Onze @ Tanjong Pagar
Overview & Key Facts
Onze @ Tanjong Pagar is a boutique freehold development at 11 Kee Seng Street in District 2 — a 56-unit residential tower completed by Heeton Holdings Limited in 2018. Rising 19 storeys from a 14,781 sq ft site, the project stacks residential units from the 5th floor upward above 13 ground-floor commercial units (7 shops and 6 restaurants), producing an uncommon mixed-use vertical that animates the street podium while insulating residents from direct street-level noise.
The name is a nod to its street address — “Onze” being French for eleven — and the development carries that continental flair through its two-pool configuration: a ground-level lap pool with infinity-edge glass panels and a rooftop “Solitaire Club” with a 15-metre infinity pool, cabanas, and bar area. For a development of only 56 residential households, the facility-per-unit ratio is genuinely impressive, and Heeton’s execution on the site reflects an understanding that boutique buyers in the CBD fringe value quality of amenity over quantity of accommodation.
The data profile tells a characteristically illiquid boutique story. Only one resale caveat is on record at S$1,270,000 (approximately S$2,226 psf), alongside a richer rental dataset of 133 transactions averaging S$4,016 per month, producing a gross yield of 3.64%. For investors, that yield sits comfortably above the D2 average and compares favourably with leasehold alternatives in the Tanjong Pagar – Shenton Way corridor at higher psf entry points. For owner-occupiers, the freehold title and proximity to four MRT stations — Prince Edward Road CC at 340 m, Tanjong Pagar EW at 530 m, Maxwell TE at 640 m, and Shenton Way TE at 680 m — make this one of the best-connected small-scale freehold addresses in Singapore’s CBD fringe.
Location & Connectivity
Kee Seng Street is a short one-way slip road running off Tanjong Pagar Road into the Tanjong Pagar conservation district, flanked by pre-war shophouses and anchored by Maxwell Food Centre 300 m to the north. The immediate streetscape is a working mix of heritage F&B, boutique retail, and the residential towers that have risen on the remaining freehold land parcels over the past decade. It is an address that feels simultaneously urban and contained — none of the arterial noise of Shenton Way or Robinson Road, but within a five-minute walk of both.
Rail access is exceptional by any Singapore standard and extraordinary by boutique-condo standards. Prince Edward Road MRT (Circle Line) at 340 m is the closest station, bringing the CCL within easy walking distance for cross-island connectivity via Dhoby Ghaut or Paya Lebar interchange. Tanjong Pagar MRT (East-West Line) at 530 m provides the most direct link to Raffles Place (one stop, under 3 minutes) and Changi Airport. Maxwell MRT (Thomson-East Coast Line) at 640 m and Shenton Way MRT (also TEL) at 680 m give residents two TEL access points for direct north-south service to Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay, and Woodlands. Outram Park MRT at 690 m offers a third interchange, connecting EW, NE, and TEL lines in one station. No other 56-unit boutique in Singapore sits within 700 m of four distinct MRT stations on three separate lines.
Day-to-day logistics are well-covered at walkable distances. Maxwell Food Centre is 300 m away and remains one of Singapore’s most celebrated hawker centres. Tanjong Pagar Plaza (FairPrice, clinics, banks) is approximately 400 m. Chinatown Point, Far East Square, and the Telok Ayer conservation corridor all sit within 600 m. Cantonment Primary School is at 980 m and Outram Secondary School at 1.23 km — not walking-distance primaries, but serviceable for families with older children. The CBD park-connector network provides car-free routes to Marina Bay and the Singapore River for morning runners and cyclists.
Schools & Education
1 primary school within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Cantonment Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Outram Secondary School | secondary | ~1.2 km |
Facilities
For a 56-unit development on a 14,781 sq ft site, the facilities at Onze are a minor engineering feat. Heeton Holdings managed to deliver two distinct aquatic environments: a ground-level lap pool with infinity-edge glass panels opening to deck chairs and landscaping, and a rooftop “Solitaire Club” featuring a 15-metre infinity pool, cabanas, lounge seating, and a bar area with what is arguably one of the better urban rooftop views in the Tanjong Pagar district. Supplementary amenities include outdoor fitness stations, community gardens, a children’s playground, and a BBQ area — a facility stack that any development with 200+ units would consider reasonable, delivered across a community of 56 households.
