodation, with the five islands reserved for bungalows. The residential developments are clustered in two main areas, the northern precinct and the southern precinct.³⁷ In 2014, Sentosa Cove encompasses an estimated 2,100 homes that were mostly made up of condominium units, terrace houses and bungalows.³⁸

As of April 2009, about 1,700 people were already living in Sentosa Cove.³⁹ This number is expected to grow to about 10,000 by 2014 and it is believed that more than half of these residents will be foreigners.⁴⁰ As at June 2015, Sentosa Cove was home to a population of more than 5,000 people residing in 2,160 homes.⁴¹ While foreigners do not face any restrictions in buying the condominiums here, they have to obtain government approval for purchases of terrace houses and bungalows just as in other parts of Singapore. However to make it easier for foreigners to buy landed homes in Sentosa Cove, the government had reduced the time taken for their applications to be approved, reflecting the strategic value that it placed on the project.⁴² The processing time for applications by foreigners to buy landed properties in Singapore usually takes several weeks, but this has been shortened to just two days for purchases in Sentosa Cove.⁴³

In addition to the residential estates, there is also an exclusive marina club in Sentosa Cove called One°15 that is already in operation.⁴⁴ The marina at One°15 has 270 wet berths including 13 for mega-yachts⁴⁵, making it the first in Singapore and one of the few in the world that can accommodate large vessels which were at least 85 ft long.⁴⁶ Complementing the residential and marina developments are a 320-room five-star hotel and a three-storey commercial complex offering a wide range of shops, food and beverage outlets and other amenities.⁴⁷



