Uni Building
Overview & Key Facts
Uni Building stands at 224 Telok Kurau Road in District 15 — a freehold boutique apartment that has quietly occupied one of Singapore’s most sought-after residential enclaves since 1983. With just 12 units across the low-rise block, it represents the kind of old-guard East Coast freehold stock that rarely comes to market and, when it does, commands serious attention from buyers who understand D15’s long-term land value story.
The headline number is hard to ignore: at a recent average transacted PSF of $1,595, Uni Building sits at a 43% discount to The Continuum (FH, $2,790 PSF) just a short drive away along Thiam Siew Avenue. That gap reflects age and building age alone — the land beneath is the same freehold District 15 earth that major developers have been acquiring aggressively. PSF has risen from $1,313 to $1,595 over the available transaction window, a 21% appreciation trajectory that underscores the underlying demand pressure.
The June 2024 opening of Marine Terrace MRT (TE27) on the Thomson-East Coast Line changed the calculus for Telok Kurau Road significantly. At 0.61 km from the building, Marine Terrace brings TEL connectivity within reasonable walking distance — something that would have required a bus or car just two years ago. Combined with Kembangan EW at 1.07 km, residents now enjoy access to two separate MRT lines, a rare dual-line advantage that most D15 boutique apartments cannot claim.
Uni Building is not a lifestyle destination with resort amenities. It is a compact, well-located freehold land-play in a neighbourhood that continues to attract new-launch demand at three to four times its current PSF — and for buyers who value perpetual tenure, proximity to Telok Kurau Primary (0.32 km), and the lush, low-rise character of the Telok Kurau enclave, it represents a genuinely compelling value proposition.
Location & Connectivity
Telok Kurau Road has a character distinct from the flashier stretches of D15. It is a tree-lined residential corridor of low-rise apartments, landed houses, and boutique developments — a place where residents still walk to the corner kopitiam and where the streetscape feels genuinely neighbourhood-scaled rather than development-dense. Uni Building sits in this mid-stretch of Telok Kurau Road, benefiting from the enclave’s maturity without being hemmed in by the congestion of Tanjong Katong or Marine Parade Main Road.
The single biggest location upgrade in recent memory is the opening of Marine Terrace MRT (TE27) in June 2024. At approximately 0.61 km from the building — a roughly 8-minute walk — it gives Uni Building residents direct TEL access through Bayshore, Marine Parade, Tanjong Rhu, and onward to the city. The TEL has been a transformative infrastructure project for the entire East Coast corridor, and properties within a kilometre of its stations have re-rated meaningfully in the market.
A secondary MRT anchor is Kembangan EW (1.07 km), which sits on the East-West Line and provides direct access to Paya Lebar interchange, Tampines, Changi Airport, and Raffles Place in the CBD. The combination of TEL and EWL within walkable or short-bus distance is a material advantage that many newer D15 launches — despite their higher price tags — cannot match with two lines.
East Coast Park is reachable in under five minutes by car and under 20 minutes by bicycle via the neighbourhood roads, delivering the weekend coastal lifestyle that defines East Coast living at its best. The Katong and Joo Chiat retail and dining districts — among the most vibrant in Singapore for independent restaurants, heritage shophouses, and specialty cafes — are a short drive or cycle away. Parkway Parade at 1.04 km handles major supermarket and retail needs.
Schools & Education
1 primary school within the 1 km Priority Phase balloting radius.
| School | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Telok Kurau Primary School | primary | Within 1 km |
| Tanjong Katong Girls' School | secondary | ~1.2 km |
| Canadian International School (Tanjong Katong) | international | ~1.2 km |
| Canossa Catholic Primary School | primary | ~1.2 km |
| Broadrick Secondary School | secondary | ~1.2 km |
| EtonHouse International School (Broadrick) | international | ~1.2 km |
| Chung Cheng High School (Main) | secondary | ~1.3 km |
| CHIJ (Katong) Primary | primary | ~1.3 km |
Facilities
Uni Building is a 1983 low-rise boutique apartment of 12 units — and the honest assessment is that shared facilities are minimal. A development of this vintage and scale was never designed around resort amenities. What residents gain in exchange is a quieter, more private environment: no weekend pool crowds, no noisy common BBQ areas, no management committee battles over facility bookings.