The trade-off for that generosity is higher monthly maintenance fees. With 56 units funding two pools, a rooftop club, gardens, and a three-level car park, owners can expect maintenance contributions that are above the boutique average. Exact MCST budgets vary, but buyers should confirm current quarterly contributions before committing rather than assuming boutique-scale economics will translate to small-development fee levels.
“The developers managed to squeeze such a long swimming pool into a boutique footprint — and then add a second one on the rooftop. For 56 units that is remarkable. The rooftop bar area at sunset with the Tanjong Pagar skyline is genuinely special — you don’t see that at developments three times the size.”
— Property reviewer commentary on facility execution via Stacked Homes
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 1 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $1,270,000 to $1,270,000, averaging $1,270,000.
Rents range from $2,600 to $8,000 per month across 133 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 3.6%.
Neighbourhood Comparison
The most instructive comparisons for Onze are the three freehold condos that now frame the same Tanjong Pagar – Outram submarket. Newport Residences (freehold, 246 units) is the premium benchmark: at S$3,127 psf it commands a 40% premium over Onze’s single recorded transaction, reflecting larger units, a higher-specification finish, and a more prominent Anson Road address with a larger facility suite. Sky Everton (freehold, 262 units, S$2,800 psf) sits closer to Everton Park and the new Cantonment MRT, offering the same freehold advantage with a stronger family-units thesis at 25% above Onze’s psf. Icon (99-year leasehold, 646 units, S$1,794 psf) is the leasehold foil: substantially cheaper in psf terms but with lease decay already baked in and a tenure that structurally limits appreciation relative to the freehold cohort over a 20+ year hold. One Bernam (99-year, S$2,587 psf) occupies the leasehold quality tier below Newport, offering newer finishes on a 99-year clock.
Onze’s psf of S$2,226 sits in a narrow band between Icon’s leasehold baseline (S$1,794) and Sky Everton’s freehold benchmark (S$2,800) — arguably the most defensible position in the comparison set. A buyer paying S$2,226 psf freehold gets a better tenure argument than Icon at S$1,794 and a meaningful 20–26% entry discount versus Sky Everton and Newport Residences. The yield at 3.64% is the strongest in the set, reflecting that rental demand in Tanjong Pagar is not unit-size dependent in the way that capital values are — a 506 sq ft one-bedroom near four MRT lines commands a rent per square foot that larger units cannot achieve on an absolute-rent basis. For yield-focused investors, Onze’s compact size is actually the yield driver, not a limitation.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ONZE @ TANJONG PAGAR | Freehold | 2018 | 56 | — |
| ONE BERNAM | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2019 | 2021 | 364 | $2,587 |
| NEWPORT RESIDENCES | Freehold | 2026 | 487 | $3,127 |
| ICON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2002 | 2007 | 646 | $1,794 |
| SKYSUITES@ANSON | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2008 | — | 360 | $2,230 |
| SKY EVERTON | Freehold | 2021 | 262 | $2,800 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates ONZE @ TANJONG PAGAR across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
“The private lift lobby to your unit is the detail that gets you. You press the button, the doors open into your entrance hall. In a 56-unit building that is not a remarkable security feature — it is just the daily experience of arriving home. Once you’ve had it you find it difficult to go back to shared corridors.”
— Owner occupant perspective on unit privacy via PropertyGuru community discussion
“I work at Marina Bay Financial Centre. The commute is two stops on the East-West Line from Tanjong Pagar, or I walk along the park connector in 20 minutes when the weather is fine. Maxwell hawker centre is breakfast every morning. I have not taken a taxi to work in three years. The location is just irreplaceable.”
— Resident tenant experience with CBD logistics via Stacked Homes community thread
“The rooftop pool on a weekday evening with the Tanjong Pagar skyline and the lights coming on in the CBD towers is one of those Singapore experiences that makes you remember why you chose to live here. Fifty-six units means you almost always have the cabanas to yourself. That does not happen at a 200-unit development.”
