Are These Old Condo Facilities Still A Benefit Or A Burden?

When it comes to condo facilities, some trends come and go. You can even identify the age of a condo based on the sort of facilities it has (squash courts, anyone?) But while trendy facilities help at launch (and perhaps a decade or so afterwards) they sometimes become undesirable depending on trends and can become an eyesore or a maintenance nightmare. This is why some facilities from older condos aren’t present in new ones, and may even be considered drawbacks among today’s buyers. You don’t want to be paying more monthly maintenance to maintain facilities that aren’t even going to be well-utilised.

Here are some of the things to look for:

1. Squash courts

Squash was huge in the 1980s, but as of 2023, squash seems to be on the decline. Perhaps it is the lack of space, perhaps fewer people have the super-high levels of physical fitness needed to play it; we don’t know – but it doesn’t bode well for condos that made investments of space into it.

As of today, most condo residents would prefer a second tennis court, a bigger pool, or perhaps even a bigger clubhouse instead of squash courts. We’ve even come across home buyers who see these facilities as a disadvantage; no one in their family plays squash, and they’re not inclined to pay maintenance fees for the courts. 

In some older condos, we’ve begun to see the management repurpose squash courts. Clementi Park, for instance, turned their squash court into a table tennis area. Spanish Village has turned it into an open-air gym.

Property searches show that almost all condos with these facilities date back to the mid-90s/80s. The good news for squash players though, is that there are still plenty of older resale projects that have these facilities.

2. Reflexology paths

These have been less common in both HDB estates, as well as private condos. They’re walking paths studded with pebbles, which press into the soles of your feet – hard. This is allegedly good for circulation, and some people enjoy the sensation. 

There are a number of problems with these facilities though. For starters, medical practitioners – including some Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners – have criticised these as being bad for your health. As it turns out, foot reflexology requires a high degree of precision and technique, not just randomly stabbing at your soles with random rock placements.

The other issue is maintenance. Some condos have gotten rid of these, because the reflexology paths are tough to keep clean and safe. When the pebbles chip, they become jagged and uneven – and that creates the risk of them cutting into your feet. The narrow gaps between the pebbles also trap dirt and debris, which is not what you want to hear when you’re walking barefoot on these. Some parents also find these a safety hazard with young children around – a careless fall playing catching could result in an unfortunate injury.

So even among older condos, we’re seeing these get replaced with normal walking trails; and we don’t think they’ll be around for much longer.

3. Big and elaborate playgrounds

Some condos still have these, like Savannah Condopark with its artificial caves, or Whistler Grand with its slide and play-oriented pool. But for the most part, new launches we’ve seen have delegated less space to playgrounds, and given it up for more landscaped areas, bigger pools, BBQ pavilions, etc.

This is partly to adapt to new living trends: children today are more inclined to play indoors than outdoors (that’s what the Xbox and Playstation are for). The other reason, however, is safety. You’ll notice that – even in many public playgrounds – there’s a decreasing number of features like swings, see-saws, and merry-go-rounds. 

This sort of mid-century playground equipment is disappearing around the world, because they’re now considered health hazards; and by coincidence, this was exactly the kind of equipment that demanded larger playground spaces. Today’s playground equipment tends to be safer, more compact, and require less room. 

4. Steam rooms, saunas, and jacuzzis

Among the older condos we’ve visited, at least half of them have permanently shut down the saunas; and these are increasingly uncommon features in new launches. 

Maintenance-wise, these facilities are often more trouble than they’re worth. They tend to be power guzzlers, and they’re wasteful as the power is kept on even when a few people (or no one) are in the room. Cleaning has to be quite thorough and frequent (all those sweaty bodies), and frankly, Singaporeans have enough of a sauna with our natural climate.

Likewise, jacuzzis have started to vanish from new launches in recent years – where these appear, they tend to be features found in penthouses or other private units, rather than being for residents in general. Jacuzzis are difficult to keep clean when they’re communal, and there are also worries about power consumption (if not from a dollar standpoint, then an ecological one). 

If you see these in a condo, be warned: once they break down, there’s often a high chance that they’ll stay that way till the en-bloc comes around.

5. Ponds as part of the landscaped/park facilities

We don’t mean shallow “water features” with a depth that barely reaches past your sandals; we mean an actual pond like the sort you may see in public parks. These can sometimes be found in older condos like Pandan Valley – but it’s rare for condos in the past decade to have a truly deep or sizable pond. 

We can understand why many condos leave these out of their green facilities. Ponds, if poorly maintained, are NEA fines waiting to happen (stagnant water breeds mosquitoes). They also tend to become unsightly, when thick algae forms on the surface. 

It is a pity though, as many landscaped facilities in today’s condos look same-ish. Fewer developers bother to create distinctive features like bridges, ponds, or thematic structures (as for the ones that claim Japanese influence, it’s almost always just throwing a bunch of stones on a patch of sand).

Do you know of any condo facilities that you miss, or are going extinct? Comment and let us know.