Emerald Garden
Overview & Key Facts
Emerald Garden is a 265-unit condominium on Club Street in District 1, sitting at the heart of one of Singapore’s most distinctive and historically layered urban precincts. Developed by Oxford Gardens Pte Ltd, the property holds a 999-year lease commencing from 1827 — leaving approximately 198 years on the title, a tenure profile that is functionally indistinguishable from freehold for all practical financing, CPF, and planning purposes.
Club Street is not an ordinary Singapore residential address. It is a conservation enclave of restored Peranakan and Chinese shophouses, anchored by one of the city-state’s most established food-and-beverage corridors, and hemmed by the heritage streets of Chinatown, Ann Siang Hill, and Tanjong Pagar. Emerald Garden places residents at the cultural and lifestyle intersection of these neighbourhoods — within walking distance of two MRT stations, the Central Business District, and a density of cafes, restaurants, wine bars, and independent food concepts that few other Singapore residential addresses can rival.
With 265 units averaging $2,428,640 per transaction at approximately $2,202 PSF, Emerald Garden sits at a premium relative to broader D1 resale activity — a premium that reflects the conservation streetscape, the 999-year tenure, and the lifestyle draw of the Club Street address. Average rental transactions are recorded at $5,131 per month, implying a gross yield of approximately 2.5% — a figure characteristic of CBD-fringe trophy addresses where capital value and address prestige tend to outpace pure yield metrics.
The development’s central value proposition is the combination of an outstanding CBD-fringe address, an effectively perpetual tenure profile, and a community scale that is materially larger than the boutique shophouse conversions that dominate the Club Street conservation zone — while retaining the heritage neighbourhood character that makes this part of D1 genuinely distinctive in Singapore’s residential landscape.
Location & Connectivity
Emerald Garden occupies Club Street in the Chinatown–Tanjong Pagar–Ann Siang Hill precinct of District 1. This is one of the few parts of Singapore where the urban fabric remains visibly pre-war: low-rise shophouse conservation rows, narrow cobbled-effect streets, mature rain trees, and a street life defined by independent F&B operators rather than mall retailers. The address places residents in a heritage enclave that is simultaneously a premier lifestyle destination and a five-minute walk from Singapore’s Central Business District.
MRT connectivity is strong from two independent lines. Tanjong Pagar MRT (EW15) on the East West Line is approximately 600–800 metres to the south — a 7–10 minute walk through the conservation streetscape. Chinatown MRT (NE4/DT19), the North East Line and Downtown Line interchange, is approximately 500–700 metres to the north-west. The dual-station access to three separate MRT lines — EWL, NEL, and DTL — from a single residential address is exceptional. From Tanjong Pagar, residents have direct EWL service to Raffles Place, City Hall, and Changi Airport. From Chinatown, the Downtown Line provides rapid access to Marina Bay, Bugis, and Botanic Gardens; the North East Line serves Dhoby Ghaut, Little India, and Harbourfront.
The lifestyle geography surrounding Club Street is singular. Ann Siang Hill and Club Street together form Singapore’s most concentrated heritage dining and drinking precinct: dozens of independently operated restaurants, wine bars, natural wine shops, craft cocktail bars, and specialty cafés within a five-minute walk of the development. Maxwell Food Centre, one of Singapore’s most celebrated hawker centres, is under 10 minutes on foot. The Tanjong Pagar Plaza wet market and hawker centre is similarly close. Keong Saik Road, a parallel heritage street with its own cluster of boutique hotels, restaurants, and bars, is within the immediate precinct.
For daily errands, Cold Storage at Raffles Place and the Chinatown Complex market provide grocery access. The Tanjong Pagar Plaza HDB commercial block offers a full range of neighbourhood services. For larger retail, VivoCity and HarbourFront are accessible via MRT from Tanjong Pagar, and ION Orchard or Takashimaya are under 20 minutes via the EWL. The precinct is not a mall-adjacent address — it is an urban village address, and residents who value that distinction cite it as a primary reason for choosing the location.
The immediate neighbourhood’s conservation zoning provides a structural planning protection that pure CBD high-rise addresses cannot offer: the URA Conservation Area designation means the shophouse streetscapes surrounding Emerald Garden cannot be redeveloped into towers or malls. The low-rise character of Club Street, Ann Siang Hill, and the surrounding Chinatown conservation zone is legally protected, preserving the neighbourhood character for the full remaining tenure of the development’s 999-year lease.
