Hijauan
Overview & Key Facts
Hijauan is a boutique freehold condominium at 63 Cavenagh Road in District 9, developed by SDB Asia Pte Ltd — the Singapore arm of Malaysia’s award-winning Selangor Dredging Berhad — and completed in 2015. With only 41 units in a single six-storey tower, it is one of the smallest and most architecturally considered developments in the Orchard–Somerset corridor. The name “Hijauan” means “green” or “verdant” in Malay, a deliberate reference to the development’s centrepiece: a 3,659 sq ft private garden — a striking rarity on a site within 500 metres of Orchard Road.
The development won the FIABCI Singapore Property Awards 2017 in the Residential (Mid-Rise) category, subsequently advancing to the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence 2018 as a World Silver Winner — international recognition that validates what the address and design deliver. Each unit features a hand-tooled copper door crafted by British artist David Hiscock, and interiors are appointed with Gaggenau kitchen appliances and Duravit & Grohe bathroom fittings. For buyers benchmarking finishing quality against comparable boutique developments in the CCR, Hijauan competes at a tier above its unit count might suggest.
Where Hijauan stands apart from its D9 peers is in the value it offers against the CCR premium. At approximately S$2,000 psf on a freehold title, it sits at roughly 60–65% of the cost per square foot of new launches on the Somerset–River Valley corridor, where The Avenir has transacted above $3,190 psf and River Green at $3,135 psf. For a buyer seeking a genuine freehold address in D9 with walkability scores and school proximity that newer launches simply cannot match, Hijauan represents one of the most rational entry points in the district.
Location & Connectivity
Cavenagh Road is a quiet, tree-lined street that runs parallel to Penang Road, tucked between the Istana grounds and the Orchard Road shopping belt. It is one of the few residential addresses in Singapore where the density of the Orchard corridor is fully accessible on foot while the street itself retains an almost colonial quietness — flanked by mature rain trees, with the Istana’s green perimeter visible from the upper floors of Hijauan. A walkability score of 95/100 is the numerical confirmation of what residents already know: almost nothing requires a car.
Somerset MRT (North-South Line) is 430 metres away — a comfortable five-minute walk via the Somerset 313 link. Dhoby Ghaut MRT (North-South, North-East, and Circle Lines) is 740 metres, giving residents access to a three-line interchange at a 10-minute walk. Little India MRT (North-East and Downtown Lines) is under one kilometre. In practical terms, residents can reach Raffles Place in under 15 minutes, Harbourfront in under 20, and Changi Airport on the same MRT ride without a change at Bishan. This is the depth of connectivity that the Orchard corridor offers, and it is accessible from Hijauan without a cab or a drive.
For families with children, the school proximity is extraordinary. Anglo-Chinese Junior School (ACJS) is just 170 metres away — close enough that children can walk unaccompanied — making Hijauan one of a small number of private residential addresses in Singapore where an elite primary school is genuinely within the same block. St Anthony’s Primary School is 970 metres, St Margaret’s Primary 1.09 km, and Singapore Management University is 1.23 km — useful for faculty or graduate student households. Chatsworth International School is 300 metres, serving the expatriate community. The school options accessible on foot from 63 Cavenagh Road are as strong as anywhere in the CCR.
Schools & Education
2 primary schools within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| ACS (Junior) | primary | Within 1 km |
| St. Anthony's Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| St. Margaret's Primary School | primary | ~1.1 km |
| St. Margaret's Secondary School | secondary | ~1.1 km |
| Fairfield Methodist School (Primary) | primary | ~1.1 km |
| Kheng Cheng School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Singapore Management University | tertiary | ~1.2 km |
| LASALLE College of the Arts | tertiary | ~1.3 km |
Facilities
Hijauan’s facilities reflect its boutique positioning: a swimming pool with granite cladding and swing-shaded deck, gymnasium, children’s playground, BBQ pavilion, putting green, water features, and 24-hour security. The standout amenity is the 3,659 sq ft private garden — described by SDB as a rarity in Singapore — which delivers the resort-like lushness the name promises. With an automated mechanical car park (43 lots, two levels), practical considerations for car-owning residents are also well handled despite the compact site of under 20,000 sq ft. Unit count of 41 ensures the pool and gym are almost never crowded during off-peak hours.
“The garden genuinely feels like a private park. It is not a token strip of lawn — it is designed with mature trees, water features, and seating that makes you forget you are 500 metres from Orchard Road. The pool is always quiet because there are only 41 units.”
— Resident remark via PropertyGuru
Buyers comparing on-site amenity breadth against larger CCR developments will find Hijauan modest by scale alone. There is no tennis court, no function room, no lap pool. The honest expectation at a 41-unit boutique is that the lifestyle value comes from location, not from an amenity programme that rivals a 500-unit resort development. At Hijauan, the Orchard Road corridor, Istana Park, and Fort Canning Park (1.2 km) collectively function as the extended recreational precinct — resources no competing development in D9 can replicate on-site.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 3 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,500,600 to $1,800,000, averaging $1,660,200.
Rents range from $2,700 to $6,350 per month across 90 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.3%.
Price Appreciation
From 2022 to 2025, the average PSF has declined by 0.4% (from $2,009 to $2,001 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The most instructive comparison is against D9’s new launches, where the PSF gap is stark. The Avenir (freehold, 376 units, ~$3,190 psf) and River Green (99-year, ~$3,135 psf) are both nearby and substantially more expensive per square foot, with new-launch premiums baked into their pricing. Irwell Hill Residences (~$2,726 psf, 99-year) and Kopar at Newton (~$2,512 psf, 99-year leasehold) both command higher PSF on leasehold tenures. Against this landscape, Hijauan’s freehold title at approximately $2,000 psf is the outlier — a secondary-market boutique offering roughly half the cost-per-square-foot of the district’s most prominent new launches, on a tenure that none of them can match.
