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Thread: Condo names - whats in it (recap)

  1. #1
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    Default Condo names - whats in it (recap)

    Fiona Chan, Property Reporter
    Mon, Aug 27, 2007
    The Straits Times
    What's in a condo name? More
    than you can imagine
    IF PROPERTY developer Lippo
    Group had its way, the
    condominium it is building in Kim
    Seng Road would be called
    Trinity rather than Trillium.
    But the group's original
    application for 'Trinity Towers'
    was deemed too 'religious' by
    the authorities, revealed Lippo's
    executive director Thio Gim
    Hock.
    'It was rejected because it had
    religious connotations. They even
    said not to bother to appeal,' he
    said. The three-tower project was
    renamed Trillium, after the name
    of a three-petal flower.
    Now, as Lippo and other
    developers gear up to launch a
    slew of new condos, they are
    cracking their heads over what
    to name them. It may seem like
    a small problem, but unexpected
    rejections such as the one Lippo
    received can make the task
    surprisingly knotty.
    Indeed, the name game is so
    important that Mr Simon
    Cheong, head of luxury
    developer SC Global, personally
    names each of his projects -
    from the iconic The Boulevard
    Residence to the latest Marq on
    Paterson Hill.
    Larger developers, such as
    Frasers Centrepoint and City
    Developments (CDL), pick names
    from proposals that sometimes
    number in the hundreds.
    At CDL, the final say for condo
    names lies with executive
    chairman Kwek Leng Beng. But
    suggestions are pooled from all
    sources, including an occasional
    staff competition. Even Mrs Kwek
    reportedly put in her two cents'
    worth for CDL's latest project,
    Cliveden at Grange.
    The main reason naming a
    condo is not as easy as just
    calling it The ABC lies in a
    surprisingly strict set of rules for
    building and estate names,
    outlined by the Street and
    Building Names Board (SBNB).
    For instance, condo names,
    according to a fairly recent rule
    change by SBNB, must not end
    with 'park' - in case the project is
    mistaken for an actual park.
    But more than 100 condos
    already have that word in their
    names, including older estates
    Bedok Park and Clementi Park.
    To get around the rule,
    developers have recently taken
    to using the French word 'parc'
    instead and putting it in front of
    the name, such as in Parc Emily.
    SBNB also advises against using
    'place' and 'link' because the
    terms are also used for road
    names. 'Tower' can be used only
    for buildings of at least 30
    storeys, and 'villa' only for
    landed houses. And 'city' - such
    as in the 910-unit City Square
    Residences or the 600-unit
    Citylights - is applicable only for
    developments 'on a grand scale',
    says SBNB.
    With more and more words
    struck out over the years, it is no
    wonder many developers now
    find it easier to come up with a
    whole new one.
    This has led to the latest rage in
    condo-naming: coined words,
    such as in The Lumos in Leonie
    Hill and The Marq.
    'It's partly because developers
    are running out of names, and
    partly because of the new
    guidelines on naming projects,'
    said Ms Diana Kuik, executive
    director of Sim Lian Land. 'It is
    now a very 'in' thing to do as it
    gives the project a modern feel.'
    Sim Lian's Viz at Holland is a
    good example. 'The condo is
    near Holland Village, and there's
    a lot of buzz and activity in the
    area,' said Ms Kuik.
    'So we combined 'village' and
    'buzz' to get 'Viz'. It's short, easy
    to remember, and hip-sounding.'
    But newly coined names are only
    one of the current trends in a
    market where condo names
    appear to come and go in waves
    of fashion.
    In fact, Ms Kuik said it is often
    possible to distinguish a condo's
    age from its name.
    'If you look at a name, you can
    tell which era the development
    was built in,' she noted.
    'Anything with 'garden' or 'view'
    is likely to be in the 1980s. If it's
    'vale', probably the 1990s, and if
    it starts with 'The', it's after
    2000.'
    Other current naming fads
    include the almost ubiquitous '@'
    sign - officially known as the
    'commercial at' and unofficially
    used in every attempt to be
    trendy. At least 30 condos in
    Singapore boast this symbol.
    Almost all are new projects that
    surfaced after the dot.com
    boom.
    Property watchers have also
    observed that the recent boom
    in high-end condos has led to a
    proliferation of names using
    'residences'. Indeed, about half
    the 50-odd condos in this
    category - including Marina Bay
    Residences and The Orchard
    Residences - are located
    downtown or in the prime
    districts of 9 to 11.
    A more longstanding trend is
    foreign words. These have long
    been de rigueur among
    developers, who seem to think
    they add a certain je ne sais quoi
    (meaning 'an indescribable
    attribute') to a moniker.
    For instance, there are 34
    condos here with names that
    start with 'Casa', the Spanish
    word for 'house'. Another 21
    begin with 'Le' or 'La', the
    French words for 'the'.
    Some projects are named after
    actual foreign locations, such as
    Cote d'Azur in Marine Parade,
    which sits uncomfortably on the
    tongues of most Singaporeans.
    But while foreign names might
    sound more chi-chi, they are
    also more chancy.
    One developer related the story
    of how SBNB once rejected a
    French name for a condo
    because the word sounded like
    'danger' in English.
    'We wanted to name the condo
    'Perle', which means 'Pearl' in
    French,' the developer said. 'But
    the board said it sounded too
    much like 'peril', so we had to
    change it.'
    Interestingly, while SBNB is sticky
    on grammatical accuracy in the
    use of 'Le' and 'La' - they refer
    to male and female nouns
    respectively in French - it
    appears unconcerned about
    condo names that begin with
    'De' or 'D'.
    'De' is a French proposition that
    usually means 'of' or 'for'. It is
    used as 'D' only if followed by a
    word starting with a vowel.
    But Singapore's condos include
    such grammatical eyesores as
    D'Dalvey and D'Hillside Loft. The
    Straits Times understands that
    these are considered to be
    coined words, rather than
    foreign derivatives, and thus
    allowable.
    As developers try to stay on
    SBNB's good side,
    straightforward combinations of
    road names and numbers are
    also getting popular. The latest
    trend is names beginning with
    'One', such as One Shenton,
    which 14 condos have adopted.
    But this does not mean
    developers have no room for
    creativity, as shown by the
    unusual 2 rvg and 66 OGR,
    which stand for River Valley
    Grove and Orange Grove Road,
    respectively.
    Even if a name does not meet
    with contention by SBNB, other
    unexpected circumstances may
    force it to be changed at the last
    minute.
    Industry insiders, for instance,
    know that Pharos on the
    Waterfront was the original
    name for the CDL condo near
    the Singapore River that is now
    called Tribeca. But what they
    might not know is that the name
    was changed mere weeks before
    the condo's launch because CDL
    discovered that Pharos referred
    to a lighthouse that had been
    destroyed by an earthquake.
    'We didn't want anyone to make
    the association,' said CDL general
    manager Chia Ngiang Hong with
    a laugh.
    At the end of the day, however,
    a project's name is probably one
    of the lowest factors on a
    buyer's list of priorities, said Mr
    Ku Swee Yong, director of
    marketing and business
    development at Savills
    Singapore. 'The product quality
    and returns potential are the top
    things people look at. In the final
    evaluation, buyers almost never
    consider names.'

