Today, we’re going to tour Clementi Crescent, a very private estate in D21, opposite Sunset Way. Now some of you may be scoffing at the fact that I called a landed enclave in D21 “the most exclusive landed estate.” However, have look at this map and you’ll see what I mean.
As you can see, Clementi Crescent is a tiny collection of properties situated all by itself, in the midst of verdant greenery. Though it is located opposite the Sunset Way estate, there are no other residential properties on its side of the road for quite a good distance. (The closest would be the King Albert Park GCB estate to the right, and the Pine Grove apartments after Ulu Pandan Road.)
And whilst the houses and address here may not be the most premium (one usually thinks of Nassim or Holland when one says exclusive), I would say that privacy earns it the title exclusive. (If you want to see exactly how private the houses are, have a look at this detached unit as well as the views from a semi-D there.)
Of course, like everything else in Singapore, good things don’t last forever. All the green space around Clementi Crescent is zoned “Subject to Detailed Planning” so one day this little estate may be surrounded by hundreds of other houses. But for now, it enjoys its exclusivity. (I couldn’t take a photo of the surrounding green area, as there’s a sign prohibiting photography.)
Anyway, now that we’ve covered why I think the area is exclusive, let’s go on to have a look at the houses!
This is what you see when walking to Clementi Crescent from Sunset Way (the closest amenities to the landed houses.) That’s the entrance to the estate in front, where the overhead bridge stands. As you can see, there are some HDB blocks (you can find executive maisonettes there) opposite, but they’re separated by very broad roads.Here’s what you see when you walk into the estate. (Behind the row of houses on the right is empty green land, so the houses have a terrific unblocked view.)Standing at the estate entrance and looking across, so you can see exactly how far away the HDB blocks are.This landed estate is so small, you can see almost to the end of the row of houses from the entrance!Here are what some of the houses look like. It’s a mixed three-storey estate so there’s room for many houses to build upwards.As shown, the houses here have quite large car porches, so no lack of space to park. (The roads were quite uncluttered, so it wasn’t difficult to find a place to park.)Even the terrace houses here are a very good size, with many over 2,400 sq ft and some even over 3,300 sq ft!As you walk in, the land slopes upwards slightly.
One thing I have to mention is that the houses closer to the main road can hear some road noise. (Clementi Road is a very busy road, especially during the SIM and Ngee Ann Poly start and end sessions. However, that may be ameliorated when Maju MRT is completed, although that won’t be for a good while.)
Many of the houses here are still in old-school style, with room to maximise the plot ratio.Halfway up, we see this alley to the left, in between two rows of houses.
Let’s see where it leads.
I passed the back doors of some properties along the way. I confess to sneaking a peek into their backyards and couldn’t believe how private and tranquil everything felt, despite them being terrace properties.The path soon widens into an open space.Oh wow, that’s a HUGE playground, especially given that there are fewer than 100 properties here! (So basically, not only are the houses not surrounded by other properties, but even the rows of houses within the estate are very far apart from each other.)Here’s a close-up of the Master plan so you can see the situation for yourself. Basically, lots of single-row properties here.The Clementi Crescent Playground doesn’t have any rides that are out of the ordinary but it is extraordinarily large, especially when you consider the small number of properties here.It’s surrounded by houses on three sides, and the main road on the fourth. There’s also an entrance from the main road directly into the playground, making that three ways for residents to walk home. (There are two vehicular entrances/exits.)
Now that we’ve seen what was hidden at the end of the alley, let’s go back out and walk to the end of the road.
See how the houses are surrounded by only greenery? Amazing for Singapore.
One thing I would be worried about, being so close to green space, is wildlife. I didn’t see any during my walkabout but I know the King Albert Park estate, just a little down the road, used to regularly get monkeys and snakes – and it’s not even as close to the forest as Clementi Crescent!
That’s the end of the row of houses: trees, trees, and more trees.This is what lies behind the row of houses.Turning around towards the main road, this is what I see. As shown, the row of houses is not very long at all.Let’s head down this road (if you can imagine, the houses form an “n” shape, and we’re going down the top of the “n” now.)That’s what the street looks like: at the end is the detached house that was featured in the YouTube video I linked to earlier.Some of the houses here have been around for a while.Whilst others have been rebuilt quite recently.I also saw a few houses undergoing construction Look at how open the area is: you can see all the way to the other side of Clementi Road without obstruction.There’s also a side path here that leads to the main road.Close-up of the house from the YouTube video: most likely the grandest house in this estate. (I remember the asking price was pretty high.)And now for the third and last street in the estate.As you can see, there’s a second exit and entrance for cars here, making it unlikely you’ll ever have to queue when turning in or out of the estate. I find it VERY generous given the small number of properties here.A few houses I passed along the way – not sure if everyone was out, but many houses didn’t have cars parked in them. (At the moment, there isn’t an MRT within walking distance, so it seems unlikely that residents wouldn’t drive. Having said that, buses from the bus stop outside feed directly to Clementi MRT.)The terrace houses are so big you can even park several cars.I like how you can see nothing but green when looking in between the houses.That brings us back to the main road. If we look to the right, there’s not much there (in terms of amenities within walking distance.) There are florist shops, SIM and Ngee Ann Polytechnic. But the closest shops would be KAP Residences and Bukit Timah Plaza, which is over 30 minutes away on foot.I’ll walk down a bit to show you.That’s Corona Florist behind the tree – it’s the closest shop to the right of the Clementi Crescent Houses, although I don’t imagine it being a very useful amenity. (Not much call to go to the garden centre every day, even if you’re a keen gardener.)Walking back to Clementi Crescent – this is what I see. Now do you get why I say the houses here are super private and exclusive?I would LOVE a house with a backyard like this.Now let’s walk to the left of Clementi Crescent, towards Sunset Way, where a small hawker centre and some shops can be found. That would be where residents would find most of their daily necessities within walking distance.Along the way, we pass the pavement into the Clementi Crescent playground that I had mentioned earlier.This is what you see: the hedge helps to make it more private. You need to walk in to see it.And, as you can see, a good number of buses stop here so it’s not too inaccessible, despite the lack of MRT access (until Maju MRT is completed, that is.)It’s quite an easy walk to Sunset Way. You can see it from the entrance to Clementi Crescent – it’s located at the HDB block behind the green sign.This is about the whole of the hawker centre – as you can see it’s really tiny. (Or perhaps Kopitiam would be more appropriate?)There are more “atas” cafes here than hawker stalls.A few old-school bakeries.Small supermarket/large convenience shop.
As you can see, you find a little of everything here. This brings us to the end of today’s tour. How did you find Clementi Crescent? Let me know in the comments!
TJ’s interest in property was sparked after returning from the UK- where balconies are not counted in one’s square footage!- and finding that the Singapore property had totally changed in the 7 years she was away. When not reading and watching articles & videos about property, she is busy cooking and baking for friends, family & her blog Greedygirlgourmet
Sunset way has lots of pet shops and clinics too and it’s close to the Ulu Pandan park connector which is great for joggers, cyclists, families and anyone with pets.
TJ
9 min read
Sunset way has lots of pet shops and clinics too and it’s close to the Ulu Pandan park connector which is great for joggers, cyclists, families and anyone with pets.
Thanks for sharing Gad!