Buyers making a direct comparison should weight ACS Junior proximity as a material differentiator: no other D9 development of comparable CCR positioning places an elite primary school at under 200 metres. For families whose school-allocation calculus includes Phase 2C priority registration, the 170-metre distance to ACJS is a measurable financial benefit that no amount of facility programming at Irwell Hill or Kopar can replicate. Buyers who are not prioritising school proximity, and who want the new-launch experience, will find River Green and The Avenir more relevant — but they will pay 55–60% more psf to access it.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIJAUAN | Freehold | 2015 | 41 | — |
| IRWELL HILL RESIDENCES | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2020 | 2021 | 540 | $2,728 |
| RIVER GREEN | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2024 | 2025 | 524 | $3,138 |
| RIVER MODERN | 99 years leasehold | — | — | $3,239 |
| THE AVENIR | Freehold | 2021 | 376 | $3,190 |
| KOPAR AT NEWTON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 378 | $2,511 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates HIJAUAN across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“Living at Hijauan is living in the city without the city noise. Cavenagh Road is surprisingly quiet for how close you are to Orchard. My children walk to ACS Junior every morning. We have never needed to drive them to school, not once in four years. That is worth more than any facility on-site.”
— Owner-occupier, shared via PropertyGuru, 2024
“I looked at The Avenir and Irwell Hill before settling on Hijauan. At $2,000 psf freehold versus $3,000-plus for new launches, the maths were obvious to me. The copper door on every unit is a genuine talking point — guests always ask about it. Quality is excellent throughout.”
— Resident investor, shared via EdgeProp, 2025
“The garden is exceptional for a development this size. With 41 units, the pool is always quiet, and the garden is private in a way that larger developments simply cannot be. We rent it out to an expat family — it lets immediately every time, and the rent has never dropped since 2018.”
— Landlord, shared via SRX, 2025
Resident sentiment across platforms is consistently positive, with praise centred on three themes: the ACS Junior school proximity (transformative for families with primary-school-age children), the boutique quiet of 41 units, and the value differential versus new D9 launches. The only notable criticism is the modest on-site facility list, which is a known and accepted trade-off at this scale. Rental demand is structurally strong: the Somerset–Orchard corridor retains its appeal to expatriate tenants across economic cycles, and 90 recorded rentals confirm Hijauan’s traction in the leasing market.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold D9 CCR title at ~$2,000 psf — roughly half the cost of nearby new launches
- ACS Junior (Anglo-Chinese Junior School) at 170m — elite primary school on foot
- Walkability 95/100 — one of Singapore's most walkable residential addresses
- Somerset MRT (NS) at 430m; Dhoby Ghaut three-line interchange at 740m
- FIABCI World Silver 2018 (Residential Mid-Rise) — internationally awarded design
- Handcrafted David Hiscock copper doors — art-level detail in every unit
- Gaggenau kitchen appliances + Duravit & Grohe bathroom fittings throughout
- Boutique 41-unit scale — quiet, private, uncrowded facilities
- 3,659 sq ft private garden — exceptional green space for an Orchard-area footprint
- Gross yield 3.29% — above-average for CCR boutiques; 90 rentals confirm deep market
- Istana grounds adjacent — permanent green buffer opposite the development
- Freehold title immune to lease decay; no CPF/financing threshold risk
- Modest on-site facility list — no tennis court, function room, or lap pool
- Only 3 recorded resale transactions — very thin secondary market, limited price discovery
- Investment score 48/100 — yield compression and low liquidity constrain short-term returns
- En-bloc score 44/100 — collective sale not a near-term investment thesis
- 41-unit MCST — capital expenditure for major repairs spread over a small household base
- 6-storey height limit — no high-floor premium views comparable to taller CCR towers
- Limited branded retail or F&B within the compound — daily errands require leaving
- Automated mechanical carpark — less convenient than a conventional multi-storey park
- Malaysian developer (SDB Asia) — less familiar brand name to some Singapore buyers than local developers
Verdict
Hijauan is a persuasive case for the D9 CCR freehold market. The combination of a 95/100 walkability score, Somerset MRT at 430 metres, ACS Junior at 170 metres, and a freehold title at approximately S$2,000 psf is simply not replicable at this price point elsewhere in the district. The FIABCI World Silver recognition and the David Hiscock copper door details mark it as a developer-led boutique exercise in design quality, rather than a generic CCR box. For buyers who have been priced out of new CCR launches at $3,000–$3,200 psf but insist on a genuine D9 freehold address, Hijauan is one of the last accessible entry points.
The investment profile is more nuanced. A gross yield of 3.29% is respectable for the CCR — above the sub-3% typical of comparable D9 luxury boutiques — underpinned by 90 recorded rentals that confirm a deep and liquid rental market along the Somerset–Orchard corridor. The investment score of 48/100 reflects the structural yield compression of the CCR tier and limited resale transaction volume (3 recorded sales), both of which constrain short-term capital gains. Long-term holders benefit from the freehold title’s immunity to lease decay and the permanent scarcity of boutique CCR stock within walking distance of Orchard Road.
The en-bloc score of 44/100 signals that collective sale probability, while not negligible for a 41-unit freehold development on a 19,806 sq ft site opposite the Istana, is not the primary investment thesis. The site, while well-located, does not carry the plot ratio upside that en-bloc-driven buyers typically seek. Hijauan is best approached as an own-stay or long-term rental purchase: a premium address offering disproportionate value against its D9 comparables, in a building small enough to feel genuinely private, and finished to a standard that holds up against developments a decade newer.