  2. #2
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    let me quote stupid ones.....

    hillier (or is it hilliest)
    watercolors (or is it crayon, color pencils, acrylic)
    boathouse (or is noah's ark)
    fulcrum
    the sound (or cricket's chirping)

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    I can't forget Twin Peaks

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    Biggest fail for a supposedly high-end condo name:

    D'Leedon

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    what about those obvious stupid name which just name the road and add a no. in front of it. or just plain lazy name it after a road and add suits, lodge, rise , regency..

    i.e. Mountbatten xxx

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    Quote Originally Posted by minority
    what about those obvious stupid name which just name the road and add a no. in front of it. or just plain lazy name it after a road and add suits, lodge, rise , regency..

    i.e. Mountbatten xxx
    at least it clearly tells you the location is around mountbatten.

    try telling the cabby,

    Me: "uncle, i want to go to watercolor"
    cabby: "huh? si mi? color pencil?"
    Me: "no, watercolor"
    cabby: "bo watercolor. my gina's crayon, ai or mai?"

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    LOL ... NEVER try to say "Cote D'Azur" to the taxi uncle. Instead, say "the-condo-next-to-Parkway-parade"!

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    how about air stream?


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    Quote Originally Posted by Rosegarden
    Biggest fail for a supposedly high-end condo name:

    D'Leedon
    easy to remember

    Delete 'em

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    Interestingly the article said in order to use City the development has to be big.

    What happened with

    City Regency
    City Studios
    City Loft

  11. #11
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    The Noose made fun of condo names before, saying taxi uncles need to learn french with all these funny condo names coming up..haha.. go find on youtube.. its funny.