The building provides essential covered car parking for residents — a practical consideration given the limited on-street parking along Telok Kurau Road. Security is basic but appropriate for a boutique development of this size.
Where Uni Building compensates for its thin on-site amenity list is in its neighbourhood setting. The East Coast Park recreational corridor, the Katong dining and retail strip, and the Bedok Reservoir Park network are all within easy reach by car or bicycle. Residents effectively substitute the “resort amenity” model for the “live-in-a-neighbourhood” model — trading a lap pool for East Coast Park, and a gym for the outdoor cycling paths that weave through the area.
For buyers comparing this against new launches at double the PSF, the facilities gap is real. For buyers who specifically want a freehold boutique block in a mature neighbourhood, without the maintenance fees and management overhead that come with full-facility developments, Uni Building’s leanness is often a deliberate preference.
Pricing & Market Position
Based on 2 recorded transactions, sale prices range from $2,360,000 to $2,868,000, averaging $2,614,000 (~$1,595 psf).
Rents range from $2,200 to $6,400 per month across 9 rental transactions. Current rental yield sits at approximately 1.8%.
Price Appreciation
From 2023 to 2025, the average PSF has appreciated by 21.5% (from $1,313 to $1,595 psf).
Neighbourhood Comparison
The most instructive comparison is with the two freehold benchmarks in the D15 new-launch wave. The Continuum (Thiam Siew Avenue, FH, 816 units, 2023) achieved an average PSF of approximately $2,790 — making Uni Building 43% cheaper on a per-square-foot basis for the same freehold tenure in the same district. The Continuum offers resort-grade facilities and brand-new fit-outs, but buyers pay a substantial premium for those attributes, and the perpetual tenure of both properties is identical.
Amber Park (FH, $2,540 PSF) offers a more comparable scale and location on Amber Road, but again at a significant PSF premium, reflecting the premium placed on new-build condition and full-facility living. Amber Park buyers are paying for the amenity stack and new finishes; Uni Building buyers are paying for the land and tenure at a fraction of the price.
Against the 99-year leasehold new launches, the story is different in kind. Grand Dunman (99yr, $2,537 PSF) and Emerald of Katong (99yr, $2,640 PSF) are both priced above Uni Building’s current PSF despite carrying leasehold tenure — a structural disadvantage that compounds over decades. For buyers with a long-term holding horizon, paying $1,595 PSF for perpetual tenure against $2,537–$2,640 PSF for 99-year tenure is a straightforward calculation. Tembusu Grand (99yr, $2,461 PSF) presents the same dynamic.
The trade-off in all cases is clear: Uni Building offers no developer warranty, no resort amenities, and a 40-year-old building envelope that will require ongoing maintenance. What it offers is freehold land in a neighbourhood whose new-launch PSF has re-rated dramatically — and for buyers who separate land value from building value, the gap is compelling.
| Development | Tenure | TOP | Units | ~Avg PSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNI BUILDING | Freehold | — | 12 | $1,595 |
| GRAND DUNMAN | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 1,008 | $2,537 |
| EMERALD OF KATONG | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2023 | 2024 | 846 | $2,640 |
| THE CONTINUUM | Freehold | 2023 | 816 | $2,790 |
| TEMBUSU GRAND | 99 yrs lease commencing from 2022 | 2023 | 638 | $2,461 |
| AMBER PARK | Freehold | 2021 | 592 | $2,540 |
ShiokNest Scores
Our proprietary scoring system evaluates UNI BUILDING across multiple dimensions.