Schools & Education
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Outram Secondary School | secondary | ~1.2 km |
| Cantonment Primary School | primary | ~1.5 km |
| Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) | primary | ~1.6 km |
| Singapore Management University | tertiary | ~1.7 km |
| School of the Arts | jc | ~1.8 km |
| Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts | tertiary | ~2.0 km |
Facilities
Emerald Garden’s facilities reflect the development’s era and its 265-unit community scale. The standard condominium amenity package — swimming pool, gymnasium, function room, BBQ facilities, and landscaped common areas — provides the practical infrastructure expected of a D1 residential development, delivered at a community scale that keeps common facilities from becoming overcrowded. Twenty-four-hour security and managed access are in place, consistent with the CBD-fringe residential environment.
The development’s facilities are not its primary selling point, and buyers who prioritise amenity-grade infrastructure — lap pools, sky lounges, co-working spaces, or lifestyle club facilities — will find that newer D1 and D2 developments offer a more comprehensive facilities deck. Emerald Garden’s proposition is the address, the tenure, and the neighbourhood character rather than within-compound amenity competition. This is a structural characteristic of the development that is honestly acknowledged: residents who choose Club Street choose it for the street, not the gym.
“The facilities are functional but not flashy. What you’re paying for here is the location and the neighbourhood. Step outside and you have some of the best food and bars in Singapore within two minutes. That’s the amenity.”
— Resident review via PropertyGuru
The landscaping within the development provides a meaningful respite from the urban density of the surrounding conservation streets. The pool area offers a private outdoor space that Club Street’s immediate environs — largely hardscape shophouse rows — do not replicate. For residents who work from home or who use the development as a quiet base between the activity of the surrounding precinct, the compound’s greenery and pool provide genuine daily value.
Unit Sizes & Layout
Emerald Garden’s 265 units span a range of configurations suited to both owner-occupier and investment profiles at the D1 CBD-fringe market segment. The average transaction size and PSF data — $2,428,640 at approximately $2,202 PSF — positions the development at a premium within D1’s conservation precinct segment, reflecting a unit size profile that is consistent with the pre-war footprint constraints of the Club Street conservation area.
Units in conservation precinct developments like Emerald Garden tend toward layouts that reflect the original plot geometry of the conservation block rather than the regular rectangular floor plates of purpose-built tower condominiums. This means some units will have irregular shapes, internal corridors of varying widths, and room orientations that differ from tower-format condominiums of the same era. Buyers should inspect individual units carefully and request floor plans to assess specific layout efficiency, as configuration quality can vary meaningfully across the 265-unit stock.
The Club Street address imposes a low-rise or medium-rise built form consistent with the conservation streetscape — units are unlikely to command tower-floor views of the CBD skyline. Instead, orientations typically look out over the conservation shophouse roofscape, Ann Siang Hill greenery, or the internal compound landscaping. This is an aesthetic entirely consistent with the character of the address: buyers choosing Club Street for the heritage neighbourhood character are typically selecting precisely because they do not want a glass-tower high-rise experience.
For the D1 investment buyer, the 999-year tenure profile removes the financing and CPF constraints that affect shorter-leasehold CBD-fringe alternatives. CPF Ordinary Account funds can be fully utilised; standard bank LTV ratios apply without lease-adjustment constraints; and the ownership title is structurally equivalent to freehold for all practical purposes. At $2,202 PSF against a D1 new launch benchmark that is substantially higher, Emerald Garden offers established-development access to the conservation precinct at a meaningful discount to new-build pricing.
| Bedrooms | Transactions | Avg PSF | Avg Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 BR | 7 | $2,169 | $1,930,000 |
| 3 BR | 14 | $2,169 | $2,505,714 |
| 4 BR | 2 | $2,129 | $3,233,444 |
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 23 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,670,000 to $3,516,888, averaging $2,393,778 (~$2,183 psf).
Rents range from $2,800 to $8,500 per month across 631 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 2.6%.
Price Appreciation
From 2021 to 2026, the average PSF has appreciated by 11.6% (from $2,032 to $2,267 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The most direct comparables for Emerald Garden are other freehold or long-leasehold residential developments within the Chinatown–Tanjong Pagar–Ann Siang conservation precinct of D1 and D2. Spottiswoode Residences at Spottiswoode Park Road (D2, freehold, 351 units, 2014) offers a newer construction vintage and a larger unit count at a similar CBD-fringe address. Its 2014 TOP means fittings and finishes are substantially newer than Emerald Garden, and the freehold title is structurally equivalent to a 999-year lease for CPF and financing purposes. The trade-off is the address: Spottiswoode Park Road does not have the conservation streetscape and lifestyle density of Club Street, and the development is positioned on a wider arterial road rather than a heritage conservation lane.