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    Quote Originally Posted by eng81157
    at least it clearly tells you the location is around mountbatten.

    try telling the cabby,

    Me: "uncle, i want to go to watercolor"
    cabby: "huh? si mi? color pencil?"
    Me: "no, watercolor"
    cabby: "bo watercolor. my gina's crayon, ai or mai?"
    Taxi drivers learn French (exclusive preview)

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    i like names with "water" .. calming and perhaps auspicious. well perhaps not 'watercolor' but .. thinking of 'waterina', 'whitewater'

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    Quote Originally Posted by graveyard
    i like names with "water" .. calming and perhaps auspicious. well perhaps not 'watercolor' but .. thinking of 'waterina', 'whitewater'
    SG is already flooded with throngs of condos with the "water" themed names....

    Baywater, 806 Bedok Reservoir Road, Singapore 479243
    Bluwaters, 195B Jalan Loyang Besar, Singapore 506961
    Bluwaters 2, 205 Jalan Loyang Besar, Singapore 509456
    The Clearwater, 4 Bedok Reservoir View, Singapore 479233
    The Edgewater, 211 Jalan Loyang Besar, Singapore 509504
    The Water Edge @ Geylang, 8 Lorong 38 Geylang, Singapore 398106
    The Watercrest, 72B Loyang Besar Close, Singapore 509000
    The Waterdale, 118 Garlick Avenue, Singapore 275991
    The Waterina, 51 Lorong 40 Geylang, Singapore 398075
    The Waterline, 167 POH HUAT ROAD WEST, Singapore 546695
    The Waterside, 1 Tanjong Rhu Road, Singapore 436879
    Tribeca by the Waterfront, 60 Kim Seng Road, Singapore 239497
    Twin Waterfalls, Punggol Way, Singapore 820000
    Water Place, 171 Tanjong Rhu Road, Singapore 436931
    Water Terrace, 48 Lorong Ah Soo, Singapore 536700
    Water Villas, 34 Kovan Road, Singapore 548103
    WaterScape @ Cavenagh, 65-65A Cavenagh Road, Singapore 229620
    Waterbank at Dakota, 25 Dakota Crescent, Singapore 390025
    Watercolours, 29 Pasir Ris Link, Singapore 518152
    Waterfall Gardens, 8 Farrer Road, Singapore 268820
    Waterford Residence, 23 Kim Yam Road, Singapore 239333
    Waterfront Gold, 750 bedok reservoir road, Singapore 470750
    Waterfront Isle, 738 Bedok Reservoir Road, Singapore 479265
    Waterfront Key, 780 Bedok Reservoir Road, Singapore 479255
    Waterfront Waves, 766 Bedok Reservoir Road, Singapore 479248
    Waterloo Apartments, 64 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187959
    Waterloo View, 166 Waterloo View, Singapore 187963
    Watermark Robertson Quay, 3 Rodyk Street, Singapore 238213
    Watertown, Punggol Central, Singapore 820000
    Waterview, Tampines Avenue 1, Singapore 529000
    Whitewater, 72 Pasir Ris Street, Singapore 518765

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    i waiting for Watermelon.... weather v hot wakaka

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    Latest condo luanching in the middle of Bedok Reservoir -

    WATER GHOST - FH Aquatic living at its finest. Show flat open daily from 11pm - 4am.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Condo Kaiser
    Latest condo luanching in the middle of Bedok Reservoir -

    WATER GHOST - FH Aquatic living at its finest. Show flat open daily from 11pm - 4am.
    WAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!!!!!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Condo Kaiser
    Latest condo luanching in the middle of Bedok Reservoir -

    WATER GHOST - FH Aquatic living at its finest. Show flat open daily from 11pm - 4am.
    muahhahaha... nice one !

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    Quote Originally Posted by Condo Kaiser
    Latest condo luanching in the middle of Bedok Reservoir -

    WATER GHOST - FH Aquatic living at its finest. Show flat open daily from 11pm - 4am.
    Got discount or not?

    50% disc
    ?

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Condo Kaiser
    Latest condo luanching in the middle of Bedok Reservoir -

    WATER GHOST - FH Aquatic living at its finest. Show flat open daily from 11pm - 4am.
    Le Enthereal Aqua - where your spirits will be set free.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PN
    Got discount or not?

    50% disc
    ?
    no more discount... VVIP preview over...

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    Quote Originally Posted by iwantgizmos
    no more discount... VVIP preview over...
    Alamak. So fast bo liao.

    Didn't know that GHOST VIEW so popular.
    Hotter than sea view.
    Last edited by PN; 03-05-12 at 15:54.

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