Author
Valerie Chew



References
1. Chia Siew Chun and Audrey Tan, “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address,” Business Times, 26 September 2008, 68; “Buran Darat Homes May Be Ready By Late '96,” Business Times, 16 February 1994, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
2. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address.” 
3. Joyce Teo, “Sentosa Cove Condo Launched,” Straits Times, 24 November 2004, 10; Kalpana Rashiwala, “Sentosa Cove To Sell Treasure Isle Piecemeal,” Business Times, 11 August 2005, 31. (From NewspaperSG)
4. P. Goy, “Eton House Opening on Sentosa in August,” Straits Times, 1 June 2015. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website)
5. “Facilities,” ONE°15 Marina Club, accessed 3 June 2016; Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1994/95 (Singapore: Sentosa Development Corporation, 1995), 22. (Call no. RCLOS 354.5957092 SDCAR-[AR])
6. Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1998/99 (Singapore: Sentosa Development Corporation, 1999), 34 (Call no. RCLOS 354.5957092 SDCAR-[AR]); D. Chin, “City & Country: Sentosa Cove on a High,” Edge Malaysia, 13 August 2007(From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website); “Sentosa Cove Land Sales Next Year,” Straits Times, 2 October 1996, 26. (From NewspaperSG)
7. Kalpana Rashiwala, “Land Authority Pioneers New Sales Method - Options Contract,” Business Times, 22 October 2003, 1 (From NewspaperSG); “About Us,” Sentosa Cove Singapore, accessed 3 June 2016.  
8. “Sentosa Cove Land Sales Next Year.”
9. “Buran Darat Homes May Be Ready By Late '96,” Business Times, 16 February 1994, 2 (From NewspaperSG); Urban Redevelopment Authority, Southern Islands Planning Area: Planning Report 1996 (Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1996), 18. (Call no. RSING 711.4095957 SIN)
10. “Earmarked for Fun Times - At a Cost of Many Millions.,” Straits Times, 24 September 1978, 16; “Pedestrian Bridge To Link Sentosa and Island,” Straits Times, 7 September 1978, 9. (From NewspaperSG)
11. Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1988/89 (Singapore: Sentosa Development Corporation, 1989), 19. (Call no. RCLOS 354.5957092 SDCAR-[AR])
12. Sentosa Cove Singapore, “About Us.”  
13. Chin, “City & Country: Sentosa Cove on a High”; Michelle Low, “Land Sales This Year for Sentosa Waterfront Homes,” Business Times, 26 April 1996, 1 (From NewspaperSG); “Sentosa Cove Land Sales Next Year.”
14. Sentosa Cove Singapore, “About Us.”  
15. “Buran Darat Homes May Be Ready By Late '96”; Chin, “City & Country: Sentosa Cove on a High.”
16. Urban Redevelopment Authority, Southern Islands Planning Area: Planning Report 1996, 18–20; Michelle Low, “Land Sales This Year for Sentosa Waterfront Homes.”
17. Carol Eng, “Sentosa Residential Project Stalls Over $500M Gulf,” Business Times, 16 February 2000, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
18. “Sentosa Cove Land Sales Next Year.”
19. Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1991/92 (Singapore: Sentosa Development Corporation, 1992), 19 (Call no. RCLOS 354.5957092 SDCAR-[AR]); Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1993/94 (Singapore: Sentosa Development Corporation, 1994), 18. (Call no. RCLOS 354.5957092 SDCAR-[AR])
20. Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1991/92, 19.
21. Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1993/94, 18.
22. Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 1994/95, 21–22.
23. Rashiwala, “Land Authority Pioneers New Sales Method - Options Contract.”
24. Kalpana Rashiwala, “Sentosa Cove Land Sales Top $1B,” Business Times, 29 June 2006, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
25. Michelle Low, “Land Sales This Year for Sentosa Waterfront Homes,” Business Times, 26 April 1996, 1. (From NewspaperSG)
26. Kalpanan Rashiwala, “Coming Soon – Sentosa Cove's 2,600 Waterfront Homes,” Business Times, 15 October 1999, 1; Kalpana Rashiwala and Andrea Tan, “Sentosa Residential Plans Put on Hold - Again,” Business Times, 8 February 2001, 1; “Sentosa Cove Plots To Be Sold This Year,” Business Times, 4 March 2003, 9. (From NewspaperSG)
27. Rashiwala, “Coming Soon – Sentosa Cove's 2,600 Waterfront Homes”; Rashiwala and Tan, “Sentosa Residential Plans Put on Hold - Again.” 
28. Eng, “Sentosa Residential Project Stalls Over $500M Gulf”; Rashiwala and Tan, “Sentosa Residential Plans Put on Hold - Again.” 
29. “Sentosa Cove Plots To Be Sold This Year.”
30. Rashiwala, “Land Authority Pioneers New Sales Method - Options Contract”; “Sentosa Cove Plots To Be Sold This Year”; Uma Shankari, “Sentosa Cove on Track To Meet Schedules,” Business Times, 25 April 2009, 4. (From NewspaperSG)
31. Shankari, “Sentosa Cove on Track To Meet Schedules.”
32. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address”; Teo, “Sentosa Cove Condo Launched”; Clara Chow, “City & Country: Selling the Good Life,” Edge Singapore, 28 March 2005. (From Factiva via NLB’s eResources website) 
33. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address”; Chow, “City & Country: Selling the Good Life.”
34. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address.”
35. Teo, “Sentosa Cove Condo Launched.”
36. Rashiwala, “Sentosa Cove To Sell Treasure Isle Piecemeal.” 37. Rashiwala, “Sentosa Cove Land Sales Top $1B.”
38. Chow, “City & Country: Selling the Good Life.”
39. Shankari, “Sentosa Cove on Track To Meet Schedules.”
40. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address”; Chin, “City & Country: Sentosa Cove on a High”; Shankari, “Sentosa Cove on Track To Meet Schedules.”
41. Goy, “Eton House Opening on Sentosa in August.” 
42. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address”; Chin, “City & Country: Sentosa Cove on a High.”
43. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address”; Chow, “City & Country: Selling the Good Life.”
44. “ONE°15 Marina Club,” Sentosa Cove Singapore, accessed 3 June 2016.
45. ONE°15 Marina Club, “Facilities.”
46. Alexandra Ho, “Sentosa To Get Exclusive New Marina Club,” Business Times, 8 April 2005, 2. (From NewspaperSG)
47. Chia and Tan “Sentosa Cove a Coveted Address.”



Further resources
Living the Next Lap: Towards a Tropical City of Excellence (Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1991). (Call no. RSING 307.36095957 LIV)

Sentosa Development Corporation, Annual Report 2007/08 (Singapore: Sentosa Development Corporation, 2008). (Call no. RSING 354.5957092 SDCAR-[AR])

Sumiko Tan, Home, Work, Play (Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority, 1999). (Call no. RSING 307.1216095957 TAN)



The information in this article is valid as at 2016 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.