The Clift on McCallum Street (D1, freehold, 312 units, 2011) represents the new-generation serviced-apartment-style D1 development — a hotel-like facilities deck, compact unit configurations, and a Tanjong Pagar MRT-adjacent address. The Clift’s location is closer to the Tanjong Pagar office cluster and the newer Guoco Tower precinct, but the immediate street environment is commercial and transitional rather than conservation heritage. For buyers who prioritise amenity infrastructure, compact urban pied-à-terre unit formats, and proximity to the Tanjong Pagar business hub, The Clift is a strong alternative. For buyers who prioritise the conservation neighbourhood character and lifestyle density of Club Street, Emerald Garden offers an address environment that The Clift cannot replicate.
Within the conservation enclave itself, smaller boutique developments and shophouse conversions compete with Emerald Garden for the same buyer profile but at lower unit counts and correspondingly thinner liquidity. Developments of 20–50 units on Ann Siang Hill, Duxton Hill, or Tras Street provide comparable heritage address access but with significantly fewer units to absorb market transactions, resulting in longer average time-on-market and less price discovery data. Emerald Garden’s 265 units provide relative liquidity and a more established transaction history that supports valuation confidence for financing and resale planning.
Against pure CBD new launches — projects like Newport Residences or One Shenton in the Marina Bay–Shenton Way corridor — Emerald Garden’s $2,202 PSF is materially below new-launch D1 pricing, which has consistently exceeded $3,000–$3,500 PSF for recent launches in the Marina Bay precinct. The trade-off is construction vintage and unit finishes, but the 999-year tenure, conservation address, and established community character are genuine differentiators that new launches in glass-tower formats cannot provide.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMERALD GARDEN | 999 yrs lease commencing from 1827 | 1998 | 265 | $2,183 |
| ONE MARINA GARDENS | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2023 | 2025 | 937 | $2,957 |
| THE SAIL @ MARINA BAY | 99-year leasehold | 2008 | 1,111 | $2,011 |
| MARINA ONE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2011 | 2018 | 1,042 | $2,323 |
| UNION SQUARE RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2024 | 366 | $3,159 |
| ONE SHENTON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2005 | 2010 | 341 | $1,774 |
Lease Decay Analysis
The 99-year lease runs from 1998, meaning approximately 28 years have already been consumed. Roughly 71 years remain — still comfortably within the range where most banks will offer full financing without restrictions.
| Year | Lease remaining | Implication |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (now) | ~71 years | Full bank financing available |
| 2028 | ~69 years | CPF usage still unrestricted for most buyers |
| 2037 | ~59 years | Approaching 60-year threshold — CPF limits begin for some |
| 2057 | ~39 years | Significant financing restrictions for next buyer |
| 2097 | Expiry | Lease reverts to state |
For a buyer purchasing today with a 10-year horizon (exit around 2036), the lease situation is essentially a non-issue — you’d be selling a property with ~61 years remaining, which is still very bankable. The risk profile changes for longer holds.
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates EMERALD GARDEN across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Living on Club Street is like nothing else in Singapore. The food, the bars, the history — you can walk everywhere. We have been here three years and would not swap this address for any other in D1.”
— Owner review via PropertyGuru
“We rent here as expats and it is brilliant for the CBD commute — fifteen minutes to the office on foot, or two stops on the MRT from Tanjong Pagar. Maxwell hawker is ten minutes away. This neighbourhood has everything.”
— Tenant review via 99.co
“The unit needed a full renovation when we bought it, and we budgeted accordingly. After the renovation it is outstanding — the address, the character of the neighbourhood, the MRT access. The 999-year lease also gave us full CPF usage which made the financing straightforward.”
— Owner review via EdgeProp
“The management is responsive and the security is good. The pool area is a nice retreat after the bustle of Club Street outside. For the lifestyle the address provides, the facilities are completely adequate — the neighbourhood is the amenity.”