— Resident perspective on boutique rooftop amenity via EdgeProp listing discussion
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Four MRT stations within 700m: Prince Edward Road CC (340m), Tanjong Pagar EW (530m), Maxwell TE (640m), Shenton Way TE (680m) — unmatched multi-line access for a boutique freehold
- Freehold tenure — structural advantage over Icon (99yr leasehold) and One Bernam (99yr leasehold) in the same submarket
- Rooftop "Solitaire Club" — 15m infinity pool, cabanas, bar area with CBD skyline views; exceptional for 56 units
- Private lift lobby to every unit — uncommon feature that materially improves daily privacy and living quality
- Strong rental track record: 133 transactions, avg S$4,016/month, gross yield 3.64% — among the best-documented boutique income histories in D2
- Below-psf entry vs freehold peers: 29% below Sky Everton (S$2,800 psf), 29% below Newport Residences (S$3,127 psf)
- Maxwell Food Centre 300m — one of Singapore's top hawker centres at near-doorstep distance
- Mixed-use podium: 13 commercial units on ground floor (F&B, shops) bring vibrancy to the streetscape without retail-mall noise above podium
- Two distinct pool environments (ground lap pool + rooftop infinity pool) for a 56-unit building
- Tanjong Pagar conservation heritage precinct: boutique retail, restored shophouses, walkable street character
- Dual-key option on 3-BR units — income-splitting flexibility without a second property purchase
- Outram Park interchange (EW/NE/TE) at 690m — all three lines accessible from one station within walking distance
- Only 1 resale caveat on record at S$2,226 psf — extremely thin price discovery; all valuation anchors are directional only
- 1-BR units at 506–570 sqft are compact even by Singapore standards; kitchen is very tight and not suited to serious cooking
- No 2-BR tier in the unit mix — buyers needing 2-bedroom layout must choose between 570 sqft (1-BR) and 1,044 sqft (3-BR) with no middle option
- En-bloc score 39/100 — below average; mixed-use commercial podium complicates collective sale ownership structure
- Higher maintenance fees likely — two pools, rooftop club, gardens, and 3-level car park across only 56 contributing households
- Ground-floor commercial activity (restaurants, shops) generates cooking smells and foot traffic that affect lower-floor units directly above podium
- No dedicated guest parking — all three car park levels are residential-allocated; visitors must use paid street parking
- High-rise neighbours create some shadowing in lower residential floors; upper floors are notably better for light and views
- Closest MRT (Prince Edward Road CC) at 340m is still a walk in Singapore's heat and rain; not as immediate as a 100–200m walk-in station
Verdict
Onze @ Tanjong Pagar is one of the most concentrated expressions of Singapore’s CBD-fringe freehold boutique thesis: a small building on a small site, delivering disproportionately high connectivity, a genuinely memorable rooftop amenity, and a freehold title that the surrounding leasehold competition cannot match. Its ShiokNest score of 60/100 reflects a development that excels decisively on the dimensions it was designed to excel on — MRT access (9.0/10), freehold lease (9.5/10), and neighbourhood quality (8.5/10) — while accepting structural constraints on value (7.5/10) and unit size (7.5/10).
The investment case rests on three pillars. First, freehold tenure at S$2,226 psf in D2 is below the sub-market average and well below incoming freehold competition: Newport Residences is transacting around S$3,127 psf and Sky Everton around S$2,800 psf, both freehold. Second, a rental yield of 3.64% on 133 transactions is a robust dataset — not one or two cherry-picked deals, but a consistent income history demonstrating that the CBD-adjacent location generates reliable tenant demand across market cycles. Third, the incoming TEL extension has added Maxwell and Shenton Way stations since the building’s 2018 completion, a structural connectivity upgrade that was not priced into early buyers’ acquisition costs and continues to support capital value.
The honest caveats: one resale caveat on record (S$1,270,000 / S$2,226 psf) makes price discovery thin; the compact one-bedroom layouts are an acquired taste in a city that now routinely delivers 600–700 sq ft “two-bedrooms” at new launches; and the en-bloc score of 39/100 is below average, reflecting the 56-unit scale — achievable in principle but complicated by the commercial podium ownership structure and the mixed-use title. The ideal resident is a CBD professional or investor household that values direct transit access and rooftop amenity over space and values the FH land-tenure advantage compounding over a 10–20 year hold. For that profile, Onze occupies a position that is genuinely hard to replicate within its price band.