What Residents Say
The primary school parent. With Telok Kurau Primary at 0.32 km, Uni Building is one of the closest private residential addresses to the school. The 1 km Phase 2C registration priority for Phase 2C (non-alumni) admissions is a meaningful advantage in a competitive school landscape, and families who have already done the calculation on proximity-based balloting will recognise the value immediately.
The freehold land-play investor. Buyers who track D15 new-launch PSF and compare it against resale boutique pricing will see the gap clearly: $1,595 PSF freehold versus $2,537–$2,790 PSF for competing freehold or recent-vintage 99-year projects. The +21% PSF appreciation already on record suggests the market has started to close this gap, and the TEL opening is a structural driver rather than a temporary one. Rental income from large-format units covers holding costs while the land value story plays out.
The East Coast lifestyle buyer. Professionals and couples who want to live in the lush, low-rise Telok Kurau enclave — cycling to East Coast Park at weekends, dining in Katong and Joo Chiat in the evenings, and working from home with a spacious 1,600+ sqft floorplan — will find the building’s size and character fits the “boutique neighbourhood apartment” brief that newer developments, whatever their PSF, cannot authentically replicate.
Strengths & Weaknesses
- Freehold tenure — perpetual ownership with no lease decay pressure
- Marine Terrace MRT (TE27) at 0.61 km — TEL opened June 2024, direct city connectivity
- Dual MRT access: TEL at 0.61 km + Kembangan EW at 1.07 km — two lines within walkable range
- 43% PSF discount to The Continuum (FH $2,790 PSF) for identical tenure in the same district
- PSF appreciation +21% on record — land value catching up with new-launch re-rating
- Telok Kurau Primary at 0.32 km — one of the closest private addresses to the school
- Generous unit sizes ~1,638–1,798 sqft — spacious 4-bedroom layouts rare at this price point
- Quiet boutique environment — 12 units means no resort-condo crowds or facility contention
- Strong school catchment within 1.3 km: 6+ primary and secondary schools
- East Coast Park, Katong and Joo Chiat lifestyle corridor easily accessible
- 1983 vintage — building fabric and finishes require renovation before move-in
- Minimal shared facilities — no pool, gym, or clubhouse typical of modern condos
- Very thin transaction volume (2 sales) — price discovery is limited; each deal moves averages significantly
- Gross yield of 1.76% is modest — rental income alone does not justify purchase for yield-focused investors
- En-bloc requires 83% (10 of 12) owner consent — consensus is harder in small buildings with mixed motivations
- No guest parking or visitor amenities typical of larger developments
- ShiokNest score of 28/100 reflects data thinness, but resale liquidity is genuinely constrained
Verdict
Uni Building is a specialist play, not a mass-market purchase. Its appeal is precise and its limitations are clear-eyed: this is a 1983 low-rise boutique of 12 freehold units with minimal shared amenities and thin transaction history — but it sits on Telok Kurau Road with perpetual tenure, at a PSF that still offers a substantial discount to the freehold new launches that have defined the D15 resurgence of the past five years.
The June 2024 arrival of Marine Terrace MRT (TE27) at 0.61 km is a genuine inflection point for this corridor. Properties in the Telok Kurau belt that were once considered “between MRT stations” now have direct TEL access, and the broader D15 new-launch wave — The Continuum at $2,790 PSF, Emerald of Katong at $2,640 PSF, Grand Dunman at $2,537 PSF — has re-priced the neighbourhood’s land value. Uni Building, at $1,595 PSF freehold, has not yet caught up with that re-rating.
For families, the 0.32 km walk to Telok Kurau Primary is a tangible daily benefit, and the school catchment within 1.3 km is among the best in D15. For investors, the rental market is active (9 rentals on record) and the 1.76% gross yield, while modest, is generated by large-format units that attract stable, longer-tenancy professional and family tenants.
En-bloc potential exists but faces the practical reality of a 12-unit building where 10 of 12 owners (83%) must agree simultaneously. In a neighbourhood with active developer interest, the possibility is real over a 10–15-year horizon — but buyers should not purchase on this thesis alone.