— Resident review via SRX
The resident and tenant feedback pattern at Emerald Garden is consistent across platforms: strong satisfaction with the neighbourhood lifestyle, MRT access, and CBD proximity; clear awareness among buyers of the renovation requirements for older units; and broad appreciation for the 999-year tenure profile and its CPF and financing advantages. The resident mix skews toward expatriate professionals working in the CBD, Singaporean PMET owner-occupiers who prioritise urban walkability and the Club Street lifestyle, and investment buyers attracted by the tenure quality and heritage precinct address. Long tenancies are common, reflecting genuine place attachment to the Club Street enclave rather than a transient tenant base.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Club Street conservation address — URA-protected heritage precinct permanently preserves low-rise shophouse streetscape; no high-rise redevelopment risk
- 999-year lease from 1827 (~198yr remaining) — freehold-equivalent for CPF usage, standard bank LTV, and planning purposes
- Three MRT lines within walking distance: EWL (Tanjong Pagar, ~700m), NEL + DTL interchange (Chinatown, ~600m)
- CBD-fringe walkability — Raffles Place and Shenton Way office clusters reachable on foot in 10–15 minutes
- Exceptional lifestyle density immediately outside: Ann Siang Hill, Club Street F&B corridor, Maxwell Food Centre, Keong Saik Road
- $2,202 PSF — materially below D1 new-launch benchmark ($3,000+ PSF at recent launches) for an effectively freehold address
- Strong expat and professional tenant demand: $5,131/month average rent with a proven tenant base drawn by CBD proximity and neighbourhood character
- Facilities deck is basic relative to newer D1 condominiums — no lap pool, sky lounge, or lifestyle-grade amenity hub
- Older development vintage: kitchens, bathrooms, and unit fittings in unrenewed units will require a full renovation budget
- Low-rise to medium-rise built form — no elevated CBD skyline views; units overlook conservation roofscape and internal landscaping
- Gross yield ~2.5% is below Singapore residential average — premium conservation address compresses yield relative to more yield-efficient D1 alternatives
- Limited large-format retail immediately adjacent — nearest supermarket and mall require MRT or short drive
Verdict
Emerald Garden’s investment and ownership case rests on three pillars that are difficult to replicate elsewhere in Singapore’s residential market. The first is the Club Street conservation address — a heritage precinct with URA conservation zone protection that permanently preserves the low-rise shophouse streetscape, providing a neighbourhood character that new-build developments cannot manufacture and that surrounding zoning prevents from being eroded by high-rise redevelopment. The second is the 999-year lease from 1827, which delivers freehold-equivalent tenure for CPF usage, bank financing, and planning purposes with approximately 198 years remaining. The third is pricing that sits meaningfully below current D1 new-launch benchmarks, offering access to one of Singapore’s most culturally distinctive residential addresses at an established-development discount.
The development’s core limitation — facilities that do not match the amenity decks of newer D1 condominiums — is real but contextually appropriate. Residents choosing Club Street for its heritage neighbourhood, its food-and-beverage ecosystem, its conservation streetscape, and its three-line MRT access are not typically the buyers who weight within-compound amenity infrastructure most heavily. The neighbourhood is genuinely world-class by any urban quality-of-life measure; the facilities are functional and maintained. The mismatch between buyer expectations and on-site amenity is manageable for buyers who understand what the Club Street address provides and what it does not.
The gross yield of approximately 2.5% — based on $5,131 average monthly rent against $2,428,640 average capital value — is below the broader D1 average and below what more yield-driven compact-unit CBD condominiums produce. This is an intrinsic feature of the premium conservation heritage address: capital value has been bid up by the address scarcity and tenure quality, compressing the yield ratio. For investment buyers whose thesis is capital preservation and long-term appreciation in a structurally irreplaceable location, this yield compression is a feature rather than a defect. For yield-first investors, alternatives in D1 and D2 with lower PSF and higher rental-to-price ratios provide a better yield profile.
Emerald Garden is the right answer for buyers who want an effectively perpetual claim on one of Singapore’s most distinctive heritage residential addresses — CBD-fringe, conservation-protected, three-line MRT access — at a meaningful discount to new-launch D1 pricing, and who understand that the neighbourhood is the primary amenity.
For expatriate and Singaporean professionals working in the CBD, the development’s walkability to the Shenton Way–Tanjong Pagar office cluster and its dual-station MRT access across three lines make it one of D1’s most practically convenient residential addresses. For owner-occupiers who value urban cultural density, the Club Street F&B scene, Maxwell Food Centre, and the surrounding heritage precinct provide a quality-of-life fabric that purpose-built residential precincts cannot replicate. The 999-year tenure removes the structural financing constraints of shorter-leasehold CBD alternatives, making Emerald Garden one of the few D1 addresses where full CPF utilisation is available alongside a genuine conservation heritage neighbourhood address.